Fallen stock collection in Nelson serves some of the most traditional hill farming country in Lancashire. The holdings that climb from the M65 corridor towards Pendle Hill run hardy sheep flocks and suckler herds on ground where the weather writes the farming calendar, and where losses arrive in clusters through lambing and the worst of the winter rather than evenly through the year. Martlands provides fallen stock and ABP collection across Lancashire and the wider North West from our DEFRA approved facility in Burscough, and the Pendle farms are home-county work for our crews rather than the edge of a coverage map.
Hill Farming Losses Need a Collector Who Plans for Them
The legal framework gives hill keepers no more slack than anyone else – on-farm burial and burning has been banned since 2003, and the duty of care requires fallen stock to be collected within 24 hours of discovery – but the practical job on a Pendle hillside is harder than the same job on the plain. The animal may be on in-bye land a quad ride from the road, the lane may be single-track with nowhere to turn a large vehicle, and in a bad lambing week there may be more than one animal to move. Our crews work with the keeper on each collection, agreeing the access and the pick-up point in advance, and we weight the East Lancashire rounds towards the hill farms in spring because that is when they need us most.
Sheep Are the Core of the Pendle Workload
Most collections around Nelson involve sheep, and the pattern is familiar to any upland keeper – ewes lost around lambing, hoggs caught by late snow, the occasional loss to dog worrying on land where footpath traffic from the towns runs close to grazing. Whatever the cause, the collection works the same way, with prompt removal, transport in dedicated vehicles and disposal at our licensed processing facility. Our guide to fallen stock collection for sheep farmers covers the seasonal patterns and the record-keeping side in more depth for flock keepers who want the full picture.
Documentation That Satisfies the Assessor
Every collection in the Nelson area is issued with a Commercial Document and a Waste Transfer Note, which together form the audit trail that DEFRA inspections and farm assurance assessments expect to see on file. As members of the National Fallen Stock Company, with bookings and collections managed through the KoLeCt system, the record runs unbroken from the first phone call to final disposal. For any fallen cattle over 48 months of age we also carry out the legally required BSE sampling as a DEFRA approved sampling centre, so the suckler herds on the lower ground are covered by the same single phone call as the flocks on the tops.
Fast Access Along the M65 Corridor
Nelson’s position on the M65 means the East Lancashire towns connect directly to our Burscough base, which is what makes same-day collection realistic across Pendle. The same crews cover the neighbouring towns and their surrounding farms – see our dedicated pages for Colne fallen stock collection and Barnoldswick fallen stock collection, or the county-wide picture on our Lancashire fallen stock collection page. Because the rounds run through the corridor regularly, a Pendle collection slots into the day’s work rather than waiting for one.
Arranging a Collection in Nelson
If you farm around Nelson and have fallen stock to move, call Martlands on 01704 776977. Tell us about the access when you ring and we will plan the collection with you, handle any required sampling and issue the complete set of compliance documents – one call, everything covered.
