Australia’s best paddock-to-plate businesses: Sher Wagyu, Meredith Dairy, Schulz Organic Dairy
The connection between farmers and foodies is thriving. See the best paddock-to-plate brands giving consumers the ultimate eating experience.
The connection between the farmer and the foodie has never been stronger, with consumers increasingly passionate about the provenance and production of their food.
And here in Australia, we have a wide array of award-winning beef producers, dairy farmers, and more who pride themselves on their paddock-to-plate approach to food production.
Here at The Weekly Times, we’ve put together a list of the top examples of farmers servicing the consumer, right at the farmgate.
MAYURA WAGYU
Located near Millicent on South Australia’s Limestone Coast, Mayura Wagyu produces award-winning Wagyu beef and produces some of the best genetics in Australia. Mayura Station is home to an elite full-blood Wagyu herd, with cattle imported into Australia in 1997. It also offers diners the ultimate paddock-to-plate eating experience through The Tasting Room, a boutique on-farm restaurant where consumers can indulge in a four-course menu, sampling some of Mayura’s best cuts. The station has been awarded a number of accolades, including a haul of national delicious produce awards, bronze medal at the 2019 National Best Tourism Restaurant, and 2019 champion full-blood Wagyu at the Australia Wagyu Association’s branded beef awards.
SHER WAGYU
The name Sher is synonymous with quality Wagyu production — with their produce gracing the menus of many of Australia’s top restaurants. Nick and Vicki Sher, from Ballan in western Victoria, have been passionate about producing Wagyu since 1991. Having made multiple trips to Japan in the 1990s, Nick studied Wagyu genetics, different bloodlines and the various ways to rear and feed Wagyu cattle, before sending for their first shipment. The rest, they say, is history. Sher Wagyu has gone on to supply branded beef to more than 14 countries, along with multiple restaurants and butchers across metro and regional Victoria. Sher Wagyu has been recognised with numerous delicious produce awards over the years.
PECORA DAIRY
Creating Australia’s first non-cooked raw milk cheese, Pecora Dairy produces a range of cheeses at Robertson in NSW. Founded in 2011 by Michael and Cressida Cains, the artisan sheep milk dairy produces rich, creamy sheep milk to make seasonal ewe milk cheeses, which have been granted a number of awards including the ‘From the Dairy’ category winner in the 2019 delicious produce awards. The Pecora Dairy cheese shop offers cheese lovers its full range of Pecora Dairy cheeses, along with a selection of other NSW-made cheeses. Produce is available at selected farmers’ markets, and for purchase online.
WARIALDA BELTED GALLOWAY
Look up paddock to plate in the dictionary and it’s surprising not to find a photo of Victorian farmers Allen and Lizette Snaith alongside the listing. For the past 35 years the pair, from Clonbinane, have bred Belted Galloway cattle, producing a 100 per cent grass fed, dry aged beef product. Warialda pride themselves on producing beef with a rich flavour and strong intra-muscular marbling. The carcass is hung for a minimum of three weeks, before being broken down into muscle groups. Highly sought after by restaurants, Warialda Belted Galloway beef is available directly to consumers through various farmers’ markets across Victoria. Customers can also buy beef directly from the Warialda website. The Snaith’s beef was awarded a state delicious produce award in 2018.
KINROSS STATION LAMB
With the ability to produce a marbled lamb product, the team at Kinross Station Hampshire Downs has been recognised as one of Australia’s premium lamb producers. Located at Holbrook in southern NSW, Kinross Station’s breeding program is ranked objectively through the Meat and Livestock Australia’s Lambplan program, measuring for marbling and tenderness. Kinross Station principal Tom Bull was recognised for his efforts in building one of the nation’s most premium lamb brands when awarded The Weekly Times Coles 2018 Farmer of the Year award. The brand recently hit the headlines for selling lamb cutlets through the plush Victor Churchill butcher shop in Sydney’s eastern suburbs for $99.90/kg.
HOLBROOK PADDOCK EGGS
A happy hen makes for a delicious egg. That’s the mantra according to the Pincott family, who rear a flock of free range, grass fed Bond brown hens near Holbrook in southern NSW. Holbrook Paddock Eggs adhere to a strict stocking density of just 40 hens a hectare, giving the chickens freedom to roam and produce a premium quality egg. About 10,000 laying hens produce enough eggs to provide supply across Sydney, Melbourne, Canberra, and regional Australia each week.
