26 Ate Today? Thank a Farmer. Better Farming | January 2025 Nicholas Armstrong, who also goes by ‘Cole the Butcher’ on social media, is passionate about education and animal comfort in his mobile butchering business. Cole is based out of Aylmer and offers processing for wild game and on-farm slaughter and processing of livestock, except for poultry and rabbits. A large portion of his business is emergency slaughter for injured animals. “I try to offer as much on-farm service as possible for the animals and for the farmers,” says Cole. “It’s just a better option. It’s lowstress and there’s no need to truck the animal. It’s better to be on the farm.” Cole’s experience with butchery started at a grocery store meat department, which opened his eyes to new career opportunities. “I had a lot of life issues in my late teens and early 20s, like my health, and I needed a change,” he explains. “I started working at a grocery store meat department. I had no background in butchery, so it was a new thing for me. At the grocery meat department, we were not butchers or meat cutters, but I got to learn basic cuts and the basics of butchery. “After that, I moved to a butcher shop closer to my family and learned how to break down beef and pigs, which was very different.” When he saw the need for someone to process deer during hunting season, Cole took his chance to create his own business, which eventually evolved to include livestock. “I saw a need for someone to cut deer around our area and I was still working at the butcher shop at the time. I also saw there was a need for an on-farm butcher,” says Cole. “No one taught me how to kill for this job. I had to start small with wild game and have grown from five deer a year to around 150 deer a year. I have a lot of dates booked for beef, pigs, and other livestock. “I left the butcher shop after business started to pick up. Things were getting too busy. I became Cole the Butcher.” Cole explains that he is proud to offer low-stress services for animals and help farmers save meat that could be lost due to animal injury. He says it also maintains better meat quality by not trucking and further stressing the animal. While his passion for his job outweighs the challenges, Cole says that regulations and capacity can make it difficult to help as many farmers as he would like. “As I started out, the main challenge was temperature and trying to keep carcasses cold. I didn’t have a refrigerator trailer at that time,” says Cole. MOBILE BUTCHER PROFILES ON-FARM BUTCHERS: IN THE SPOTLIGHT Nicholas Armstrong is passionate about animal comfort and serving farmers. Nicholas Armstrong photo INSIDE COLE THE BUTCHER’S MOBILE BUSINESS LOW-STRESS, HIGH IMPACT BY EMILY MCKINLAY
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