“Contented cattle produce the best beef,” says David Nelson. He and his wife, Joanna, have a 610-hectare farm on the banks of the Moorabool River at Meredith, 105 kilometres west of Melbourne. There, they raise Angus crossed with South Devon British beef cattle. “The South Devons have a large frame and a docile nature,” says David. “And the Angus produce beautiful intramuscular marbling.”
Stress is one of the biggest factors when it comes to meat tenderness, so the Nelsons do not round up their animals with dogs or use electric prods. In their breeding program, they select the animals with the quietest natures to improve the overall behaviour of the herd.
The animals forage on grass, supplemented by hay (produced on farm) in winter and as needed according to the season. The cattle are slaughtered at around two years when they have developed good marbling and depth of flavour. The carcasses are hung for 10 days and processed in a purpose-built on-farm butchery.
“A few years back I could see a future where big abattoirs were going to reject private kills,” says David. “I knew that if we were going to ensure our future viability, we would have to take control of all aspects of production.” He opened his on-farm butchery in 2020 and the council has given approval to build a small on-farm abattoir to kill just three animals per week. The Nelsons expect to have that up and running by winter of 2024.
Moorabool River Beef has a legion of loyal customers who buy the meat online and at weekend farmers’ markets in Geelong, around Melbourne and in regional Victoria.
Products: Victorian beef, ready for the kitchen.