From our farm to your table
Food we know, from animals we know
We raise Dexter cattle and sheep here at Western Farm, primarily to produce meat for ourselves.
That means we know where our food comes from, what our animals have eaten, how they have lived and how they have been cared for.
We generally produce more than we need, so we are also able to offer some of our home-reared beef and lamb to local customers.
We are not trying to produce huge quantities. We are a little working farm, raising animals on a small scale, with their welfare at the heart of what we do. Selling some of our produce also helps towards the considerable cost of rearing the animals in the first place.
Dexter beef
Our Dexter beef
Our Dexters are a small herd with plenty of individual character.
They are raised at their own pace, spending time on pasture whenever conditions allow, with appropriate supplementary feed when needed. We maintain our soya-free feeding approach across the farm.
We produce beef in small batches, with individual cuts and freezer-friendly boxes available through our shop when stock allows.
Lamb
Lamb from our own flock
Our sheep are a wonderfully mixed collection of characters, and we know them as individuals.
They are pasture-reared, with soya-free supplementary feed when needed. Some we have raised from birth, and many have names and personalities that make life here considerably more entertaining than planned.
We produce lamb in small seasonal batches, offering butchered boxes and individual cuts when available.
Our welfare ethos
Our animals matter to us
Our animals are not anonymous units of production. We know who is bold, who is shy, who is first to the bucket and who is most likely to be somewhere they should not be.
Many have names, and some inevitably become favourites.
We do not believe that an animal eventually becoming food means it should matter any less while it is alive. We want our animals to have good lives, with appropriate food, space, companionship, outdoor access and the opportunity to behave naturally.
Knowing them as individuals sometimes makes the eventual decisions harder. We accept that as part of raising animals in the way we choose to.
Our responsibility, from beginning to end
For us, responsibility for our animals does not stop at the farm gate.
We do not send the animals we have raised for meat through livestock markets. When the time comes, Paul and Bex personally take them on their final journey.
It is not a journey we enjoy making, and we do not think it ever should become one. But if we are prepared to raise animals for food, eat that food ourselves and share some with customers, we believe we have a responsibility to care about what happens right through to the end.
Why we choose C&S Meats
We use C&S Meats, a family-run abattoir at Holnest in Dorset. We have chosen C&S because we know and trust them, and we are comfortable entrusting our animals to their care.
We have found the premises clean and well maintained, with properly bedded pens and staff who treat both us and our animals with kindness and respect.
Read the C&S Meats animal welfare statement
Accessible text:
Dear Customer,
I have put this together for your reassurance.
- We have 2 designated Animal Welfare Officers on site.
- Only staff with suitable Certificate of Competence can handle and restrain animals. All our lairage operatives have this and most of our slaughtermen.
- Any animals staying overnight or more than 12 hours are provided with food.
- Bedding is provided in each pen.
- Clean water is always available by automatic drinkers.
- Inspections and monitoring are carried out at numerous intervals daily and documented.
- Our main priority is handling animals calmly and in an appropriate manner that will avoid injury or stress to both parties and ensuring the animals are treated humanely. Also making sure they appear fit and well.
- Only staff with slaughter licences carry out any stunning and sticking of animals.
- We have an FSA OV (vet) present during all slaughtering and dressing of animals.
- All animals must be rendered insensible before any shackled or hoisted.
- WE DO NOT USE ANY HALAL STUNNING METHODS. (We have never previously and will not ever in future.)
Stunning methods for each species: cattle — captive bolt; pigs — mainly electric tongs using method head to heart stun, sometimes captive bolt; sheep/goats — mainly electric tongs using method head stun, sometimes captive bolt; alpacas/llama — captive bolt; water buffalo/wild boar — free bullet.
Many thanks
Laura Goodland
C&S Meats
Questions are welcome
We believe anyone buying food directly from a farmer should be able to ask how it was produced. Where did the animal come from? What did it eat? How did it live? Where was it slaughtered?
We are happy to explain our choices so customers can decide whether those choices are right for them. We recognise that people have different views about eating meat, including choosing not to eat it at all. We are explaining our own approach, not insisting everyone should share it.
Seasonal availability
Want to know what is available?
Our beef and lamb are available in small batches, so there is not always something in stock. Browse the shop for what is currently available, or join our WhatsApp community to hear when the next batch is coming.