‘Good things take time to get right – it is all about balance.’
As part of a Stuff and Sunday Star-Times summer series, Mazz Scannell visits a sustainable butchery in the heart of Cambridge. At just 20 Luke Andrews is the face of Wholly Cow butchery, a family business practice with a difference.
Small and local is the philosophy for the Wholly Cow butchery. On the main street of Cambridge the Andrews family butchery is the hub of a paddockto- plate farming practice, and Cambridge residents are the beneficiaries.
Tom and Carrie Andrews moved to Cambridge 13 years ago, purchasing 200 acres on the outskirts of the township. Together they have established a sustainable agricultural business including livestock farming, a private abattoir, butchery and skincare products.
Carrie is a great advocate for seizing opportunities. She says, ‘‘All you have to do is something, and it will lead to something else.’’
The Andrews family have certainly walked this talk. They aimed to create a sustainable farm and initially sold their produce in local farmers markets.
An opportunity to buy the Cambridge butchery meant the Andrews could sell their produce during the week.
Fronting the butchery is 20-year-old Luke Andrews, who honed his business and people skills at the weekend markets. He has achieved great things as part of the five-man team which offers a wide range of products including cuts of beef, lamb, chicken and small goods – ham and bacon.
Cambridge real estate agent Scott Saunders says the shop is fun and customers laugh and share jokes with Luke and his team.
He says the shopping experience at the Wholly Cow echoes the traditional experience of shopping in an English village. Saunders says he will sometimes go in for a chat even if he doesn’t buy anything.
Luke says tourists and visitors come in to compliment the window displays. ‘‘They say it is the best shop they have ever seen. It is fresh and interesting, and they wished they lived here.’’
Butchery is a time-honoured skill, and Luke prides himself on being a good butcher – always polite with customers while being able to share a joke and comfortably banter with everyone. ‘‘Customers love coming in and having fun, and I like having fun with them. They could be 65-70 years old, and I am only 20 – we all enjoy each other’s company and a good laugh.’’
The butchery is one part of the Wholly Cow busi
ness. The
Andrews practice ethical business values and fully embrace sustainability, although Carrie would be the first to say that like everything sustainable, it is always a work in progress.
The Angus beef, various sheep breeds and goats supplied to the butchery come from their farm at Whitehall. They also source freerange pigs and chickens, smoke their hams and bacon and make sausages on-site.
In 2018 the Andrews built a micro-abattoir on the farm. The benefits to the stock are immense as the closeness of the abattoir means the stock are not stressed. They do not travel and are already familiar with the stockyards. Luke and his team work one day a week in the abattoir processing about five cattle and 125 sheep for the butchery and local home deliveries. Whole carcasses are delivered to the shop to be cut up and sold.
‘‘The beauty of our butcher’s shop is that we work on the entire carcass, fully training our apprentices in all areas, and we minimise waste,’’ Luke says.
The ‘‘ circular loop’’ sustainably removes waste and pollution. The waste from the micro-abattoir and used packaging from the butchers’ shop are mixed with straw from the local horse stables and broken-down into compost on the farm.
Compost removes the need for off- farm fertiliser and reduces nitrogen levels in the soil. The circular sustainable farming mirrors agricultural practices that existed before commercial fertiliser became the go- to pasture enricher.
The development of circular sustainable agriculture in New Zealand is beginning to gain traction in niche areas, for example, whitebait aquaculture and the development of integrated farm layouts.
In Denmark, the Ministry of Agriculture has introduced policies that encourage low external input farming. The Danish polices also resulted in a revival of old farming practices.
Managing director of Circular Solutions Ben Smith says regenerative agriculture in New Zealand is more adoption by stealth. He says sustainable products are as much about the story as it is about the product. ‘‘ The real beauty of this system is that the farm is also a beneficiary of the whole process. It is generating a circular approach rather than a linear system, and people want food with a story.’’
Wholly Cow is all about stories. The family management style and development of products with a sustainable focus are what the Andrews practice every day. However, Carrie is quick to say, ‘‘We are always trying to improve our systems and innovate solutions.’’
Innovation comes in many forms: rather than discarding the tallow from the carcasses, Carrie developed a range of scented tallow skin lotions, lip balms and soaps.
Although the Wholly Cow is popular and word of mouth means that their profile is growing, the Andrews have no plans for expansion. Carrie says they are working on sustainability, recycling and regenerating. ‘‘Good things take time to get right – it is all about balance.’’
The strength of Wholly Cow is family, she says. She believes you cannot underestimate the power of sitting down together every night over a meal and talking about what they are all up to and what is coming up. ‘‘Family is what it is all about.’’