Paddock to plate: Snowy River Ag leads beef charge in Gippsland

Forget supermarket shelves and fluctuating market prices — Snowy River Ag is bringing the paddock directly to your plate. Discover the ins and outs of the East Gippsland operation.

Amid the rolling hills of East Gippsland, a quiet revolution is brewing.

Snowy River Agriculture, the farming arm of family earthmoving business Whelans, is taking on the supermarket giants, launching a paddock to plate beef business aimed at delivering higher quality meat at affordable prices to local families.

Tired of being dependent on fluctuating cattle prices while simultaneously getting fleeced at the supermarket meat counter, Snowy River Ag’s new farm manager Andrew Whelan decided to do something about it and hasn’t held back.

He has made a significant investment in an on-farm butchery at their home farm in Swan Reach, hired a butcher and is cutting out the middleman by connecting directly with consumers.

Andrew is betting on quality, community and affordability to carve a new path for his family farm in the quest for long term sustainability.

Andrew Whelan and his son William, from Snowy River Ag at Swan Reach.

TOOLBELT OF CHANGE

Taking on the farm manager’s role 18 months ago, Andrew, 34, a kelpie stud breeder and former civil engineer for Whelans, said the paddock to plate business was just one of the ways he and his close-knit team, were diversifying away from single income streams on the farm to ensure financial viability.

Snowy River Ag’s holdings include four farms; 284ha at Swan Reach, 122ha at Bairnsdale, 162ha at Bruthen and 608ha at Buchan, as well as a registered 900-head feedlot at Swan Reach.

The feedlot infrastructure, which has been in place for 20 years, is another option in the toolbelt for diversification.

It is currently being used to yard wean calves and to help educate steers and heifers with dogs before they get sold.

“The cheapest way to feed a cow is grass from the paddock but in the event we need the feedlot, we can turn the key and feed the herd and sustain them,” Andrew said.

CUTTING OUT RISK

They currently run 550 Angus breeders across the four properties and hope to lift that number as new pasture improvement programs begin to bear fruit.

To ensure a consistent supply of suitable stock to the paddock to plate business, they have transitioned to two calvings a year with the bulk in spring and the remainder in autumn.

Autumn calvers are artificially inseminated and are joined in May, while spring calvers are joined naturally in January. Weaning is conducted at six to eight months.

To increase herd numbers and help transition to a younger herd, 150 heifers were retained last year.

The higher performing steers – about 225 head – are normally sold as 10 to 11 month old weaners each year, 150 heifers are retained for breeding and the remainder are fattened.

In the past, weaners were predominantly sold through saleyards but Andrew’s preference has shifted to AuctionsPlus.

“Being a bit risk averse, you are able to set a reserve, you know what you are going to be getting and you are not at the whims of who turns up to the market,” Andrew said.

Once they have reached their limit for breeding numbers, the goal is to sell high value pregnancy-tested-in-calf cows as another diversification option.

Andrew inspecting some of their cattle on his Snowy River Ag property at Swan Reach in Gippsland.

PASTURE REWARDS

A solid pasture improvement program is in place to boost soil health and yields, using various rye-grass varieties across the different farms to increase fodder production.

Summer and winter crops are also planted, including millet and sorghum under irrigation at Swan Reach. Water is supplied from dams and also a recycled system via East Gippsland Water.

The pasture program is steadily improving production each year with hopes of making 2000 silage bales and 250 hay bales each year, season dependent.

“You don’t always reap the rewards of your investment immediately,” Andrew said.

“Fertility in soil takes years and if you look at that in isolation that investment can look more exorbitant than it is.

“I’m trying to look at it all relatively holistically as well as critiquing it on a per hectare basis as well.”

When seasonal and market conditions permit, up to 500 crossbred lambs are also bought and fattened under the irrigation with some processed through their own facility and others sold via traditional channels.

RECTIFYING WEAK LINKS

Andrew credits their team of workers at Snowy River Ag for its success.

Trent Howell has been managing the farms for 27 years and continues to be heavily involved with animal husbandry and genetics, while more recently Jake Smith has joined the team to help with pasture renovation and contracting, and Tom Dyson as butcher.

The contracting work is part of the overall farm plan to widen revenue streams and to help subsidise the cost of staff, while Tom’s appointment was another way of reducing risk within the paddock to plate business.

“We tried to do it with an external butcher but that became a logistical drama for us and wasn’t sustainable,” Andrew said.

“Being able to internalise and manage the butchery side of it with the resource of Tom means the only thing done externally is the abattoir.

“We are able to manage the whole process from breeding and calving down to selling the end product.”

STREAMLINED EFFICIENCY

Their aim is to provide a high quality product at a similar price to supermarkets and while the business is in its infancy, feedback has been positive.

Consumers are able to purchase meat from the Nicholson General Store, online via click and collect or have it delivered to their door.

Snowy River Ag branded meat.

“The other option is to pick it up from the farm, meet the guys and see where the animals ultimately come from and give people peace of mind they are getting high quality meat and supporting a local farm and family business,” Andrew said.

There are tailored packs for “mums and dads” seeking a standard week’s worth of meat.

“We used to offer meat in significant sizes but are trying to bring the volumes down to be more user friendly for families to fit in their freezers,” Andrew said.

“We are adjusting with market demand and providing that service.”

Andrew said they were conscious of selling a certain amount to make the business sustainable and viable. Their target was 50 bodies a year and potentially up to 100 or more.

“Our hope is that customers will find the size and frequency that works for them and reorder every six weeks in a repeat process,” he said.

“Everyone’s lives are busy so we are trying to make it as streamlined and simple as we can.”

They are also supplying local restaurants and cafes wholesale to help shift the volume of less popular retail cuts.

The processing facility, which includes a cut-up room, was built to Prime Safe standards. It provides an optional local service for home-kills to be processed.

“It has been a significant investment that is scary but also exciting,” Andrew said.

“Meat is an interesting product to get your head around – in civil, rocks don’t go off – you have to think about shelf life and you have to move the product when it’s ready by a certain day.

“It is fast paced and exciting.”

BALANCING ACT

In the next 12 months, Andrew hopes to introduce their own small breeding mob of sheep – adding to their philosophy of not having all their eggs in one basket.

One of their old farmhouses at Buchan has also been turned into an Air BnB as another income stream.

“We wanted to diversify and hold onto the steering wheel a bit more,” Andrew said.

Snowy River Agriculture’s gamble on paddock-to-plate isn’t just about beef; it’s about control, connection, and carving a more resilient agricultural model.

As Andrew and his team work to balance herd management, meat processing, and customer demand with external contracting and other income streams, they’re not just building a business; they’re building a case study for the sustainable future of family farms and a more self-reliant local economy.