SUMMER LAND CAMELS
Camels have a rich history in Australia, having been a part of the landscape since the 1840s. Summer Land Camels at Harrisville in Queensland capture wild camels from the outback, before training them and producing their award-winning array of dairy and skincare products. Milk from these camels is used to produce a premium range of fresh camel milk dairy products, including fresh camel milk, cheese, gelato, and a camel milk and honey vodka. In 2019, Summer Land Camels was awarded the Excellence in Agriculture Award at the 2019 Scenic Rim Business Awards.
ROBBINS ISLAND WAGYU
Fourth-generation producers John, Keith, Alex and Chauncey Hammond have been breeding Wagyu beef at Robbins Island in northwest Tasmania since the 1990s. Their prized cattle graze naturally on pastures for at least 18 months, before being moved to supplemental grain feeding. The original Wagyu herd was founded in 1994, with an increasing focus on polled Wagyu cattle. The result is an animal with high carcass performance, producing beef with marble scores of 4-6 and 7-8 and 9+. Robbins Island markets their beef as being either spring or autumn progeny to best highlight the seasonal variations due to climate and nutrition. Robbins Island Wagyu is available at select suppliers and restaurants nationwide.
McIVOR FARM FOODS
Belinda and Jason Hagan, along with their children and a small team of producers, run a family farm at Tooborac in central Victoria, producing pork products using Berkshire pigs. With a passion for regenerative land practices, the Hagans plant seasonal crops designed to improve the quality of the soil they farm on. The McIvor farm gate shop gives consumers a chance to buy directly from the family, while those living across Victoria are able to source McIvor products from various farmers’ markets, butchers, delis, and outlets. McIvor also offers a monthly pork club subscription, where subscribers can have farm-fresh pork delivered direct from the farm to their home.
OUTBACK LAMB
From Tullamore in NSW, the family behind Outback Lamb produce a range of single origin lamb sausage rolls, which have been awarded a multitude of accolades, including a state winner of the delicious produce awards. Sheep spend their whole life grazing both native and improved pastures, with first-cross ewes selected for their maternal traits and wool production. Rams are selected for genetics which best produce a product high in eating quality, fat, and eye muscle. Low-stress stock handling skills are also deployed to best product a lamb product of the highest quality for consumers.
GIPPSLAND JERSEY
Perhaps one of the best examples of an Australian producer with strong paddock to plate credentials, Gippsland’s Sallie Jones has turned her family’s dairy operation into one of the most well-known brands in Victoria. Gippsland Jersey sources milk from small family farmers, paying producers a fair price for their milk. The result is a range of dairy products available at supermarkets and select suppliers across the state, from milk and yoghurt, to a summer series of milkshake vans during the summer, providing punters with the taste of Gippsland throughout the summertime.
MARGRA LAMB
With a micro-marbled finish and low fat melting point of 28-35C, Margra Lamb at Oberon in NSW produces a range of lamb products that is both delicate and succulent. The Gilmore family was inspired by their travels to South America to breed a fully-haired meat sheep designed to best tolerate Australian conditions. Years of careful breeding has resulted in a lamb which produces a range of secondary products, including lamb ham, bacon, salamis, and other small goods. Produce is available for consumers via the Magra Lamb website.
ELGAAR FARM
Based at Deloraine in Tasmania, Elgaar Farm is one of Australia’s leading organic dairy producers, with farming origins and practices dating back hundreds of years. The Gretschmann family passionately pursues an organise approach to producing dairy products, using only natural ingredients without the use of milk power, gums, or thickeners. Creams, milks, and yoghurts are all produced in handmade wooden crates, and bottled in glass bottles and jars. Dairy products are available at various farmgate stockists and markets across Tasmania.
MANDAGERY CREEK VENISON
Founded in 2002 with a commitment to producing a premium venison product, Mandagery Creek Venison produce a lean venison product as an alternative red meat product for customers. Based at Orange in NSW, Tim Hansen farms free-range, pasture-fed Australian Red deer, producing a Halal-certified venison product, free from antibiotics, stimulants, and growth promoting hormones, which is available at select butchers in NSW.
BARAMBAH ORGANICS
Founder and fourth-generation Queensland farmer Ian Campbell has been producing organic dairy products since 2002, when he converted his traditional family farm to organics. Starting out with organic milk, the range has now grown to also include cream, cheese and yoghurt. Ian’s passion is to produce the best tasting dairy products in the most sustainable way possible, drawing on his background as a rural scientistic with a specialisation in both animal and human nutrition. Barambah Organics products are available at selected suppliers across Australia.
