Welcome to Hindwell Farm Shop…
We have opened a fully self-service meat vending machine farm shop located at the end of our farm drive for easy customer access. The shop is open from 6am – 11pm every day including holidays and we are proud to stock the machines entirely with our own home-produced meat, straight from the farm.
The machines are by contactless payment only and are very easy to use. We display the meat we have available in different numbered boxes and customers can choose which box(es) they would like to purchase from the machines following a simple set of instructions.
The meat we have in the shop can be either fresh or frozen depending on the stock we have available but generally there will always be a variety of our meat on offer. When we don’t have fresh, our frozen selection can be quite varied and is slightly discounted to keep the freezers turning over!
We opened on 25th October 2021 and we have had a phenomenal year with meat sales. The local support has been fantastic and customers have continued to buy local, with many promoting the fact that they like to know where their meat has come from, how sustainably it’s been produced and most importantly that they can really taste the difference compared to shop bought alternatives – and we try to price fairly so that everyone can access proper quality meat.
We also sell local Award winning Free-range Eggs produced by Farmer Clarke of Knighton and these are in the shop by honesty cash box. Looking forward, we hope to start selling a range of other locally produced products such as local honey, home-made cakes and potentially ready meals produced with our own meat. These are exciting times and we would like to sincerely thank everyone that continues to support our new venture.
A little bit about our meat availability…
Our traditional livestock husbandry dictates the seasonal availability of our meat. This is in direct contrast to the intensively produced meat filling up the shelves of big retailers. We expect to be offering fresh beef between the months of April and November, Fresh Lamb between August and January and fresh pork on a monthly basis throughout the year depending on the frequency of our litters.
We take pride in maturing our livestock slowly, giving the meat a richer taste and therefore our meat availability may alter accordingly. Being a small solo producer for the shop means that only stock that is 100% fit and ready for slaughter will make the grade.
OUR DRY AGED, GRASS FED BEEF
Aberdeen Angus is regarded by many to be the finest beef breed in the world. It’s huge popularity is a direct consequence of the beautiful marbling that runs evenly throughout the meat to give the beef its renowned rich and indulgent flavour.
Top quality breeding
We select the best quality stock using breed specific EBV’s (Estimated Breeding Values) ensuring that we produce the very best beef animals and stock to further breed from. We are actively increasing the pedigree aspect of our Angus herd and through routine DNA testing our pedigree calves comply fully with the Sire Verified Angus Scheme. This voluntary society scheme is there to safeguard the quality and integrity of the breed and enables transparent traceability, which is of great importance to us here at Hindwell.
Slowly matured and dry aged beef
Traditional beef production matures the animal at its own pace with no add lib feeding of cereals often seen promoted by the ‘fake’ supermarket farms. They are keen to promote their ‘extra mature’ or ‘21 day aged’ beef but, in reality, by using the ‘wet’ aging process, supermarket beef does not mature properly when it is vacuum packed in its own juices for three weeks waiting to be distributed.
Traditional methods of dry aging beef on the bone in a temperature-controlled room for 3-4 weeks allows any excess moisture to evaporate from the meat and allows the muscle tissue to soften resulting in tender, flavoursome cuts of meat that won’t shrink during cooking. At Hindwell we believe that quality beef should be dry aged for as long as possible before being carefully butchered which is why we are so keen to promote the flavour and tenderness of our beef. You really can ‘taste the difference’!
Quality, flavour and tenderness
The combination of slowly grown, naturally grass-fed beef alongsideour traditional 21-day dry ageing process gives a distinctly different product to what you would purchase for next to nothing at the supermarket. Our Aberdeen Angus beef guarantees quality, flavour and tenderness and is deserving of a premium price. Our beef boxes offer this premium priced beef at fantastic value.
Greater Nutritional Value
Studies have shown that meat from forage-fed animals can be lower in saturated fats and higher in antioxidants, vitamins and minerals when compared to meat from grain fed animals.Grass fed beef has proven to be higher in Vitamin A & E, higher in Omega 3 and Linoleic acid and therefore of greater nutritional value compared to standard corn fed, mass produced supermarket beef.
