Chisel Farm

The supermarket needs to offer organic meat at the same level every day of the year. Hunt (1989) mentioned that, as a supermarket buyer, he had been approached by several suppliers offering one tomorrow, one in two months time and two for Christmas . Safeway required ten cattle per week. To fit into Safeway s distribution system, these cattle would need to be processed through one abattoir, which should be Safeway and Soil Association approved. He believed it to be unlikely that one farmer could supply this number every week of the year. However, the example of Chisel Farm (see Chapter 10) has demonstrated otherwise. Hunt suggested that producer groups be set up in conjunction with a central slaughter point. This, however, would create the additional problem that the producers and the abattoir would have to be located so as to ensure that the transport of livestock... 

In 1988 the organic unit on Chisel Farm measured 120 ha, from which beef cattle and lambs were produced. Twelve years later (2000) the... 

Verbal agreements with retailers for the supply of organic beef or lambs were made a year in advance. This allowed time for the management and growth of the necessary stock. Stock were sold to the retailer directly from the nearby abattoir. This meant there were no delivery or collection charges for Chisel Farm. The then manager, Karl Barton, maintained that verbal agreements were more satisfactory than written contracts, which often contain hidden penalties. 

This organisation, run by Josef Finke in Ireland, has developed into a large-scale organic business, in a similar manner to that of Karl Barton at Chisel Farm in Dorset. 

One day the pools were gone. The hardpan had been broken up with enormous chisels pulled by huge tractors. The farmer then planted wheat, in order to eke out a little bit more yield on the same acreage. Such expansion of farming to pristine areas occurs all over the world, destroying vast quantities of wilderness and its associated wildlife each year (Green et al. 2005). 

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