WHISPERING PINES ORGANIC
Wheat producers Betina and Robert Walker produce their range of flours, bran, oats and groats at their property in the NSW Riverina. Whispering Pines has been a certified organic operation for about 12 years, producing cereal crops and organic lamb, along with traditional creamy rolled oats. Milling their own wheat on-site, the Walkers pride themselves on being a true paddock-to-plate establishment, and sell their produce directly to consumers via the farmhouse website. Whispering Pines were crowned state winners of the 2021 delicious produce awards.
whisperingpinesorganics.com.au
MOORLANDS BIODYNAMIC LAMB
Gold medallists in the 2021 delicious produce awards, Moorlands Biodynamic Lamb is owned and managed by sixth-generation producer Vince Heffernan. Based at a 1215-hectare property in the NSW Southern Tablelands, Moorlands produces green pasture-fed lamb products for consumers, available for pick-up direct from the farm. All pieces are vacuum packed and presented in a box that easily fits in an average car. Moorlands Bio-dynamic Lamb was awarded the gold medal in the 2021 delicious produce awards.
HOLY GOAT CHEESE
In 1999 Carla Meurs and Ann-Marie Monda purchased Sutton Grange Organic Farm, near Bendigo in Victoria. It represented the start of a paddock-to-plate revolution. Their goat herd, which grazes on native grass and pasture-cropped paddocks, produces milk 11 different cheeses, which have been developed over decades to provide cheese lovers with a variety of flavours. Cheese can be bought from a selection of stockists, farmers markers, and direct from the Holy Goat website.
MEREDITH DAIRY
Known for its famous marinated goat cheese, Meredith Dairy was established by Julie and Sandy Cameron in 1991, driven by a need to survive the turmoil of the wool crash and uncertainty of farming commodities. The largest farm of its kind in Australia, Meredith Dairy milk both goats and sheep, processing dairy products every day, making not only milk but other value-adding products such as Meredith Dairy cheese and yoghurt. Milk collected from the animals is turned into cheese and yoghurt every day, available for customers at a multitude of suppliers across the nation.
SCHULZ ORGANIC DAIRY
Based at Timboon in western Victoria, three generations of the Schulz family work passionately towards producing happy cows and delicious milk, in an organic way.
The Schulz Dairy range includes milk, yoghurt, cream and quark, renowned for its rich, creamy texture. Schulz Organic Dairy is set on 423 hectares of extremely fertile land. Products are available across the country at farmers’ markets and select suppliers.
GREAT OCEAN DUCKS
Greg and Jodi Clarke’s free-range Aylesbury and Pekin ducks roam their 16ha at Port Campbell, on Victoria’s Great Ocean Road. overlooking Port Campbell. Starting with only 30 ducks in 2009, the Clarkes have worked closely with chef Rob Kabboord to curate a selection of duck charcuterie and wines, available for customers direct from the Great Ocean Ducks website. Fresh duck is also available via the website.
BUNDARRA BERKSHIRES
Based at Barham in NSW, Bundarra Berkshires has been operating since 2010, producing ethically raised heritage pork from a paddock of happy pigs. Those pigs go on to produce handcrafted charcuterie and small goods from what began as an on-farm butcher and store, before morphing into the Little Pork Deli at Barham. Cuts are dry ages to order, for those seeking the next level of flavour from their pork. Bundarra Berkshires has been branded gold at both the Australian Food Awards and the Sydney Royal Fine Food Awards.
OTWAY PASTURES MILK
A collection of southwest Victorian farming families – the Davis, Whiting, Van Donk and McGlade families – supply Otway Pastures, with a commitment to creating healthy products using healthy farming practices. Otways Pastures produces a range of milk, distributed through Coles supermarkets and selected cafes. All cows are free-range, with no mass feeding of antibiotics.
BRUNY ISLAND CHEESE
Producing a range of cheese and beer, Bruny Island Cheese has become known as one of Tasmania’s most iconic food brands. From a pop-up restaurant, a cellar door, and a retail store in Hobart, Bruny Island Cheese products offers discerning foodies a true taste of Tasmania. Founded in 2003 by Nick Haddow, the company sources its milk from the Glen Huon Dairy Co, producing a range of ethical, small-scale, organically-produced dairy products with a focus on animal welfare and milk quality. The Glen Huon Dairy Co also offer farm tours for curious, passionate cheese lovers.
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