Sainsbury’s signs lamb contract

Over the next four months 1,000 Blackface lambs per week will head off to supermarket giant Sainsbury’s following a similar but much smaller project last year.

The major retailer is using its Taste the Difference branding and best-in-season sourcing policy to promote the sale of lamb from this most traditional breed.

Handling the deal is producer-owned co-operative Farm Stock. Chairman Ian Watson said: “Producers will maximise margins by balancing costs of production with a steady supply of finished lambs as prices tend to rise as the season progresses. It is vital that the lambs are marketed when they are ready and are not allowed to become too fat.”