NewsWinter Warmers28 October 2018
As autumn is well and truly here, we're all turning to more comfort food,especially the Sunday roast! This is just a quick email to let you know that we have some meat boxes available for delivery in the next couple of weeks. We have our delicious beef, mixed, pork, lamb and chicken boxes available.
Please let us know if you'd like a freezer top up in the next few weeks ,we will be delighted to call in with a box .
ready for fireworks.....05 November 2016
Summer Family News 201604 September 2016
The summer holidays have flown by, but the Kittow family have enjoyed a full and varied summer. A mixture of work, both on and off the farm has kept us all fully occupied. Steve Hill has joined our team at Kittow Cattle and has settled in well helping with the packing and delivering of the boxes. Steve also helped us at Honiton Show and has been invaluable this summer. Jan, our wonderful neighbour, is helping with some of the phone calls. With help and support from Family and friends we,for the first time as a family, took an under- seas holiday.We enjoyed a wonderful week in the French Alps. It was an action packed week with downhill mountain biking, horseriding and white water rafting thrown in for good measure. The weather was kind enough to allow us to swim in beautiful mountain lakes. Ben has done very very well this summer, recently achieving his disired place in the prestigeous Michael Caines Accadamy. He has the opertunity to learn all the arts of catering at the very highest level. We are all looking forward to his homework! His results in his GCSE's were very pleasing and just reward for him for all his hard work. Abbie has been very busy with Mouse, earlier in the summer enjoying a 4 day camp at Pontispool and more recently a 3 day rally in Hemyock. She has been known to lend a hand with the sheep herding while on horseback!
Farm News Sept 201604 September 2016
Ben has enjoyed a good summer with plenty of sheep dog training. We are keeping more ewe lambs back for breeding next year, as Ben's aim is to increase the flock numbers one way or another! He has aquired 4 YFC sheep this year which he hope will provide him with some lambs early in the new year ready for the Culm Valley YFC show and sale around Easter. With enough silage already in the clamp,that wasn't used last year, we decided to make more hay this year .The weather hasn't been ideal for haymaking though. In the first really hot spell we were fortunate enough to make about half of our requiremnts.We had to wait until early August before we were brave enough to send the mowers in again. We made both crops without rain and the barns are full of sweet smelling meadow hay. Let's hope that it's a long time before we need to open a bale of that hay in the wet and wild winter!
Farm News Nov 201518 November 2015 Our young shepherding team of Ben and Sky have come on well over the summer and autumn with both showing enthusiasm and promise! Ben has enjoyed training Sky with the ewes. The sheep and the dog are now so well trained that I'm sure if Ben was in the field without Sky, the sheep would still follow him wherever he went.
We purchased two Jacob X ewes in early October and when I introduced them to the rest of the flock they thought I had brought the rams along! It is that time of the year after all. Clearly, they were little disappointed when they realised. However, the girls didn't have to wait long as two weeks later I did pull up with the same trailer and unloaded two good-looking ram lambs. Not to say our girls were keen but, as you can tell by the number of red bums there were the next morning, the boys had a night they will never forget! Abbie and the ewes.
Early October mornings.....
As the cattle now have the option of the warm barn for the winter, my work load on the farm increases, This always happens at about the same time meat boxes are at their busiest. I would love to be able to call you all, have a chat, and hopefully take an order, but as you are all aware, I can't be in 3 places at once! Jan, our very kind neighbour, who helped us at some of the shows over the summer, has been helping me with my phone lists. Some of you may be lucky enough to have a call from her over the next few weeks. Please be nice to Jan as I would love her to help me as we try and grow the business! With the increase in nuisance phone calls we are aware how precious your time is and we will try and call you when we think you are due a delivery. I would also really appreciate feed back on our online order forms and website as I am trying to make it easier for you to order with minimal clicks!
Beef Pork Lamb Mixed Box Chicken Turkey Voucher
Christmas meat18 November 2015
Thank you to those customers who have already kindly reserved their Christmas order. With about a month to go to the busiest week of the year, I'd like to urge you all to consider ordering as soon as you can, to avoid disappointment and to give as much time as possible to plan our logistics. As I write, we currently have plenty of turkeys, geese, beef, lamb, and mixed boxes available every week leading up to the big day. If the last few years are anything to go by, the next couple of weeks will start testing our resources. Click Here to go to our Turkey order page.
Our meat box voucher has proved increasingly popular over the last couple of years and if you're struggling to find gift for that family member or friend, why not consider giving them a voucher that they can redeem any time in the New Year. You never know your luck; they might invite you over when they cook some! We're keeping our fingers crossed that any snow that does fall can wait, at least until the last turkey has been delivered! I hope to see most of you with a meat box on my shoulder over the next few weeks but in case I don’t, I hope this winter and festive season is a memorable one for you, for all the right reasons! Merry Christmas and seasonal best wishes to you all.
