Scan Magazine, Issue 97, February 2017

Page 78

Scan Magazine  |  Special Theme  |  A Taste of Norway

Left: Two families merging – one owning land, the other a sausage maker – is a match made in heaven for this growing business venture. Right: The calves stay with their mothers for an extended period of time, making a significant difference in taste and quality. Below: Production and post-production of meat taking place at the same location is rare in the food industry, but is part of the success story that is Stene Gård.

From farm to table through a focus on animal welfare Stene Gård delivers farm-to-table delicacies focusing on letting their animals roam free most of the year. Placing quality at the heart of the production and insisting on spending time with the animals results in sound, happy animals. By Pernille Johnsen  |  Photos: Stene Gård

Maren Stene’s family has lived off the land for several generations, and the settlement dates back several centuries. Once she and her husband Per Einar, who is a sausage maker, took over, the approach got itself an upgrade. Their complementary abilities and shared love of great taste and quality combined with a strong focus on animal welfare turned the farm a blossoming business. The animals at Stene Farm – pigs, cows and calves – spend eight to ten months of the year in the large fields surrounding the farm. “The animals move pastures several times a year, and as such it’s important to build a relationship with them; when they trust us, handling them gets easier,” Stene explains. Doing most of the meat production work at the farm is 78  |  Issue 97  |  February 2017

production, and the approach significantly influences the taste of the meat. The farm is idyllic on large pastures between the fjord in front with the mountains as a backdrop, so it is easy to see why animals and people alike thrive at Stene Farm.

a unique approach, processing and producing the sausages and other products in situ with care.

Care that is unheard of The family’s holistic approach to rearing animals has not gone unnoticed and has resulted in numerous awards, including for their peerless products during the Swedish championships and at the food festival in Trondheim. Currently, the Stene family cares for a couple of thousand animals with love and provides the animals with the chance to lead a happy life before ending up on the dining table. The calves are born between February and March and spend the entire summer outside eating grass before they are weaned from their mothers. This type of care is unheard of in mainstream meat

For more information, please visit: www.stenegard.no


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