The modern industrial farming system – where most of our food now comes from – has a lot to answer for when it comes to the welfare and wellbeing of animals. Too often we hear of pigs suffering in cramped concrete pens, battery hens confined to tiny cages, or cattle walking around in their own manure in crowded feedlots free of shade or grass.
It’s a sad situation, but it doesn’t have to be this way.
It is possible to raise farm animals for food whilst still treating them with the respect they deserve, and David Trevor-Jones is an excellent example of a farmer doing just that.
David is a fifth generation farmer who raises cattle and pigs on the family farm at Hayters Hill, near Byron Bay. He has his own on-farm butcher shop and sells beef and pork at the local farmers markets.
David and his family spend a lot of time and effort making sure that their animals are happy, healthy and well cared for.
The Hayters Hill pigs live their entire life outdoors, with shade and shelter provided, and are moved to a new paddock each week. They won’t return to the same paddock for six weeks, which breaks any parasite cycle and keeps the pigs healthy and disease free.
The cattle are managed in a similar way, moved to a new clean paddock every day in a system that mimics the way herds move across the plains in Africa. This method not only keeps the cattle healthy, it looks after the land. And again, because the animals are not in a close contact environment and are on fresh clean grass every day, they stay healthier and there is no need for antibiotics. David has also selected a breed of cattle that is well suited to sub tropical conditions (a Hereford/Brahmin cross), which means they have a tougher hide and are more resistant to ticks and parasites. Buffalo fly is the only pest that has to be managed, and for this David makes his own natural repellant with tea tree and neem oil.
The same level of care and attention goes into preparing the meat produced by the pigs and cattle, with David favouring quality over quantity. Unlike big meat processors, where the focus is getting the product out as quickly and cheaply as possible, at Hayters Hill David and renowned local butcher Karl Madsen take the time to do things properly – the old fashioned way. The beef is aged for two to three weeks to improve the quality and flavour, sausages are made preservative and gluten free with home made spice blends and fresh ingredients, and bacon and ham is naturally cured, without the use of nitrates.
David says the way he has chosen to work is time consuming, but there is great satisfaction in selling direct to customers at the farmers markets and knowing that the has created the best possible product, from start to finish.
“I know everything we sell, we’ve produced it,” he said.
Find Hayters Hill beef and pork at the Mullumbimby Farmers Market every Friday.
Story and pics by Kate O’Neill.