Dave & team Kittow.
same order as last time please!17 November 2015 Please click here to re-order a box similar to my last delivery.
June Newsletter and show dates29 June 2015 Please follow the link for showdates, lambing news and bk's latest recipes
http://aem.spsend.com/ViewAsPage.aspx?BlastId=27c26c34-e23a-47d4-95b4-21e42652b181
Autumn Newsletter25 October 2014
Fillet steak promo24 October 2014 To encourage my use of social media, I'm prepared to offer a pair of fillet steaks in a prize draw for anyone who has liked us on Facebook or followed us on Twitter and shared a picture of their Kittow Cattle culinary creation! #kittowcattle. If this promotion is a success, then in the November quarterly newsletter, I might be tempted to offer a Christmas hamper!
show update and news24 May 2014
Meat to please you15 November 2013
Looking ahead to winter, we're keeping our fingers crossed that any snow that does fall can wait at least until the last turkey has been delivered!
I hope to see most of you with a meat box on my shoulder over the next few weeks but in case I don’t, I hope this winter and festive season is a memorable one for you, for all the right reasons! Best wishes Dave and the increasingly woolly Angus Sarah, Ben and Abbie are wrapped up warm too!
Shows, steaks and sizzlers19 July 2013
Spring news21 May 2013 Spring has finally sprung in Culm Davy and we're pleased to report that the cattle are now out in the fields for the summer.The grass is now growing rapidly,it's trying to make up for lost time and silaging is fast approaching! For anyone wondering why I've been quiet for the past month or so, I'm currently recovering from a hernia operation. All is progressing well but as I'm under strict instructions not to lift meat boxes for at least another couple of weeks, I've been relying on family and friends to get out and about delivering to our customers. Normal service will resume very shortly but I'm back in the office so if anyone needs to contact me, please feel free. I'm planning to organise a distribution route for the coming 4-6 weeks while I'm on light duties only, so if you think you would like to restock your freezer during that time, please get in touch as soon as possible so I can get to everyone. If your friends or neighbours would like a box, please pass on my details to them - we pay commission in sausages or steaks! We're finding that our half boxes are becoming more and more popular with people who have limited freezer space or aren't sure what their requirements will be over a longer period of time. We didn't manage to take our usual stand at the Devon & County Show this week due to my operation, but will be back next year. In the meantime, we hope to catch up with as many people as possible over the summer. With any luck, we'll be enjoying a heatwave very soon - don't forget to order a barbecue box! We can make up boxes with only the cuts you prefer, and no summer garden party is complete without a selection of Kittow Cattle steaks, chops, sausages and burgers. We'll be back with more news on all things Kittow Cattle before too long including updates on our 3 Peaks Challenge.The training for which was put on hold for 3-4 weeks, but is now back in full swing. In the meantime if you'd like a chat about your meat requirements for the coming month or two, do please get in touch! 01823 680971 07785 90045
3 Peaks Challenge for CLIC Sargent27 March 2013
Hi Folks, I haven’t been on an adventure or done any fundraising for a while, so I have decided to join the “Dashing Dads” team for the gruelling 3 Peaks Challenge .Over the 24hours between 22nd and 23rd June this year a team of us Dads will endeavour to climb the 3 highest peaks in the UK; Ben Nevis, Scaffell Pike and Snowdon! It sounds like a mad idea but it has been done before, just not by us!! We are doing this to raise money for CLIC Sargent .This is a charity very close to my heart as they are currently helping my cousin Harriet (8) and her family during her treatment. Their wonderful support also helped Sarah’s cousin Ollie (now 10) and his family on his journey to a full recovery. CLIC Sargents care makes a real difference. I have started training, but it has soon become clear that a lot more needs to be done before the longest day of the year! If you would like to help me reach my targets (both financial and physical) or just find out more, please have a look at the link to the Virgin Money Charity website. If you do kindly donate, then Gift Aid will be claimed automatically on all of your eligible donations. http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/team/dashingdads
Thank you for your time and I hope to see you soon. If I am a little out of breath or walking with a funny gait, you will know why!
Best wishes to you and yours,
‘Dashing Dad’ Dave!
March Newsletter01 March 2013
With March just around the corner, we can all start looking forward to Spring. The mornings are getting lighter and the evenings longer, so before you know it, we will all be busy mowing our lawns again! Admittedly, we need to get through this cold snap now, but at least it is dry and given us all chance to catch up on a few jobs best done when it isn’t raining. The ground is also drying out a bit, which is a very welcome relief! We appreciated an extremely busy December, the busiest to date and hope you all enjoyed the festive season.
