Author Topic: Selling lamb /mutton... (Read 6353 times)

Fishyhaddock · « **on:** March 18, 2011, 06:07:55 pm »

Does anyone know how much you can sell mutton for? Presumably this would be at a premium to lamb given the cost of keeping the boys for longer?

Also are there any rules selling directly to friends / colleagues other than the animals must be killed and butchered by registered butcher? I have heard it is far more complicated to sell commercially - if any of you do can you advise me where to go to see what is involved? We are only on the first rung of the ladder and still gathering all the facts on everyhting sheep related...

Thanks Fishy.

lachlanandmarcus · « **Reply #1 on:** March 19, 2011, 01:50:42 pm »

Hi Fishy,

as there arent any other replies I will give you what I know

For selling in theory you need -1 refrigerated storage and transport throughout process from live animal to customers hands
-2 killed by licensed slaughterer on licensed premises
- 3 butchered in licensed cutting plant OR be a qualified butcher cutting the animal for sale from their premises
- 4 store the meat in dedicated and approved freezer/chiller, it shouldnt be in with your pizzas and Ben and Jerrys :-)

Now for selling locally there is discretion given to the officials on no3, ie if you use a butcher but then you sell the meat, as long as it is done 'locally' ie within a 30 mile radius they can choose to allow this. Over 30 miles that discretion doesnt apply I believe.

So assuming you are doing local sales, the biggest headache becomes the requirement for refridgerated transport at all times; it means effectively that you have to either have a refridgerated trailer/van or pay the abbatoir £££ to deliver the meat.

I might be corrected by peeps who do lots of sales but thats my understanding of the basics.

princesspiggy · « **Reply #2 on:** March 19, 2011, 02:43:51 pm »

Quote from: FISHYHADDOCK on March 18, 2011, 06:07:55 pm

Does anyone know how much you can sell mutton for? Presumably this would be at a premium to lamb given the cost of keeping the boys for longer?

hi, what breed are your sheep?
i thought mutton was ewes over 2 or 3 years? would u call older wethers mutton aswell?

plus i need to know all your questions too, so will be following your thread. can u not use coolboxes instead of refridgerator vans?
i saw mail order companies using cool boxes insulated with sheeps wool, where do u get those from?

Fleecewife · « **Reply #3 on:** March 19, 2011, 02:49:48 pm »

Ours are butchered by a local chap, who collects the carcases from the abattoir in his refrigerated van when he is going there anyway, so that's not a problem for us and doesn't cost extra. We haven't sold to the general public since the recent regs came in, but when we did I took all the deliveries straight from the butcher to the customers, in insulated boxes (supplied by the kind butcher). I wonder if that would be different now - because you can send meat through the post and it's not refrigerated then.
If you are selling from a freezer at home, as well as not keeping your domestic food in there, you will have to have it checked out - temp and so on, by presumably Trading Standards, who will want to know that you are selling from home anyway.

As for pricing - all I can say is be proud of your produce and sell it for a good price. I tend to look in the top shops, then take off a tiny bit, but of course they sell by cut, not for a half or whole carcase, so your top cuts will look cheaper than the shops because there will be all the cheaper bits in too. Have a look online too - I'm staggered by what some people charge for their meat, and they are clearly selling it

Another way of looking at it, is ask what you want and see what people will pay - if you target the right people they are prepared to pay a premium for mutton, which is a gourmet choice. Some people will not buy, but others don't flinch

Fleecewife · « **Reply #4 on:** March 19, 2011, 02:57:20 pm »

Just seen PP's question 'what is mutton'. Top grade mutton is from older wethers, about 2-4 years old, depending on where they are raised. In my system they will be 16 months and technically 'hogget', because I have no room for them once the next crop comes along, but if they have been used as conservation grazing tools, then they can be 4 yo - the cost of keeping them longer is offset by the fact that they have been working throughout their lives keeping down unwanted vegetation on SSSIs.
Old ewes are also known as mutton but they are not such a high class product, because they have been breeding etc. In fact older ewes are not usually culled until 7 yo (or here about 12

) by which time they are not suitable for roasting, but make excellent well flavoured sausages, burgers etc.

robert waddell · « **Reply #5 on:** March 19, 2011, 03:30:36 pm »

lachlanandmarcus only 2 parts wrong refrigerated transport is not required for the live transportation
if you are freezing the meat it has to be blast frozen very expensive
no coolboxes allowed
pricing this is the difficult bit since it is only pigs i have i will answer in pork somebody was selling sausages at £10 per kilo thats £900 for a 90 kilo carcase take this a bit further bacon from a Scottish award winning butcher £28 per kilo WHAT WOULD YOU BE HAPPY PAYING FOR IF YOU WERE THE CUSTOMER to cheep =no profit to dear= you are left to eat it yourself

lachlanandmarcus · « **Reply #6 on:** March 19, 2011, 06:26:22 pm »

I guess I thought we would all assume the live sheep werent refrigerated....:-))

princesspiggy · « **Reply #7 on:** March 19, 2011, 08:29:23 pm »

do u guys sell your fresh or frozen? my "sheep" butcher blast froze it all for nothing, but our "pork" butcher didnt. they were the butchers the 2 different abbattoirs used.

Quote from: Fleecewife on March 19, 2011, 02:57:20 pm

Just seen PP's question 'what is mutton'. Top grade mutton is from older wethers, about 2-4 years old, depending on where they are raised.

thanks, i never knew that!

waterhouse · « **Reply #8 on:** March 22, 2011, 08:36:03 pm »

Having just read a ludicrous amount of DEFRA and FSA website downloads the guidance is (England) that if you don't have refrigerated transport when collecting from the cutting plant do have insulated boxes and record the temperature at the beginning and end of the journey.

The definition of local is flexible as long as you don't take the proverbial, and the definition of small is no more than 2 tonnes per week!

SallyintNorth · « **Reply #9 on:** March 24, 2011, 06:25:04 pm »

Quote from: Fleecewife on March 19, 2011, 02:57:20 pm

Old ewes are also known as mutton but they are not such a high class product, because they have been breeding etc. In fact older ewes are not usually culled until 7 yo (or here about 12 ) by which time they are not suitable for roasting, but make excellent well flavoured sausages, burgers etc.

At our local marts there are often buyers for old ewes who are supplying curry and kebab houses. One of them told us you can get 3,000 doner kebabs from one big old ewe. At £1/time, that's quite a profit on one old girl!