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Moorhouse Farm Shop is not situated on a productive farm but all the pork, beef and lamb sold comes from the owners, Ian and Victoria Byatt’s farm some four miles away.
The farm shop, which opened in May 2003, is in a new building raised on a redundant mushroom farm and in a prime location for retailing, a stone’s throw from the A1 and
on a busy, local road.
‘We began retailing at farmers’ markets before we built the farm shop,’ said Ian Byatt, ‘ and we still attend seven markets a month.
In this former mining and industrial area, understanding our customers and their feel for good value has been key to developing
our business. We are very much a ‘local’ farm shop serving customers who want good food but at realistic prices. They tend to be
conservative in their tastes.’
Three full time butchers are employed with 75 years experience between them. All are capable of ‘carcase to display’ work; Ian and
Victoria with other family members are also very much involved at every level of the business. ‘We are a good example of how a
mixed commercial farm, typical in this region, can diversify into retailing without becoming organic, or stocking rare-breeds,’ said Ian
Byatt. ‘We run high welfare schemes, achievable by many other farmers in this region, which allow us to provide a top quality product
for our customers without making it too expensive. It was also important that our retailing was making a profit from the start so that our
family business did not run in to high borrowings. It’s been a challenging, but exciting, eight years.’
www.moorhousefarmshop.co.uk
The Blagdon Farm Shop's butchery counter
The Blagdon Farm Shop is also not on a farm but at the Milkhope Centre, a collection of listed buildings now beautifully
converted to a mix of shops, craft units and café. However, almost all the beef, pork, poultry and game prepared at and sold at
the large and beautifully lit butchery counter is from farms on the Blagdon estate, with just a short detour to the last remaining
abattoir in Northumberland, six miles away at Burradon.
The business has grown rapidly since opening in 2002. The full scale butchery was added in 2004 and immediately brought a
dynamic new dimension. Turnover doubled almost overnight, said director, Jo Celerier. ‘The butchery has become a key feature,
our unique selling point and shows what huge demand there is among consumers for totally-traceable meats. Our policy is high
welfare, high taste and low food miles, and we pay above the market price to our farmers. Our challenge is to recover that
premium and it is testament to the flair and skill of the butchery team that we achieve excellent carcase utilization with minimum
wastage and a top-quality, distinctive product.’
The butchery team includes three craft butchers, including one member of the Worshipful Company of Butchers, who have between them some 91 years experience in the
trade – although the average age is under 40. ‘The butchers working here all came to Blagdon Farm Shop because they wanted to get back to the roots of their trade and
traditional butchery,’ said Jo Celerier. There is also an apprentice on the team now completing NVQ Level 3.
www.theblagdonfarmshop.co.uk
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