As Doug Smith explains the ins and outs of his business Drumsleed Meats to me, he’s ploughing a field preparing to sow winter barley.
My first thought? There really is no rest for those in the farming industry.
As for my first question regarding Drumsleed Meats, I wanted to know how it came to be. For that, we had to rewind five years.
Doug explained that it stemmed from a cow-related work injury, which resulted in a broken and dislocated hip — more on that later.
It left him “stuck in front of a laptop, looking for some sort of diversification for the farm” for four months. But he turned a negative into a positive.
Inspired by his wife Fiona, and after securing a small fridge — which I’ll explain in more detail very soon — a new venture was formed.
‘We started with a small fridge and a couple months later, we had an honesty shop’, says Doug
Doug’s wife Fiona is a partner at Westerton Farmers and launched The Spud Hut, a farm shop at Cairnton Farm near Laurencekirk, in 2017.
The couple are pioneers in the local farming community, along with Doug’s mum and dad Morag and Gerald Smith.
“With the success of Fiona’s Spud Hut, I decided to try the same idea but selling beef instead,” says Doug.
“I spoke to a butcher that I knew and trusted in Allan Rennie of Rennie’s Butcher in Forfar.
“I asked if it could work and the next thing I knew, a fridge was purchased and some beef was up for sale.
“We started with this small fridge in The Spud Hut and a couple of months later, we had our own honesty shop.”
A round of ap-plow-se to pandemic-born Drumsleed Meats
Drumsleed Meats got off the ground in April 2020.
With people unwilling to visit busy shops due to Covid-19, the products — along with everything else available at the shop including fruit and veg, among other thing— were a hit.
Doug went on to say: “The customers that have used us have been amazing.
They continue to support us which we are really grateful for.
“We have also made a lot of friends as a result of the venture.”
All you need to know about the products on offer and the brand’s fantastic relationships with local businesses
Doug works at Drumsleed Farm in Howe o’ the Mearns with Morag and Gerald.
Originally sourcing beef from Allan, they now fatten their own pedigree Simmental cattle to supply beef for their shop at the farm. It is open from 7am to 9pm daily.
Drumsleed Meats products are also available at Fiona’s new shop, Farm to Table.
Doug said: “Simmental is a breed we have worked with for 42 years. Although other breeds have been tried, this is one I have a passion for.
“They are brilliant to work with, beautiful to look at, and produce some fantastic-tasting beef.
“We hand select the best cattle to try and get a nice fat cover and good marbling. I think we are achieving that.”
The cuts available include burgers, sausages, rump, ribeye, sirloin and fillet steaks, diced steak, mince, silversides, topsides, short ribs, brisket, and beef olives.
Upon request, the team can provide full fillets, rib roasts, sirloin roasts, tomahawk steaks or “any beef cut really”.
“Our beef is hung for a minimum of 21 days to make it more tender and bring out the flavour,” adds 39-year-old Doug.
“We also supply some lamb and pork cuts from Louise’s Farm Kitchen.
“And to continue working with other local businesses, we asked the team at Gannets in Laurencekirk if they would make pies for us using our own beef.
“They did and these have been a huge hit with our customers.”
So what was the cow-related work injury?
Going back to Doug’s injury, this happened in November 2018.
“I was leading a bull in a show ring and he landed on top of me,” he explained.
“I had a broken and dislocated hip which left me stuck at home unable to get about for the best part of four months.
“There is still a lot of pain from the result of it but it could have been much worse.
“There were many people to thank on the day and the NHS have been fantastic. They are still investigating to see if it can be sorted.”
Despite the discomfort, he continues to put in the hard graft alongside his mum and dad.
They start the day at around 5.30am to 6am in the summer and rarely finish before 8pm (5pm in the winter).
Jobs include feeding, bedding and addressing any issues with the cattle, as well as field work in the combine, tractor or baler.
They also collect beef from the butcher on Friday or Saturday morning before it is vacuum packed, labelled and displayed.
Doug added: “Along with expanding the hot food option with Gannets and online deliveries, supplying a restaurant and possibly doing local deliveries with our van would be the targets for the future.
“Saying that, as we are only putting one carcass away per month, there aren’t 100 steaks to fulfil what they might require.
“That is something I would like to try and work out…”
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