The Farmers Mart Aug/Sep 2013 - Issue 29 | Page 26

ch meats a mechanic – but it seems as though the abattoir life has always been in my blood.” Chris worked with Frank as a teenager and again in his 20s. He was with him until Frank finally closed his abattoir in 2006. “If he hadn’t closed I wouldn’t have been here now. I would probably have still been there, but it needed loads of alterations to meet EEC standards and it was decision time for Frank as to whether he should chuck a lot of money at it.” Chris also worked at Kirk’s in Nunnington and over to Skegness which broadened his experience working in other slaughterhouses. “You see different things and it gives you different ideas. Every abattoir does the job they feel is best. When we came here I decided that we would go for the most modern ways, dressing beats as they are suspended in the air and the cutting being done on platforms. I’ve been through the days when we’ve had to be kneeling on the floor trying to take heads off cattle. “I was always told that if you’re going to do something then you should just aim to do it the once and get it right. Frank has always steered me in the right direction and is still helping me now. He buys lambs for me and he taught me how to buy cattle. He could pick any beast and work out exactly what weight it was going to kill out at. He told me to look for its chest fat, the depth of loin and, as daft as it sounds, what colour comes out of its rear end. “Our throughput of cattle, sheep, pigs and a few goats now and then is coming along nicely. We buy for butchers either straight off farm or from livestock markets such as Malton, Northallerton and Gisburn and I employ a staff of five full-timers and two parttime workers who are all locally based. “This was a pig shed housing up to 400 sows. We rived the floor out and wheel-barrowed in 160 tonnes of concrete. We recently applied for a cutting licence to supply freezer orders. “We slaughter stock five times a week and spend around three hours at a time killing out. The planning of coming here took quite a bit of organisation but we’re here, we’re underway and we have made significant headway in a short time. We are dealing on behalf of more and more butchers.” Chris’s mum and dad are Gail and Philip and he has a brother who works on wind turbines in Scotland. CH MEATS Sutton Grange, Sutton-on-the-Forest, York, YO61 1EN Tel: [phone] Mob: [phone] Proud to be associated with Chris and his team at CH Meats ...specialist suppliers of new and reconditioned equipment to the meat slaughtering industry J M BELL & Son Livestock Transporters Est. 1932 Bagby, Thirsk, North Yorkshire • Loading Bay Lift Arm • Low Voltage Stimulators • Hoists Bleed & Transfer • Tripe & Feet Machinery • Hock De-Hairing & Cleaning • Quarter Dropper for Loadbay • Stunning Equipment Electric • Meat Bi-Rail & Rollers • Hide Strippers / Pullers • Pig De-Hairing Machines • Rollers, Bi-Rail, Tubular & Flat Bar • Sheep Slaughtering Equipment • Pig Slaughtering Equipment • Poultry Slaughtering Equipment • Abattoir Hygiene Equipment • Gambrels • Trolleys & Carriers • Beef Slaughtering Equipment We deliver from local markets to Chris hodgson’s new abattoir Email - [email protected] Mobile - 07860 236 443 or 07836 649 091 Bank Top Mart, Clifton Road, Darlington, Co Durham DL1 5DU Tel: [phone] Fax: [phone] Contact Us Cliff Savage - Ireland Tel: [phone] Kyle Savage - UK Tel: [phone] Email – [email protected] AUCTIONEER, LIVESTOCK AGENTS AND VALUERS We wish Chris and all the team at CH Meats continued success -----------Weekly Sale of Prime Cattle and Sheep Every Thursday Weekly Sales of Store Cattle and Sheep ------------Agricultural, Tax and Compensation Claim Valuations Undertaken -----------Details Telephone: [phone] Andrew J Armstrong (Market Manager/Head Au ?[?Y\?N?[[XH??\[? ]X?[?Y\?N??X?^H?[\?H ?Y[??X?\?N??\[????? ?Y[??X?\?N? ???LM ?H ? ??M?? ? ??M? ? ??? ????H[XZ[?[??]??[K???Z?[XZ[?[[XP?[K???Z?[XZ[??X?^P?[K???Z?[XZ[??\[??[K???Z?????X?]?\?\]Z\Y[??\Y\???B???]Y???\?L??\?Y\??X\?????XY[?K?\?]????\?Y\??[X\????Z??