Fresh News

14th July 2010

Read the latest Blade Farming business update. News and views for members of the Blade Farming scheme.

Download the PDF

9th June 2010

Blade ‘Forward price contracts’ show significantly increased returns to Beef producers.

Forward price contracts may not be everyone's idea of the best way to sell cattle, but the returns being shown from the cattle that have been sold on the ‘Pain and gain’ price contracts that have been on offer from Blade Farming have, once again, being showing considerable gain for Beef producers. Producers are not only using the contracts for young bulls, but also for continental cross cattle and Holstein / Friesian steers.

This case study offers a detailed comparrisson between two batches of cattle that have been sold recently on the ‘Pain and gain’ contract compared to the same batches of cattle being sold on the ‘spot’ market.

Download the Case Study

3rd June 2010

Don't miss Blade Farming on BBC Countryfile - Sunday 6th June!

Once again Blade makes a TV appearance. This time we are on BBC Countryfile taking part in the "John Craven Investigates" part of the weekly program.

There is growing concern over the increase in sales of goats and sheep cheese due to the amount of unwanted male animals disposed of at birth. The program looks at how farmers are dealing with this issue and turns to Blade Farming to see what impact we have had on using Holstein bull calves that would have otherwise been disposed of.

The filming takes place at Alan, Margaret and Louise Tudor's unit in Shropshire which has undergone huge investment over the last 6 months to cope with the increasing Blade volume.

John Craven was impressed with the standards of the Blade unit and was unaware of the standards imposed to produce high quality beef. This unit now has an annual throughput of 2600 calves for supply into the 16,000 head Blade finishing units.

Find out more about Blade Farming's Holstein Beef Contracts.

7th May 2010

Blade set for Prime Time TV!

Blade is set to go on prime time BBC TV in August/September on Jimmy's Food Factory. The program is aimed at people wanting to understand how our food is produced and gives an honest insight into the processes and people involved. This is the second series and the program we are involved in is entitled "pub grub".

Jimmy wanted to know how we could produce the perfect steak and the technology behind our methods. When we originally met with the production team they asked the question – "why is your process different from any other beef production process?" a fair question. We spent a day with them explaining the Blade process and it was clear that the Blade system is different and can produce high quality consistent beef time after time.

The filming was completed in April on the Maidment's calf unit in Chippenham and then the Westaway's Angus finishing unit in Dymock. We had the opportunity to discuss the benefits of high quality beef genetics as well as the whole chain approach we have adopted. At the end of the filming we sampled a standard supermarket steak against a Blade steak. The results will be shown on the program.

Find out what makes the Blade Farming business so different.

7th May 2010

Blade announces expansion plans through the Farm Diversification Initiative

At the prestigious Farmers Club venue in London, Richard Phelps MD of Blade Farming announced the expansion of the Blade operation to 50,000 head by 2015.

The event was attended by 55 industry people, beef producers, journalists and suppliers to the Blade business. Speaking at the event were key industry leaders – Joy Clachan (McDonald's), John Cross (EBLEX), Jimmy McLean (RBS) and Steve McIvor (CIWF) all giving their support to Blade Farming.

"I can't believe that Blade has been operating for 10 years now” commented John Cross “The business has demonstrated growth through a partnership approach and this is exactly what our beef producers need in this country. The long term future for beef is positive and more operations like this are needed. Congratulations to Blade and well done to the team."

"One of the key objectives of this event is to get more farmers, young and old, back into beef production." explained Richard Phelps "We have worked tirelessly to develop a fully integrated beef supply chain to deliver an open book system from calf supply through to process and using operating procedures to improve animal performance and farm profitability. When we started in 2000 I think we were viewed by industry as a short term scheme and here we are now as the UK's only beef supply chain business. I can't wait for the next 10 years."

Steve McIvor from Compassion in World Farming discussed how the Blade system has been pivotal in retaining large numbers of unwanted Holstein bull calves and how as a farm business we reacted quickly by signing beef producers up on the Holstein bull beef scheme.

The NatWest bank demonstrated their commitment to Blade producers. The elements that Blade has in reducing risk to farmers are positive and a partnership approach between Blade and the NatWest is now in development.

Blade Farming are looking for 250 beef finishers and 50 calf rearers to achieve 50,000 head by 2015. Interested producers should contact the Blade office.

6th May 2010

Beef Finishers wanted for Blade programme

Beef supply chain business Blade Farming is looking for new calf rearers and finishers and has joined forces with NatWest to help farmers get involved.

Blade is looking for another 250 beef finishers to join its programme - finishing dairy-bred or Angus-cross animals on Blade's own nutritional programme with fixed prices for the finished beasts. The south-west firm is also looking to sign up 50 new contract calf rearers.

Managing director Richard Phelps said a major expansion programme was planned for the next five years and expected Blade to be finishing 50,000 cattle by 2015.

"We offer all our beef producers a lifetime price mechanism for the cattle, which are finished within a tight time period and for a specific supply chain."

"Our forward price contracts, control of inputs and reduced finishing periods, coupled with our IT management programme make the finishing operation more efficient and help our farmers manage cash-flows better."

Key partners for Blade, which included McDonald's restaurants, were keen to see established programmes for beef farmers as a way of assuring consistent future beef supplies, he said.

