News from Andarl Farm

Hi, if you have a moment please vote for us at www.irishrestaurantawards.com

in the Local Food Hero category

Thank you

Our online store is now open for 2019, may I take this opportunity to thank everyone for their fantastic support in 2018. Dave

Grazie a tutti per il vostro supporto quest'anno, speriamo che i prodotti che avete acquistato online vi siano piaciuti. 

Solo per informarvi che il nostro negozio è ora chiuso per il periodo di Natale e Capodanno e riaprirà per gli ordini il 3 gennaio '19.

Buon Natale e un anno nuovo molto sano e prospero!

We have a limited amount of Gammons left for delivery next week if you would like one get your order in soon.

Also on a few of the products there was tax been added at checkout, this is now rectified if anyone as paid the tax to complete their order it will be refunded 

Any questions please ask

 

Looking forward to seeing all those interested in food at the prestigious Food on the Edge on 9th & 10th October in Galway

Read more about it on foodontheedge.ie

Ireland’s home of Velvet Pork, Andarl Farm in County Mayo, has been awarded the highest international accolade in farm animal welfare, crediting owners Dave and Diana Milestone for their commitment to ethical farming practices.

 

Compassion in World Farming awarded Andarl Farm with the prestigious Good Pig Award 2017 for meeting welfare criteria for both sows and meat pigs, including no confinement during lactation or the dry period, no tail docking, teeth clipping or surgical castration, and for the provision of manipulable material and bedding throughout life.

 

Andarl Farm is only the second Irish producer in history to receive the Good Pig Award.

 

The European Union is the world’s second largest producer of sows and meat pigs, slaughtering nearly 240 million pigs each year. While the EU implemented minimum standards for the protection of pigs in January 2013, widespread enforcement is limited. 

 

Dave and Diana Milestone said their journey began in 2012 with a vision to achieve a high standard of husbandry and pork production that would set a quality standard for free range pig farmers in Ireland.

 

“We considered a range of international standards and found that the welfare criteria developed by Compassion in World Farming were consistent with what we believe in, while being realistic and genuinely in touch with what the pigs need,” they said.

 

“For the last two years we have produced a very high standard of meat and product consistency in alignment with these guidelines and achieved a totally different production method from run-of-the-mill pork.

 

“Our story proves a sustainable business can be built on higher welfare farming and recognition of our work through the Good Pig Award helps bring us a step closer to working with other free range pig producers and setting a workable national standard.”

 

Tracey Jones, Director of Food Business at Compassion in World Farming said: "Standard pig production often fails to meet the welfare needs of sows and meat pigs, so it’s great to see companies like Andarl Farm putting animal welfare at the heart of their business. Providing farm animals with a good quality of life is essential and something that can be achieved by companies of all sizes. We congratulate Andarl Farm on their Good Pig Award and hope other like minded companies follow their lead.”

 

Andarl Farm is celebrated for achieving the perfect pork fat to lean ratio - a combination of breeding and a fresh, healthy and active outdoor lifestyle that is reflected in the taste and texture of the meat. 

 

Described in John and Sally McKenna’s Guide as velvety: tender, sweet, subtle and disarmingly delicious Andarl Farm’s Velvet Pork is a moist, flavoursome and firmer meat appreciated by foodies and chefs alike for its unique taste and consistency. 

 

Andarl Farm is featured for the second year running in the 2017 McKenna’s Guide and was awarded the prestigious Euro-toques EirGrid Food Award in 2016 in recognition of excellent quality standards, traditional artisan production methods and an outstanding contribution to Irish food.

 

LaRousse Foods works closely with Andarl Farm to distribute its signature Velvet Pork and bacon products to Ireland’s top hotels and restaurants including Ashford Castle, The Lodge at Ashford Castle and Belleek Castle.

 

Colum Lanigan Ryan, Food Director at LaRousse Foods said, “Great Chefs need access to great producers, and great product can only be produced with meticulous attention to detail from start to finish. We recognised that both Dave and Diana at Andarl Farm have this in abundance resulting in an end product that La Rousse Foods is proud to supply to any discerning chef.”    

