Record keeping is a legal requirement for all UK farmers who deal with fallen stock, and it is an area that is frequently highlighted during Animal and Plant Health Agency inspections as one where farming businesses fall short. In most cases, inadequate record keeping is not the result of deliberate non-compliance but rather a lack of clarity about exactly what is required. Martland’s Fallen Stock Collection Service supports its customers by providing clear collection documentation with every visit, making it straightforward for farmers to maintain complete and accurate fallen stock records.
What Records Are Required
Under the UK Animal By-Products Regulations, farmers are required to maintain records of each fallen stock event on their holding. The information that must be recorded includes the date of death of the animal, the species, the identification details where applicable (such as the ear tag number for cattle and most sheep), the quantity of material involved, and the date and method of disposal. Where disposal has been carried out by Martland’s Fallen Stock, the collection documentation provided by the Martland’s Fallen Stock team serves as evidence of the disposal method used and should be kept alongside your own records.
For cattle, additional records are required under the cattle traceability rules, including notification to the British Cattle Movement Service within seven days of death. This is a separate obligation from the animal by-product record keeping requirement, and both must be fulfilled independently.
How Long Must Records Be Kept
Fallen stock records must be kept for a minimum of two years from the date of the entry. This applies both to your own records of fallen stock events and to the collection documentation provided by Martland’s Fallen Stock for each collection visit. Both sets of records should be kept together in a single file or folder, making it easy to cross-reference your records of an animal’s death with Martland’s Fallen Stock documentation confirming its collection and disposal.
Many farmers find it helpful to maintain a dedicated fallen stock record book or folder, separate from other farm records. This makes the records easy to locate during an inspection and reduces the risk of the Martland’s Fallen Stock collection documentation being misfiled among other paperwork.
Documentation From Martland’s Fallen Stock
Martland’s Fallen Stock provides a commercial document – a consignment note – for every collection carried out from your holding. This document will typically include the date of collection, the species and quantity of material collected, the approval number of Martland’s Fallen Stock, and the destination of the collected material. You should check this documentation carefully when it is provided, ensure that it accurately reflects the collection that has taken place, and file it promptly in your fallen stock records.
Receiving and filing the Martland’s Fallen Stock collection documentation is not simply an administrative formality – it is the evidence that demonstrates your compliance with the animal by-product disposal regulations. If you have any questions about the documentation provided, the Martland’s Fallen Stock team is happy to help.
Maintaining Records During Busy Periods
The practical challenge of fallen stock record keeping is greatest during periods when the farm is at its busiest – lambing season, harvest, or periods of disease challenge. The key to maintaining records effectively during these periods is to keep the process as simple as possible and to record information at the time rather than trying to reconstruct it later.
A simple notebook kept in the lambing shed or wherever fallen stock events are most likely to be discovered allows basic information to be captured immediately. The formal record can then be completed at a convenient time using notes made at the time of the event. Whatever system you use, the important thing is that it is consistent and accurate, and that it works alongside the documentation provided by Martland’s Fallen Stock to produce a complete compliance record.
Here are some of the other regional areas we cover. Click a link below to find out more:
Lancashire Fallen Stock Collection Service
Greater Manchester Fallen Stock Collection Service
Merseyside Fallen Stock Collection Service
Wirral Fallen Stock Collection Service
North Wales Fallen Stock Collection Service
Cheshire Fallen Stock Collection Service
