Forge Creek Lamb is a wonderful example of a farming family adding value to their primary production to serve the local community with fresh, quality food. Neil and Angela Stringer have a sheep farm at Forge Creek, 285 kilometres east of Melbourne near Bairnsdale. Their story started back in 2007 when Neil returned from the livestock market with just $60 in his pocket from each of the sheep he’d sold, and Angela said, “We can do better than that!”
They soon founded a direct-to-customer lamb business supplying Gippsland restaurants and homes with their tender, delicious lamb from Border Leicester x Dorset sheep. “We chose traditional British meat breeds for their taste and texture,” says Neil. The animals are raised on the East Gippsland red gum plains on improved pastures and seasonal forage crops of brassicas such as turnip and rape, which also help generate soil biodiversity.
“We love where we live and we love our farm,” says Kevin. “Part of that is looking after our flock. It’s something we are passionate about.”
The animals are processed at seven to 13 months, at around 22 kilograms carcass weight. The Stringers chose a small abattoir in Orbost to slaughter the animals, and a butcher in Bairnsdale to prepare the meat for customers: they offer sides of lamb butchered into kitchen-friendly cuts, whole butchered lamb, and whole-boned lamb suitable for the spit, all of which customers can collect from local farmers’ markets or Riviera Meats in Bairnsdale. Forge Creek Lamb also delivers to wholesale customers.
The Stringers’ farm diversification strategy means they offer farm stays on their beautiful property and sell woollen items such as bed underlays.
Products: Half lamb packs, whole lamb packs, boned whole lamb and woollen underlays.