The Farm Butchery - Meat as nature intended
Free-range and pesticide-free heritage breeds
Healthier farms producing healthier food
Know the land, know the animal, know yourself
Direct from the farm to you
At the Farm Butchery, we care passionately about the region that we live in and wish to see it prosper and remain green and beautiful for our children to live & work in and to raise their children. Our aim is to restore those connections between the green hinterland around our rural towns and cities so that collectively we take care of the farmland which feeds us and provides us with clean, freshwater and space to breath. We believe that locally grown food should be available for local people, of a quality which is kind to the land and good for our health too, and at a price which is fair to both the producer and consumer. We believe that Fair Trade should begin at home.
We source the meat for the Farm Butchery direct from regional farms, preferably from farms within the Bio-region around Warkworth and Auckland, where the shop is located. This coincides with the water catchment of the Kaipara harbour to the west, the largest natural estuary system in the southern hemisphere. This large catchment stretches from the northern outskirts of western Auckland to the impressive remnant kauri forests of Tane Mahuta north-west of Dargaville and the Hikurangi swamp north of Whangarei. We wish to source as much of our meat as possible direct from the farmer, not from meat companies, so that the rewards for growing that meat goes directly back to the farmer, and so that we have traceability and accountability from farm gate to your gate The ‘Home Farm’, which is owned & managed by the shop’s owners, is just over the hills to the west of Warkworth town, on one of the many tributaries feeding into the Kaipara Harbour. This farm, named Muriwai Valley Farm for its origins down at the southernmost end of the catchment, grows lamb and beef for the shop under an organic management programme which ensures an enduring relationship between the land, the livestock and the people. The farm specializes in heritage breeds of livestock which have been around since well before the modern age of industrial farming and which retain those qualities which made them the mainstay of local farming for centuries. Our aim is to bring those qualities of taste, texture and food value back to the future.
We will also be working with other local producers who share our aspirations in order to form a collective of growers within the region. This will enable other small and medium sized producers to have the opportunity to market their produce and bring their quality goods to the local populace, in a forum that makes it economically possible for their business to thrive, for the benefit of all. Currently our region is not well-served by true Farmers Markets with little fresh produce, and only very small village markets apart from the bigger weekly markets at either end of the catchment at Whangarei or Auckland. Our concept for The Farm Butchery is that it will be stocked preferentially with local produce from the region, providing a retail outlet like a Farmer’s Market in the High Street, one which is open many days the week, not just one day a week or month, so that local produce becomes as easily available as supermarket food.
Our aim is to also make this superb local food available and accessible to our local city, the hinterland on its doorstep, so that top quality regional food is able to be sourced by the best restaurants and by private customers in the largest city in the land. To this end we will have set up an e-commerce site with direct delivery into Auckland, so that this premium quality local food can be available to all.
