Weighing in at Runnymede Farm

Animal welfare is extremely important to us here at Dirty Clean Food. One of the practices employed by our cattle and sheep farmers is low stress stock handling.

Here you can see Blythe and Christie, our Regenerative Farmer Coordinator, moving the cattle through the yards. They are weighing the cattle and recording their individual weights by scanning an ear tag. This sends information back to a computer, giving Blythe a live feed and record of each animal's daily weight gain since their last weigh in.

There are many signs that the cattle are comfortable and happy in the yards. They are moving slowly and at their own pace, not rushing through the yards. They stand comfortably while being weighed, before moving out into the yards again. They are curious and watching what the humans are up to! They aren't bellowing or calling out to each other. They respond to quiet voices and steady movement.

Blythe has spent time with the cows to teach them how to move through the yards, to look for a gate and to understand what they are being asked to do. This results in a stress free experience for both cattle and people.