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May 2006
Meat Inspection
By Brian Murray
In years gone by family farms were common sites around the province. Now most of what you purchase is produced from large factory farms from around the country and further. This makes a business a lot more profitable but also a lot of the time the quality is what suffers. In this day and age you have to be selective and intuitive to what is going on around you. The large corporations want your money and try to make a product that is acceptable and reasonably priced. The key word here is “acceptable” as quality means more time and effort and less profit.
At one time there was a fear buying from local farms due to lack of mandatory government inspections. Now government inspection should be a standard for any farm. The potential liability issues along with the farm reputation could all hinge on a single piece of condemned meat/poultry. The government has a stamp that is used for beef-the ink is on the outer fat of some pieces to show that it has passed Government inspection. The poultry are a little different as they use a tag applied to the twisted part of the bag. The days of processing the cattle on the farm are gone for the most part. When purchasing beef/poultry the consumer should assume and verify with the producer that the product has been inspected and where.
Anyone who is a certified free-range chicken producer in Nova Scotia has to have his/her chickens processed at a government inspected facility. Some of the other benefits of free-range chickens are no antibiotics or animal by-products in the feed. Most commercial producers don’t have those rules for feed content. Lots of our customers like the fact that the chickens have access to the fresh air and grass, as it is a requirement to certification. The most common comment is how much more our chicken tastes like chicken should- this is the result of the combination of the fresh air, grass and feed required for certification.
The local producer is aware of the needs of the customer-when changes are required they can be made instantly-customers then realize their input has been taken seriously. Customers are then pleased and happy.
At Blue Barn Farms there is a tradition of producing food for local consumers for well over a hundred years at the same location. We try to make use of the generations of experience to continually refine our procedures and methods to make a superior product. Our experience is lots of small specialty farms have a similar commitment to customer service and try to accommodate. We tell people to find someone who you like and trust and feel confident in their ability to give you what you require at a fair price. With the computer an in-home standard today, consumers are informed, or wish to be about the products and people they do business with. Being able to view products/prices/history as well as many other items online helps consumers to make an informed decision. This can also make a business more accessible/accountable to the consumer. As always we appreciate inquiries and dialogue from any interested parties.
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