5 replies to this topic

[surreydodger]

Whilst chatting yesterday with a bunch of country types, someone happened to mention in passing, that many UK sows who'd commercial life had come to an end, were being exported to Germany for use in their suasage making industry.

Surely this is nuts! (okay, no, it's meat )

To my mind it would seem to make more commercial sense to make either our own sausage products here and export the finished product to Germany or work in partnership with a German sausage firm who would make the sausages here and then import to their own market.

Based on the aforemention remark (it was just a one liner thrown in amidst a totally seperate conversation) it appeared that we were exporting live sows to Germany. It would follw then, that if the sausages were made over here it would dramatically reduce transport costs. You'd get a lot more finished sausage on a 40 ton artice than live sows.

Even if you didn't choose to go down the German sausage route, it does seem to me that their must be a lot of added value in taking ones own old sows and turning then into German or Italian style sausages. It would appear that the hardest thing would be getting the reciepe right but surely that can be mastered with a little trial and error?

[Groundhog]

Whilst chatting yesterday with a bunch of country types, someone happened to mention in passing, that many UK sows who'd commercial life had come to an end, were being exported to Germany for use in their suasage making industry.

Surely this is nuts! (okay, no, it's meat )

To my mind it would seem to make more commercial sense to make either our own sausage products here and export the finished product to Germany or work in partnership with a German sausage firm who would make the sausages here and then import to their own market.

Based on the aforemention remark (it was just a one liner thrown in amidst a totally seperate conversation) it appeared that we were exporting live sows to Germany. It would follw then, that if the sausages were made over here it would dramatically reduce transport costs. You'd get a lot more finished sausage on a 40 ton artice than live sows.

Even if you didn't choose to go down the German sausage route, it does seem to me that their must be a lot of added value in taking ones own old sows and turning then into German or Italian style sausages. It would appear that the hardest thing would be getting the reciepe right but surely that can be mastered with a little trial and error?

Probably find they go into the old Frankenfurter,it always used to be the case that Chickens(I have inadvertantly become a chicken farmer god knows how I hate the little chuffers Ive got over 100 now) were slaughterd in the uk sent to thailand to be processed then sent back to the UK !

[KChally]

How about this then. I was talking to a customer of ours at our local farmers market and she told me she was in charge of the department that makes the sausages at Tesco. They buy all the meat for their sausages from GERMANY!!! how bizzare.

[surreydodger]

It's a mad world thats for sure KC

And as for chickens, ours were more unexpected than inadvertent.

[Andrewaz]

We sell our old sows & boars for hot dog meat but the animals are slaughtered in the UK & then the carcases are taken to germany in the refrigerated lorries that bring over fresh pork etc. It is all abit mad, except that you get around £120 for an old sow which is more than I could make on sausages etc. Apparently there is no market for this type of meat in the UK at all, not even for pet food.
Before we knew about the German market we used to have our sows shot on the farm & removed by the renderer which cost us around £45 per pig.

[Darkstar]

Just picked up on this topic and frankly it seems nuts!  After all of the time and love I have invested in my old sows I would never take them to a market.  They make wonderful rindless bacon and beautiful sausages.