Garryowen building relationships along supply chain to cultivate paddock to plate experience

Value adding grass fed commercial Hereford cattle via direct beef sales using digital platforms has not only been financially profitable for a South Australian family but resulted in the breed’s eating quality rapidly gaining favour with consumers.

The McInerney family’s business, Garryowen Direct Beef, is built upon principles of sustainability and regenerative agriculture, where the health of the land and the well-being of the cattle are paramount.

They are committed to employing sustainable practices that promote resilience and adaptability in the face of changing climatic conditions.

Garryowen Direct Beef comprises grass fed Hereford beef packs from antibiotic and hormone free yearling steers and cull heifers finished to 450-520kg liveweight.

This year the family farmed through one of their driest years in 124 years with 165mm received to spring in a 525mm average rainfall zone at Riverton in the mid north of South Australia.

Mark McInerney is the fifth generation on the property “Garryowen” and works alongside his wife Rachael and parents Jim and Kaye McInerney. Jim’s father Vin established the Garryowen Poll Hereford stud in 1955, with the stud due to mark its 70^th anniversary in 2025.

The cattle herd dovetails with a continuous cropping enterprise of wheat, barley, canola, beans and lentils, domestic and export hay production, and an opportunistic lamb finishing operation. The family also runs a hay and straw contracting business with the help of two full time employees, one casual and contract labour.

The 1600ha aggregation is split between the cattle grazing in the Barossa and cropping at Riverton.

The stud and commercial herd comprises 230 autumn and spring calving females, grazing permanent perennial ryegrass and clover pastures in hill country.

The family has focused on producing 60-70 paddock reared bulls each year with a large portion going to purebred Hereford herds producing feeder weight cattle off pastoral stations in upper South Australia, western NSW and the Northern Territory.

“There are some fairly arid areas where we send these bulls, so we target high fertility, calving ease coupled with early maturity, and a good temperament,” Mark said.

The stud has used mainly natural joinings and runs the herd under commercial conditions, recently using genetics from Kilkerrin, Minlacowie, Morganvale, Allendale and Grathlyn. Bulls and females are also sourced from the Dubbo Poll Hereford Sale.

“We are looking at growth traits, hitting those target 400- and 600-day weights, and in recent times have seen the importance of producing animals with the positive carcase traits of eye muscle area, intramuscular fat and retail beef yield,” Mark said.

“Chasing these traits has given us confidence with the direct beef sales, that our customers get to experience a product that is high end but also great value for money.”

The family uses AgriWebb to keep track of herd management and livestock production assurance requirements and recently installed newly designed low stress cattle yards across each of the properties to help with production efficiencies.

Traditionally, the grass fed, antibiotic-free steers and cull heifers are finished on cereal and legume pastures or perennial ryegrass and clover pastures and sold direct to processors or as backgrounders through local store markets at Mt Compass or Dublin.

“The purchase of extra grazing land gave us the opportunity to start finishing a few steers and cull heifers – when beef prices were ordinary 12 months ago, we saw an opportunity to value add when people began inquiring about beef,” Mark said.

“We just dipped our toe in the water and the positive feedback we received blew us away. People are really interested in the grass fed and finished beef.

“We are lucky we have an abattoir and onsite wholesale processor 20 minutes away at Kapunda. The animals are transported there with all the killing, processing and packaging done on site keeping it simple and cost effective.”

The carcases are then picked up in bulk packaging and placed in an on-farm storage facility ready for collection by customers in the Clare Valley, Barossa, Gawler, Yorke Peninsula and local Riverton area.

Carcase weights have varied from 240 to 270kg, but the family aim for a heavier carcase to optimise the boxed beef yield while balancing the purchase cost for the customer.

“As a seedstock producer we have always promoted the Hereford breed but now we are also on the flipside, having the opportunity to promote the breed’s great flavour, tenderness, marbling and eating quality to consumers,” Mark said.

“We were aware of the demand for grass-fed beef out there but didn’t realise how big it was. That has been the big selling point for us as it is the product consumers are chasing.

“The feedlot industry is so important for the Australian beef industry going forward but I believe there is an avenue for people to pursue that grass fed beef and the clean, green story that goes with that.

“We aim to incorporate regenerative grazing and pasture management in our beef operation to achieve sustainability. The carbon footprint of this beef is minimal as it is processed close to our point of production and picked up by our customers locally.”

Garryowen Direct Beef is sold as either a quarter, half, or full carcase.

A quarter pack typically includes shin osso bucco, bolar roast, blade steak, chuck mince, seasoned roast brisket, scotch fillet steak, rib roast, skirt mince, sirloin porterhouse steak, fillet steak, rump steak, crumbed schnitzel, topside sandwich steak, corned silverside, gravy beef diced and sausages.

“This is the most cost-effective way from a processing point of view so we can pass the savings onto the customer and the customer gets to choose how they pack the meat into portions to suit a family, couple or individual,” Mark said.

“Feedback has told us people enjoy doing that process. There is opportunity going forward to break that animal down to a one-eighth or smaller pre-packaged portions. This would give the customer greater flexibility in regard to the up-front purchase price and storage space.

“This could allow for further expansion into the metropolitan area as our farm is located on the urban fringe only one hour from the CBD of Adelaide.

“When customers come on-farm to pick up their orders, they are excited to meet us and hear our story. We were surprised the first order of four animals sold in less than 12 hours to total strangers via local social media.

“We did another one a month later with a similar response and then decided to incorporate an automated ordering system on our website. We are now in a routine of processing once a month and people can subscribe through the website to alert them via electronic direct mail to processing dates.

“In an ideal world we all want to see beef prices return close to where they were 24 months ago. Our customers are getting great value for money and able to buy a premium product, but the limitation is people are still outlaying a lot of money to purchase in bulk. So, it is about finding that balance between offering the product at an affordable price by breaking the animal down more into smaller portions, without a big increase in processing cost.”

Garryowen Direct now services more than 160 customers with new customers subscribing and ordering each month.

Mark said consumers were interested in the health benefits of grass-fed beef, being lower in total fat and calories, and higher in omega 3 fatty acids.

“Herefords are close to our heart; we are passionate about them and try to promote them as best we can. And now being able to talk about the great eating qualities is good for the breed,” he said.

“This has been a great experience – there is no better feeling than someone reaching out after they have purchased your product to say how much they love it. People just love the story of a family business which has been running cattle for 70 years as ethically as possible.

“For others considering selling direct, building a good relationship with your processor while having a streamlined and simple ordering system for customers is critical in cultivating that paddock to plate experience.”