Getting a taste for Cumbrian lamb
Getting a taste for Cumbrian lamb
CUMBRIAS sheep producers were back in the media spotlight this week – for all the right reasons – at a spring lamb festival luncheon to promote the Cumbrian Fellbred meat marketing initiative.
In the wake of the foot-and-mouth crisis, those behind the Fellbred scheme were keen to waste no time in winning back consumer confidence in meat produced in the county that has borne the brunt of the outbreak.
Business leaders, restaurateurs and chefs were invited to the Sharrow Bay Hotel at Ullswater, Cumbria, to enjoy lamb from the scheme. The January-born lambs were supplied by Brian Bowness, of Crosby Ravensworth, near Penrith, who now has 800 breeding ewes after losing 500 on another farm caught within a 3km cull zone.
"About one-third of our lambs are sold through the scheme. Its vital that farmers win back support for meat produced in Cumbria and ensure that no stigma of F&M is allowed to develop among consumers," said Mr Bowness.
Richard Morris, managing director of auctioneers Penrith Farmers and Kidds, which is the procuring agent for the marketing scheme, said the event was aimed at "drawing a marker in the sand".
"F&M isnt over and there are difficult times ahead, but the livestock sector has to start looking forward and re-building the market for our regionally produced meat. *