Traceability, what did it ever do for you?

Aside from your 12c/kg bonus on in-spec cattle or 10c/kg on your lambs, after you are put through the ringer of the inspection process, most of you would probably say not a lot.

Well, last week traceability fed our family for a week. In fact, we dined like kings for a week.

I was out one night with four of the lads for a steak and pints night. It was meant to be a pints only night, until the owner of the hostelry approached me, asking: “Did you order meat to be delivered here Christmas eve?”

“No,” I said. “What sort of meat?”

“There was a box of meat left in here with your name on it and it wasn’t on our delivery docket,” the owner Philip continued.

“Not a clue,” I replied. “What’s in it?”

“I’ll bring it out,” said Philip, and he arrived back with a box and inside was a full striploin, tomahawk steaks and a full rack of lamb.

Slaughter date

There it was in black and white. Our name and address, the ear tag number of the heifer, slaughter date of 20 November 2016, cutting date of 20 December 2016, factory number, cutting plant number, weight and grade (she was R+ 3=).

We spent a few minutes discussing it and how it came to be there with our heifer in the box.

There it is in black and white, your name and address on it, you may bring it home and ate it

I was fully convinced the meat factory we supply was after sending us a Christmas box for being such valued suppliers and had specifically put our heifer in the box when it was for us, but everyone else laughed when I suggested that one.

Philip kept saying: “There it is in black and white, your name and address on it, you may bring it home and ate it.”

I brought it home under duress and the next day, following some investigation, found out why the box was there and who it was meant for. However, when we called Philip to tell him, he replied: “You’re too honest, keep it and enjoy it.”

What a coincidence. You decide to eat in a restaurant and some of your heifer is delivered in a box there, purely by chance, and because of our traceability, I am here telling you all about it.

Many thanks to Philip and if any readers of the Irish Farmers Journal are ever out Ashbourne way and want a great steak, drop into The Snailbox.

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Read more: Ronan Delany