Early in January we bought some store lambs to nibble away at the grass that continued to grow as a result of the wet and mild autumnal conditions. We are aiming to keep some of the girls for breeding next spring, but before that we will be offering lamb boxes even more regularly alongside our bespoke beef, pork, chicken and mixed boxes. The snow back in January gave us a little break from the deliveries and also gave the kids a break from school! We enjoyed the 3rd assembling of the Culm Davy Ski Club with some new members giving a little competitive edge to proceedings! With sledges, skis and snowboards, much fun was had, with a few learning to snowboard in Culm Davy!! Another highlight was the communal camp fire that provided Sunday lunch and was rounded off with a hot chocolate and Baileys mix (highly recommended!!). Outside catering is always something special and with our hog roasting service continuing to grow, we are looking forward to seeing a number of you over the summer months. If you or anyone you know might enjoy a large BBQ, mobile carvery or the whole hog roast, please call or email us to discuss the options. We can cater for parties/events for 40-150 people. With the Meat Industry making headlines at the moment, we hope this reaffirms the many positive reasons for buying directly from local farmers and if you would like to recommend us or forward this email to a friend or two, who you think would appreciate knowing exactly where their meat comes from, we would be very grateful. If they order, I’ll give you extra steaks in your next box and they might cook you up a treat next time you are invited for dinner! Easter is early this year and will be upon us before we realise, it would help us with our deliveries if you could reserve your next box in advance and we will try to delivery it at a convenient time for both of us. Thank you for your continued support, it is much appreciated. Best wishes Dave, the woolly Angus and all at Kittow Cattle.
Sheep back at Culm Davy07 January 2013
Just a quick update to say we have bought some store lambs, our aim is to offer more lamb in our meat boxes from the middle of February, increasing the availability towards Easter and the Spring. We will be keeping some of the ewe lambs to start our breeding flock next winter/spring.
I will keep you up to date with developments!
Graham Harvey16 November 2012 On the recommendation from a friend and customer, I recently met, and enjoyed a coffee with, the highly regarded agricultural researcher and author Graham Harvey.Graham spent many years researching and writing about the benefits of pasture farming. It appears that our practices at Kittow cattle have wide-ranging health and environmental benefits, many more than I realised. I always thought that a grass fed system was better for the cows and that they produced tastier meat, these benefits are only the tip of the iceberg. (Global warming pun intended) if you'd like to know more about what Graham is discovering please follow this link to his website http://grahamsquest.co.uk/ I would really appreciate your thoughts and feedback on what Graham has to say. Dave and the full of themselves angus.
Honiton Show now 30th Aug18 July 2012 Just a quick note to remind people that the Honiton show has been rearranged for the 30th Aug. Due to the floods,so much debris was washed on to the fields that hadn't been mowed, that removing the grass, stones and trees is proving tricky. I hope to see you at the show on the 30th.
Great British Beef week25 April 2012 For a dash of inspiration please follow the link for mouth watering recipes http://www.greatbritishbeef.co.uk/
tails up28 March 2012
Solar Chilled Beef05 December 2011 Our meat boxes are now chilled with the help of the sun! We have installed a small array of solar panels and now even the way we chill our meat is nearly as green as the grass the Angus eat!
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Today we have brought home a couple of new rams..... A young Beltex shearling ram and a older more measured Suffolk. We'll see how many ewes are marked in the morning!
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We had a busy summer both on the farm and on the retail side. Following a very wet spring the weather did finally settle down around the middle of June, so it was then ‘all hands on deck’ to get the silage and hay made. We also catered for a hog roast party for 70 and the two-day Axe Valley Festival to add to the fun & chaos of these two weeks. We succeeded, happy, but exhausted! We’ve just cut the first bale of hay to start feeding the young stock and I've got a say, it smells like some of the best hay I have ever made.
Thanks to family & friends stepping in for a week, we managed to have a holiday in Hope Cove, South Devon in August. For those who do not know the area, we highly recommend it. Beautiful beaches, great pubs and plenty of water sports and walking! The stand-up paddle boarding was a big highlight with both Sarah & I staying afloat for a whole hour, the same cannot be said for the children, which added to the hilarity!! Peter and Tory Kittow's cottage where we stayed is available for hire, it’s a wonderful place, if you fancy a relaxing holiday in South Devon, have look at a 3 minute 
Ben and Abbie have had new routines this term as Abbie has started her first year at Secondary School and Ben has started his GCSE courses. They are both really looking forward to half term and are in need of the break. It will then only be a short stretch through to Christmas, there, I've said it,’ Christmas’, yes, it's coming!
I do hope the other shows have better luck with the weather. We also need to keep our fingers crossed that the sun comes out soon as we need to consider both silage and hay making in the next month. It would be nice to think I have it all made and stacked in the shed by Axe Vale Festival, but that might be wishful thinking!
With many hot summer days and ideal barbecue weather just around the corner, it is a good time to consider filling your freezer with tasty morsels that can be either barbecued (or cooked indoors in the unlikely event we get any more rain this summer!)
As I write, the cattle are still enjoying some Autumn sunshine and keeping their hooves crossed that they can stay in the fields for a little longer this year.
With Autumn well and truly upon us, we can all look forward to cosy nights in.
give a little thought to your meat requirements over the next few weeks.
While we are o
