David Burt: Rural butchers offer fresh take on processing

In times past, farmers would carry out the business of killing and cutting up animals as needed to feed their families and staff - a process known as "homekill".

In contrast, most meat produced in New Zealand sees the animals slaughtered and processed by registered meat processors.

This is a highly regulated process that includes a number of inspection procedures before the products are able to be sold either locally or overseas.

Because "homekilled" product is not obtained through the regulated system, it is considered unregulated.

This doesn't mean the meat is unsafe to consume and many animal owners believe that homekilled meat has a number of advantages over meat obtained from the regulated system.

Over time the number of farmers and other animal owners willing or able to perform homekill has declined.

As international trade deals and the related food safety regulations have evolved, it became increasingly important for New Zealand to ensure that regulated and unregulated products are demonstrably kept strictly apart.

The result is a group of specialist butchers, listed on a Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) register, who provide a "homekill' service for those animal owners who meet the criteria as set by MPI.

The Rural Butchers Industry Group is part of Federated Farmers and comprises of homekill service providers who slaughter and dress animals for animal owners and dual operator butchers.

As dual operator butchers handle both unregulated and regulated material, their operations are verified to provide confidence around the necessary separation of the two types of material.

Rural Butchers are highly skilled, knowledgeable and understand all the regulatory requirements of their trade. They provide farmers and other animals owners with another option to processing.

Their service is comparable to any other butcher or supermarket. They will provide smallgoods and a wide range of meat cuts to suit the animal owner's needs and in a freezer-ready form.

To find a Federated Farmers Rural Butcher in your area, contact David Burt at Federated Farmers on 04 4949182.

The Rural Butchers' conference in being held in Palmerston North at the end of August.

- David Burt is Federated Farmers' senior policy adviser.