The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Livestock => Sheep => Topic started by: Smee on January 07, 2020, 08:30:07 pm
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Not sure which forum to post this in really....but, Could someone please clarify as I'm slightly confused. I've just been told by a trading standards lady that I need to keep feed records ie batch numbers, feed type, additives etc ( what's on the labels) for 3 years.....
We keep a small flock of mostly pedigree pet sheep which we occasionally sell for breeding and very rarely for our own consumption. We also sometimes have weaners, again for our own consumption. Have also a few chooks and waterfowl. She mentioned that we would be audited shortly which is ok but.... I sort of understood that our setup came under the exemptions category?? I just want to check that I have the correct info on my records... Tia.
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Not too sure but interested to follow. We only have 13 pedigrees and occasionally sell lambs for breeding and a few for meat.
I keep the normal health /medicine records but nothing else, certainly not feed :thinking:
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Up in Cumbria we were Farm Assured for Beef and Sheep, and you do need to keep such records for that, certainly. I wasn’t aware it was now a requirement for everyone, but they do have a track record of these things “trickling down”.
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We had a trading standards feed inspection a couple of years ago. They looked at feed label records (we just keep 1 label from each batch of feed we buy, date it with purchase date and write the quantity bought as well), feed storage (making sure sheep cake is kept away from cattle cake and chicken food etc), then they checked movement and medicine records. Nothing that we hadn’t done for farm assurance. We’ve also had spot check blood tests on heifers looking for hormones in the blood (indicating growth hormones in feed which is illegal, but randomly tested for just to ensure everyone is clear)
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Feed regulations become worse if you are mixing your own feed rations---if you are just buying bags of compound feed then the receipts from vendors should be fine
Just need to show a paper trail and due diligence to keep Trading Standards happy
I wouldn't worry, the worst they can do is ask you to keep more records
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When we were checked they did want all the feed bag labels. We had torn them off the sacks and kept them in a bucket, which was fine. It's so if there is a problem with feed from the mill, say, or a suspected feed-based problem with the livestock, they can go through the feed records and work out what went wrong, where contamination got in, for example. It's not onerous to do, and the chap who came didn't actually go through the labels, just noted that we had kept them for the requisite time. Brownie points :D
Just keep them from now on to show willing and that you took the advice.
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Had a Trading Standards visit a couple of years back. She did ask to see the records. We had the original receipt with batch numbers of the feed we had bought. My understanding is that this relates to any animal that could go in the food chain so it is probably easier to keep the records than to try to argue that the sheep you sell so not.....
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Yes for stuff going into the food chain you need to keep records. You also need to be registered under feed hygiene regulations - you send an application (free) to the local council I think. Although the link below suggests you are exempt if the meat is only for your own consumption:
https://www.food.gov.uk/business-guidance/animal-feed-legislation (https://www.food.gov.uk/business-guidance/animal-feed-legislation)
We have a spreadsheet which has a tab for each type of feed (quite surprising how they accumulate). Each tab has columns for name of feed, when and where bought, where stored, batch number and expiry date, date it was started and finished, what it was fed to, the related invoice/receipt and a container/sack number. When unloading feed I use a marker pen to write a number on the bag above the label, e.g. "Layers 80" on the 80th sack of poultry layers pellets, and take a photo of it on my phone. The photos are then saved in a folder on the computer with a filename the same as was is written on the sack, as are photos of the invoices.
We have a whiteboard in the barn where we write the date of starting/finishing sacks of feed - again when this is full I snap a photo and use that to update the spreadsheet.
Much easier for me than cutting out labels from sacks (here they are all stickers applied to the bag) and faffing about with physically storing them somewhere.
If nothing else having these records helps with planning and budgeting. I can work out how much the chickens are eating for example and use that to cost out egg production, or use last years hard sheep feed use to estimate how much we'll need this year for a bigger flock.
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Blimey... after reading all that I think cutting out a couple of labels off feed bags is easy :roflanim:
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Gosh this forum is indispensable as I learn something new every week! We’ve been registered as a food business for 2 years selling small quantities of lamb and pork direct from the abattoir and although we have not been inspected yet, we keep all the records we thought we had to but didn’t know about this one. EH officer never mentioned it. We will keep records from now on!
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Blimey... after reading all that I think cutting out a couple of labels off feed bags is easy :roflanim:
Ha ha... yes I suppose so. But I was only really comparing the taking a photo v cutting out the label.
My understanding is that the records you need to keep go beyond just the label itself (which would give you formulation, batch and expiry) but extend to the other things I listed. Either way I reckon the record keeping takes me maybe 15 minutes a month and the data has been quite useful to look back at for future planning.
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Ok - I have received clarification from Trading Standards.
A R13 registration is required for all premises where animals are reared and which MAY enter the food chain. The registration does not rely on the number of acres nor if the person rearing the animals is in business or not.
So essentially if there is any chance that an animal may enter the foodchain from your produce or from selling the animal at auction etc then it is best to register.
I feel that we are currently exempt of this legislation as we only slaughter for our own consumption and any sheep go purely for breeding purposes, but I will continue keeping records anyway in case that changes and I need to apply for a R13 registration. Although I'm still a bit unclear on exactly what data you need to keep and how long for? I think its date purchased, batch no, where from/manufacturer and expiry date and fed to what??
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Found this exemption for livestock farmers :
the direct supply, by the producer, of small quantities of primary products to the final consumer or to local retail establishments directly supplying the final.
:relief: !
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I'm even more confused by that as it seems to infer that it's ok to supply, say, your local pub with small quantities of your own produce?? Eg meat? Contradictory? Or am I reading it wrong. :eyelashes:
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I'm even more confused by that as it seems to infer that it's ok to supply, say, your local pub with small quantities of your own produce?? Eg meat? Contradictory? Or am I reading it wrong. :eyelashes:
Shhhh....!!! Don’t make waves, don’t make waves.... :innocent: :eyelashes: