Better Farming - October 2016

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FIELDTRIP
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A delivery truck is parked in front of the
new location of Teal’s Meats near
Hagersville. The 5,400 square-foot
facility, which the company moved into in
spring 2016, is over double the size of the
old store. Married co-owners Mark
McCutcheon and Anna Haupt bought the
century-old business from Gary and
Shirley Teal in 2009. The limited space at
the old location required Teal’s Meats to
pay butchers to kill and process livestock.
This new building includes a holding barn,
kill floor, blast and aging coolers, a
processing room, office and retail space.
This setup allows Mark and Anna to
control the entire production cycle, from
raising animals to the direct retail sale of
processed products.
Mark breaks down the front of a beef carcass to make cuts for sale in the retail
store, which operates Wednesday to Friday. With several brothers interested in
taking over his father’s dairy farm when he retires, Mark felt it best to set out
and study to become a butcher. He says that working in cold, damp conditions,
on hard concrete floors and having to regularly bring animals to their slaughter
takes a toll on butchers, and their career lifespan can be limited.
Anna puts away tubs and grinding parts after cleaning them Monday morning to
get ready for the coming week’s batch. Green bins are used for the left side of
the sow, and white tubs for the right. Green and white bins are combined in pairs
before grinding to keep the fat content consistent. On Tuesdays the mixer/grinder
(foreground) is used in two stages for sausage meat: an initial pass producing
medium sized chunks, and a second, finer grind with spices.
Anna pre-measures
spices according to
old family recipes
passed down by the
Teals. The company
specializes in four
types of sausage. No
fillers or colorants
are used. Each week
she touches base
with customers for or-
ders, and then
calculates the size of
batches she will
require. Clients
include local restau-
rants, grocery stores,
call in orders,
walk-in sales, and
those who visit the
couple’s weekly
booth at Hamilton’s
Ottawa Street
farmer’s market. ➤
18 Farm News First > Better Farming October 2016