Malpas fallen stock collection is a very different job from collecting on the open fells or the Lancashire mosses. The country between the Sandstone Ridge and the River Dee is some of the most heavily stocked dairy land in Cheshire, with herds spread along narrow lanes through Tilston, Hampton, No Man’s Heath and around the Cholmondeley estate, and plenty of holdings farm land on both sides of the Welsh border. Martlands is a family-run, DEFRA approved fallen stock and ABP collection business based in Burscough, Lancashire, and we collect from farms right across south-west Cheshire.
This guide sets out what farmers around Malpas need to know – how losses are categorised, when cattle need BSE sampling, how the heavy clay changes things in autumn and winter, and what to do when a holding straddles Cheshire and Wrexham.
Malpas fallen stock collection around Tilston and the Welsh border
The Malpas area is defined by grass and milk. Large Holstein and cross-bred herds sit alongside smaller family dairies, beef finishers and sheep flocks on the lighter ground towards the Bickerton Hills. The A41 Chester to Whitchurch road runs past Hampton Heath and No Man’s Heath to the east of the town, while the A534 crosses the district between Wrexham and Nantwich. Away from those two roads, most farms are reached along single-track lanes with high hedges, tight farmyard entrances and the odd low bridge, which is why we always ask for clear directions when you book. The official guidance on fallen stock and safe disposal of dead animals sets out the legal duties in full.
Our farm and fallen stock collection service covers everything from a single stillborn calf to a mature cow, and same-day collection is often available when you call early. Malpas sits within our wider Cheshire fallen stock collection area, so the same licensed vehicles, documentation and booking process apply here as elsewhere in the county.
Why dairy losses shape collections in this part of Cheshire
On a typical Malpas dairy the losses that need collecting are predictable in type if not in timing. Calving problems, displaced abomasums, milk fever that does not respond, lameness culls that cannot travel, and older cows that go down after a long lactation account for most mature cattle deaths. Add calves lost at or shortly after birth, and the occasional heifer lost to bloat or blackleg on fresh grass, and you have the bulk of the work.
Every farmer has a duty of care to arrange collection promptly, ideally within 24 hours of discovery. On a busy unit with hundreds of cows that matters for biosecurity as much as for the law. A carcass left near the cubicle shed or the calf pens attracts foxes, corvids and rats, and can contaminate the yard runoff that drains towards the parlour. The ban on burying or burning fallen stock on farm has been in place since 2003, so a licensed collector is the only lawful route for the vast majority of Cheshire holdings.
BSE testing of older cows
Any bovine over 48 months of age that dies or is killed on farm other than for human consumption must be BSE tested. In a dairy area that covers a large share of fallen cattle, because many cows are in their third, fourth or fifth lactation when they go down. Martlands is a DEFRA approved sampling facility, so cattle that need BSE testing of fallen cattle can be sampled as part of the normal collection rather than requiring a separate arrangement. The government also publishes detailed guidance on animal by-product categories and disposal.
When you book, tell us the animal’s age and ear tag number. That lets us plan the collection correctly and makes sure the sample and the carcass are matched to the right passport. You must also report the death to BCMS within seven days and return the passport, and it pays to do that the same day so it does not get lost in the paperwork of a busy week.
Category 1 and Category 2 – what the rules mean for your losses
Most mature fallen cattle and sheep are Category 1 animal by-products, because their carcasses contain specified risk material. For cattle that means animals over 12 months, with the vertebral column classed as SRM over 30 months. For sheep and goats it applies to animals over 12 months or with a permanent incisor erupted. These go through our Category 1 ABP collection route and are processed accordingly.
Younger calves and lambs without SRM are generally Category 2, as are pigs, poultry and horses. The practical point is that if a Category 1 carcass and a Category 2 carcass are put together, the whole load has to be treated as Category 1. You do not need to sort it yourself – we handle categorisation at collection – but it helps to tell us exactly what is waiting when you ring.
Heavy clay and wet autumn access
South-west Cheshire sits on heavy boulder clay, and from October onwards field gateways and back tracks around Malpas turn to deep mud very quickly. Cows housed for the winter also mean busier yards, slurry scraping and feed deliveries competing for the same space. A collection vehicle cannot safely drive into a waterlogged paddock or reverse down a sloping cow track, so planning where the carcass will wait makes a real difference.
The best approach is a designated collection point on hard standing, close to the road or the main yard entrance and away from live animals, feed and water. If a cow dies in a back field, moving her to that point with a loader or a suitable trailer before we arrive keeps collection quick and avoids churning up ground. Cover the carcass to keep birds and vermin off. The same advice applies to farms further east towards Nantwich fallen stock collection and south over the Shropshire line around Whitchurch fallen stock collection, where the soils and the dairy pattern are much the same.
Holdings that cross into Wales
Malpas is only a few miles from the Dee, and many families farm blocks of land around Threapwood, Shocklach and over towards Bangor-on-Dee and Worthenbury. Where a holding has land in both England and Wales, the rules that apply to a particular death depend on where the animal is kept and which holding number it is registered to. Cattle movement and death reporting, and sheep records, should follow the system that covers that holding, so check with your vet or the relevant agency if you are unsure.
From a collection point of view the border makes no difference to us. We operate across North Wales as well as Cheshire, and farms on the Welsh side are covered through our Wrexham fallen stock collection service. What matters is that the commercial document records the correct collection address and holding, so give us the CPH number for the land where the animal actually died.
Paperwork, records and assurance
Every Martlands collection comes with a Commercial Document and a Waste Transfer Notice. Keep them together with your medicine records and your herd register. Red Tractor and milk buyer audits regularly ask to see evidence of how fallen stock has been disposed of, and a set of documents that match ear tags and dates is the simplest way to show it. We are a member of NFSCO, the National Fallen Stock Company, and collections can be booked and managed through the KoLeCt system, which keeps a clear digital trail of each job.
Our licences are Waste Carrier Licence CB/QE5406MT, Site Licence EAWML/100236 and Animal By-Products Licence APB/CCN21/373/8002. If an auditor asks who removes your fallen stock, those numbers and your collection documents answer the question in full.
Malpas fallen stock collection when something looks wrong
If an animal dies suddenly and you suspect a notifiable disease, such as anthrax in cattle, report it to APHA immediately and do not move the carcass until you are told to. In that situation collection waits on APHA’s instructions. For ordinary losses, call us as soon as the animal is found and have the age, species, ear tag and location ready.
To book a collection anywhere around Malpas, Tilston, Cholmondeley or the border villages, call Martlands on 01704 776977 or contact us online. We will confirm what is needed, arrange sampling where required, and leave you with the full paperwork for your records.