 

Andarl Farm Velvet Pork and bacon products can be purchased online at www.andarlfarm.ie, in the dedicated farm shop in Glenamaddy, Co Galway and from selected artisan butchers. Hotels and restaurants can order online via the La Rousse Foods online ordering system.

 

- ENDS

 

For more information please contact:
Andarl Farm, Claremorris, Co Mayo, Ireland
Dave Milestone +353 (0) 87 782 5751
or email andarlfarm@gmail.com

Links:

Andarl Farm: www.andarlfarm.ie

Compassion in World Farming: www.compassioninfoodbusiness.com

La Rousse Foods: www.laroussefoods.ie

John and Sally McKennas’ Guides: http://guides.ie/recommendations/andarl-farm-pork

Euro-toques Ireland: http://www.euro-toques.ie

 

 

Andarl Farm was delighted to be featured in John and Sally McKenna's Guide. Read the review here.

Dave and Di Milestone, both originally from Yorkshire, first came to Ireland in 2010. Dave was a long distance lorry driver and Di worked part time in a local deli in Claremorris. In 2012 they bought a derelict farm and some land at Brickens as they were both used to living in the countryside and along with this they also bought Doris, a Large White sow.  Doris soon gave birth to 17 piglets but three days later the unthinkable happened when Doris died, and the piglets had to be hand reared. They had wonderful support from their friends and neighbors during that time. Two of the orphaned piglets took to drinking replacement milk straight away and thrived. They were named Thelma and Louise and they still have them today. A few more ladies have joined the group since: Ruby, Rosie, Scary, Posh, Sporty and Baby (Ginger hasn’t arrived yet!) They said that it is such a great feeling to have Thelma and Louise the original orphaned piglets in particular, producing regular litters of their own, despite the fact that they were told by a local pig farmer at the time that they would never make anything out of them! Little did they know that with Thelma and Louise, Andarl Farm Velvet Pork was born.

Their passion for their pigs started from that point on. As modern tastes can often find free-range pork too fatty, they decided to take up the challenge to find the perfect cross that would have the right fat to lean ratio as well as a good hardy outdoor disposition to suit their farming style. It took 3 years through the use of AI to develop the right breed and in 2014 they bought Harry, a Hyroc boar to compliment the Andarl Farm sows. Harry was bred by Hermitage Genetics in Kilkenny and is a cross between a Duroc and a Pietrain. The fat and lean characteristics of this meat results in a density that gives Andarl Farm meat its name: Velvet Pork.

 

They soon found they had a bit of a backlog of pigs, weight ready but with nowhere to go. They asked Michael Webb the owner of the abattoir where they kill their pigs if he had any interest in taking a few for his Castlerea shop. He took a pig that first week and has been buying them since. A few weeks later I met Dave and Di at a Mayo Food Producers meeting and we started selling their pork in De Búrca’s. They supply Mark’s Meats in Dunmore and Ryan’s Food Emporium in Cong. Sheridan’s in Galway sell the pork products they have developed in the last few months: dry cured rashers, gammons, sausages and Pork and apple burgers. Award winning restaurants such as: Flanagan’s in Brickens, Bar One and Rua in Castlebar, The Hungry Monk in Cong and Araby in Claremorris feature Andarl Farm pork on their menus. Dave and Di are also at Boyle Farmer’s Market every Saturday from 10am to 2pm.

They both really care about their pigs and it shows in the final product. I asked Dave does he ever struggle with that journey to the abattoir. He said ‘I do and I don’t’ in the sense that the overriding feeling he has is one of pride. Pride that he and Di have done their best for their pigs and reared them to standards that results in very happy healthy pigs that lead lives according to their natural instincts. They prefer to use the small abattoir in Castlerea because they find it to be a quiet gently process that doesn’t lead to stress for their animals. The care taken at every stage is evident in the wonderful flavour and texture of the pork and this is why the customers for Andarl Farm Velvet Pork are growing on a daily basis.

 

https://deburcabutcher.com/2015/07/27/andarl-farm