Better Farming - October 2016

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FIELDTRIP
Anna hand packs the sausage-filling machine with seasoned
meat on Wednesday morning, while Mark looks over the
report from an inspector who visited the day before. Anna was
born and raised on a farm located next door to the Teal
family’s original property.
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Anna hand cuts links, while Mark guides the sausage
filler as it stuffs natural casings. Newer machines will
stuff and twist links automatically, but Mark and Anna
prefer the consistency the older machine provides. ➤
Former owner Gary Teal stops by the retail location on Wednesday morning to pick up
sausage meat for a family gathering. Here, he shares a story with Anna about having
to throw out over 3,000 pounds of meat right after the Hagersville tire fire of 1990.
He recalled government officials suddenly calling back inspectors when the fire broke
out, and then putting a hold on all meats not stored in an airtight environment. This
measure was taken out of concern the meat had been exposed to airborne contami-
nants from the burning tires.
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