"The national beef herd is declining. For example, 2008 slaughterings were 12% lower than a decade ago. Our goal is to encourage more farmers into a collaborative beef production system by offering best practice and a financial commitment to their business," said Mr Phelps.
 

Please Contact Us for more information on joining the Blade Farming business.

December 2009

Richard Phelps MD of Blade Farming wins prestigious McDonald's award

At the McDonald's UK technical supplier conference in November Richard Phelps collected the award for outstanding contribution to the sustainable beef supply chain project for all of the work and effort put in by the Blade Farming team.

The project involves carbon footprint measurements of the Blade beef units and utilizing unwanted Holstein bull calves from the dairy herd. While accepting the award Joy Clachan, Agriculture representative from McDonald's said "Richard and his team have achieved a great deal in 2009 and the Blade operation is key to our business in helping McDonald's delivering on future key objectives. So far this year Richard has engaged with stakeholders at agriculture events, identified good beef producers and generated some great case studies to show best practice, spread the McDonald's message and maximized opportunities for McDonald's through the media, supported McDonald's through the Compassion In World Farming beyond calf exports forum and lead changes within the supply chain."

"I am absolutely thrilled that Blade has won this award" explains Richard "Blade was a concept 10 years ago and now we are the leading light in UK beef production. The business is built around understanding our customers and where their businesses are going and converting this into best practice in beef production. Blade has come a long way since 1999 and we are going to continue our growth plan for 50,000 head in 2015. This award is a credit to the team behind Blade Farming."

October 2009

Business Opportunities for Dairy Farmers

This guide outlines the unique opportunities and benefits that Blade Farming SW can offer today's commercial dairy farmer.

Download Here [PDF - 580Kb]

August 2009

Aberdeen Angus Management guide

A detailed guide to producing young Aberdeen Angus cattle for the Blade scheme.

Download Here [PDF - 4Mb]

May 2009

Blade Star Sires

Blade Farming unveils scheme to boost dairy farmer incomes and to prevent the shooting of male calves at birth.

Read Full Story [PDF - 578Kb]

December 2008

Partners in Production

Read the latest edition of Southern Counties Fresh Foods Newsletter.

Download Here [PDF - 500Kb]

September 2008

Linden Foods joins Blade Farming

The Blade Farming production model is now being expanded into Northern Ireland with the
launch of Linden Livestock, as a part of Linden Foods.

Read Full Story [PDF - 1Mb]

July 2008

Read the latest edition of Blade News

Download Here [PDF - 1.8Mb]

June 2008

Competitive finished price contracts announced

New forward price contracts for all types of finished cattle have been announced by Blade Farming (SW) Ltd.

Read Full Story [PDF - 300Kb]

May 2008

Nigel and David Maidment, South West Calf Rearers

Father and Son team in Wiltshire expand their calf rearing enterprise as part of the Defra funded South West Calf Rearers group.

Read Full Story [PDF - 1.5Mb]

May 2008

Aberdeen Angus Scheme Update

The Blade Farming Aberdeen Angus scheme is gaining momentum. Read on to find out how you can be part of this unique scheme.

Read Full Story [PDF - 776Kb]

December 2007

Partners in Production - SCFF and Blade Farming Newsletter

Read the latest information about Blade Farming and Southern Counties FF in their December newsletter. Informative articles from other Business partners are also included.

Read Newsletter [PDF - 1.3Mb]

October 2007

Aberdeen Angus cross calves in demand for a unique finished price contract

Young calves wanted urgently! To fulfil the demands of our customers we need to buy more Aberdeen Angus calves.
 

Finishing contract

A limited number of places are available for this unique contract based on the meat quality Aberdeen Angus cattle. Cattle must be contracted by ear number, and must have at least one grazing period in their lifetime. 14 to 18 month old, 'R' grade cattle between 245 and 280 kgs dwt. can be sold finished on a fixed forward price contract of £2.25 / kg dwt.

Finishing places are limited, so please Contact Us if you are interested.

October 2007

South West Calf Rearers

Blade Farming SW has secured a Defra Farm Health Planning grant and it is being used to improve the standard of calf rearing in the South West. The 14 professional calf rearers who have the capacity to rear over 16,000 calves a year have joined together to form the South West Calf rearers. The group meet regularly to discuss issues with calf rearing on the units, and also invite specialists from within the industry to come to group meetings and share knowledge.

Read a testimonial from a Blade Farming Contract Calf Rearer. [PDF - 170Kb]
 

August 2007

Blade expands its calf rearing business

Our existing network of professional calf rearers are expanding their enterprises. Ben Moody is one our rearers in Devon and Cornwall who has put up two new sheds each to accommodate batches of 120 calves at a time. Two other rearers have undertaken similar developments with purpose built calf units and others too have plans to develop their sites. Throughput of calves this year should top 16000 as these new units come on stream.

At the same time we are working with our various partners in the supply business to continue to improve calf performance with attention to every detail. The dramatic expansion of the Blade calf rearing business has been facilitated by the quality of the calf rearers, the success of the Blade franchise finishing agreements and the unique funding package that Blade Farming provides for its Calf rearers.