A pair of South West Farmer Award winners have further diversified their farm's offering.

Matt and Pip Smith of Trefranck Farm near Launceston have started to produce and sell biltong, using cuts of meat from their venison business.

Using cuts from West Country Premium Venison ensures that the whole of the animal is utilised.

Pip said: “We’re very excited to expand our venison business even further by starting to sell biltong produced at the very highest standard on our farm.

"Biltong is perfect for people who are into fitness, eating healthy and knowing what goes into their food, as it is much higher in protein than other meat products and can be consumed post-workout to replace protein shakes.

"HSBC UK supported us in launching our Premium Venison business in 2019, and they’ve been instrumental in helping us achieve our goals of expanding our business ever since.”

The diversification was made possible by a five-figure finance package from HSBC UK.

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Mark Self, agriculture area director for HSBC UK Business Banking, said: “Matt and Pip Smith have always been exceptionally innovative in growing and diversifying their business, so we’re delighted to support them in launching this new product.

"We know there will be a huge demand for it in the health and fitness space, and we look forward to continuing to see their business flourish.”

Last year Matt and Pip won the Diversification Award for their business in the South West Farmer Awards.

The biltong will be available in gyms, delis and healthy food stores, appealing primarily to the health and fitness audience due to being extremely high in protein and low in fat.

It is also very high in iron and other essential micronutrients, such as zinc and magnesium, making it an incredibly healthy product.