100% traceability and Low food miles
As with all of our stock, our Angus beef is 100% traceable back to our farm and travels no more than 13 miles to our local abattoir to be professionally slaughtered. Stress is therefore reduced to an absolute minimum which in turn reflects the superb quality of the meat we produce. Our beef is 100% Welsh, 100% red tractor farm-assured and we maintain a high herd health status monitored by the premium cattle health scheme.
OUR GRASS-FED WELSH LAMB
All the lamb we produce and sell at Hindwell is authentically Welsh and is born and reared on our farm from start to finish. As with our cattle, lambs are fed a natural diet of grass and forage and are slaughtered 13 miles from the field in which they were reared. This means that the animals don’t have to be transported a great distance and stress is kept to an absolute minimum.
High welfare production
We believe that out Welsh lamb is the best there is. Over the past 10 years we have bred a flock of around 700 Exlana ewes. This modern composite breed has been bred to lose its wool naturally, and now we spend no time managing wool. By selecting animals against problem traits such as dirty tails and foot rot, we have cut out much of the labour and costs associated with traditional sheep breeds. This in turn has enabled us to significantly improve the welfare of our flock, reducing the incidence of disease and common ailments that are typically have a detrimental effect on sheep production.
Proactive breeding
We currently genotype stock rams for resistance to foot rot, as well as for Texel muscling genes. Also, we aim to reduce treatment costs for worms by analysing saliva samples from potential breeding stock for antibodies against gastrointestinal worms. Our ewes are lambed outdoorsin very low stocking rates with minimal intervention, and we aim to feed sheep nothing other than grass, plus fodder beet during winter.
Flavoursome, tender Welsh lamb
Our forage-based welsh Lamb has superb natural flavour and is dry aged to enable tenderisation. 100% Welsh and 100% traceable back to the field in which it matured. Locally and professionally butchered, we generally sell our lamb in half lamb boxes which offer fantastic value, however we do have joints and cuts available if you are unable to manage quantity.
OUR WELSH WHITE PORK
Our mouthwatering Pork comes from our own homebred, home reared herd of traditional Welsh White pigs. Barn-reared in a huge converted barn and on deep straw beds our pigs are fed a high-quality diet of home grown cereals, beans and their absolute favourite, fodder beet. We keep their diet as close to natural as possible and pride ourselves on providing a high welfare indoor environment in which they can thrive. We currently have 18 sows serviced by two boars and an array of young trotters roaming about enjoying life.
Large spacious barn with deep straw beds
We have areas of their pens for bathing and rolling, areas for grooming and scratching and of course the deep straw in which they can burrow and sleep. Our pigs are very happy and produce exceptional tasting pork and the finest tasting sausages. Having been born and raised at Hindwell, they are incredibly docile in nature and if they could talk, would have a very intelligent conversation!
Pedigree breeding
We have recently invested in ayoung pedigree Welsh White Boar and are looking to improve our breeding stock and secure the pedigree aspect of our breeding herd going forward.
Year-round availability
Our farm assured homebred Welsh Pork is available fresh and frozenmost of year-round and our beautiful half pig meat boxes come with a selection of locally butchered, delicious joints, chops and sausages.We pride ourselves on the quality of the meat we supply and by offering bulk buy meat boxes, we are able to give you the best possible value for your money.
High nutritional value
The benefits of eating Pork are well known. High in quality protein, pork meat is one of the most complete sources of dietary protein available. When trimmed of visible fat, lean pork is nutrient dense, satisfying and good for you. Enriched with Vitamin B6, Vitamin B12, Thiamin, Niacin, Riboflavin and Pantothenic Acid, pork is excellent for muscle growth, maintenance and overall health.
100% welsh and low food miles
As with all our stock, we use our local abattoir just 13 miles from the farm. This significantly reduces the stress involved with travelling and is reflected in the quality of the meat produced. All our pork is slowly matured, and we only slaughter our pigs when they have reached the desired weight, giving quality tasting, flavoursome meat. Our bacon pigs, grown on for longer at a natural rate develop the desired fat content to produce wonderful tasting, traditional bacon, gammons and hams.
BULK ORDERS
We are happy to provide customers with a discount on multiple purchases over £40 and on frozen meat above this value. Please get in touch with us if you would like to place an order for several items and we will happily sort this for you. We are still doing half Welsh Lamb and half Welsh Pork boxes to order however we now no longer offer Angus Boxes due to our limited cattle numbers and huge demand for Angus in the shop.