Fallen stock collection in Sandbach is dairy country work. The farms around the town, from the M6 at junction 17 out towards the meres and mosses, carry some of the highest concentrations of dairy cattle in the North West, and that shapes everything about how a collection service needs to operate here – the animals are large, adult losses trigger a legal testing requirement, and a milking herd cannot wait days for a carcass to be moved off the yard. Martlands provides fallen stock and ABP collection across Cheshire and the wider North West from our DEFRA approved facility in Burscough, and the Sandbach dairy belt is one of our most regularly worked patches.
Why Dairy Losses Demand More From a Collector
An adult dairy cow is a substantial animal to move, and on a working dairy unit the loss usually happens in or near buildings that the rest of the herd passes through twice a day. Prompt removal is therefore a biosecurity matter as much as a legal one – the ban on on-farm burial and burning has applied since 2003, the duty of care requires collection within 24 hours of discovery, and every hour a carcass sits near the parlour is an hour of avoidable risk to the herd. Our vehicles and crews are equipped for adult cattle as routine work rather than as an exception, which is the difference dairy farmers notice most.
BSE Sampling Handled Within the Same Collection
The requirement that matters most around Sandbach is the cattle testing rule – fallen cattle over 48 months of age must be BSE tested before disposal, and on a dairy unit most adult losses fall into exactly that bracket. Martlands operates as a DEFRA approved sampling centre, which means the sampling is carried out within our own process and the farmer is not left coordinating between a collector and a separate testing arrangement. One call books the collection and the testing requirement is discharged as part of it, with the paperwork to prove it. Our article on fallen stock collection for dairy farms sets out the full picture for herd managers.
Records That Match the Herd Register
Dairy farms live under more inspection than most holdings, and the fallen stock file is one of the things an assessor reconciles against the herd register – every animal that leaves the register needs a matching record showing where it went. Every Martlands collection is issued with a Commercial Document and a Waste Transfer Note, we are members of the National Fallen Stock Company, and collections are managed through the KoLeCt system, so the record is complete and consistent from booking to disposal at our licensed facility. That consistency is precisely what keeps an audit conversation short.
Coverage Across the South Cheshire Plain
Sandbach sits at the centre of our south Cheshire rounds, with junction 17 of the M6 putting the town within fast reach of our base, and the same crews serve the surrounding dairy villages – see our dedicated pages for Middlewich fallen stock collection and Alsager fallen stock collection, or the county-wide picture on our Cheshire fallen stock collection page. Because the dairy belt generates steady work, the rounds here run frequently and same-day collection is the norm rather than the exception.
Arranging a Collection in Sandbach
If you farm around Sandbach and have a loss to deal with, call Martlands on 01704 776977. We will arrange prompt collection, carry out any required BSE sampling as part of the visit and leave you with the complete compliance record – the collection handled, the testing requirement met and the paperwork on file before the next inspection asks for it.
