Hi Mezzaluna,
I can't really say that the Foot & Mouth fiasco had ANY effect on my customers. We had one week right at the begining when supplies seemed a little short but if the slaughter and burning hadn't been in the press then I doubt we would have noticed it at all. There was no discernable increase in prices either. A different story for the farmers of course. I suppose this must mean we have plenty of capacity here. Farming in general is a very unprofitable enterprise these days and there are many anecdotes about how little the producer gets for his animals.
My sales rep brother stayed at a farmhouse hotel where the lady of the house paid £6.00 ( about $9.00) for a sheep from a local farm. This was £2.00 more than the farmer expected to get at market. Compare this with a pack of French Trimmed Cutlets for 2 people ( Rack of
Lamb to me) in the local supermarket at £7.95 in the same week, and you can see there must be something strange going on.
I digress...
There was much more customer reaction when the BSE crisis erupted. It was months before the
beef became popular again. We have rumours of MAYBE getting Jacobs Kracker Disease ( or whatever it's called in humans) from sheep and even Mad
Chicken Disease. In the face of all this we have just gone back to our old stoic ways of what will be, will be. What the status is on BSE I done know. No one seems to mention it now.
Happy New Year
