Grass Fed Beef & Lamb

We have found that the running of cattle and sheep together has given us a very powerful ecological tool for repair and rehabilitation. The livestock are grazed at very high density for a very short period of time across our 196 paddocks. Most paddocks are only grazed for 1 day at a time and then rested for 180 days before we return. The effect of this is that we get a tremendous pulse of organic matter in our soils each time we graze, not only from the plants being grazed but also from the animal’s urine and manure. Having dung beetles ‘following’ the herd as soil renovators and aerators means that our paddocks are getting healthier each time we graze and our organic carbon is increasing.

Organic carbon holds seven times it own weight in water so the cumulative effect of a continual increase in carbon is a massive continual increase in the water holding capacity of our soils.

The action of ‘Herd Effect’ and 'Animal Impact’ are tools that we have used through our grazing system to repair and restore problem areas.eg scalded country and gully erosion.

Gilgai Beef

After trialling 5 different beef breeds and really liking the visual appearance of our Simmentals, our data supported the decision to run pure Simmental cattle. We have selected the best genetics to give us marbling, tenderness and also feed conversion efficiencies on native grass pastures. We have 9 different Simmental bloodlines from nearly every continent. The taste, tenderness and texture of our meat is unparalleled.

In 2006 St Johns College Dubbo took two of our steers to The Royal Easter Show in Sydney. They were entered into the Hoof and Hook competition and gained 1st and 3rd on the Hoof in their class and 7th and 22nd out of 84 carcasses across all breeds. A further venture to the “Ekka” in Brisbane later that year saw one of our steers have a 71% meat yield when “put over the hook”.

To read about the health benefits of Grass Fed Beef go to http://www.eatwild.com/healthbenefits.htm

Gilgai Lamb - Wool & Meat

Wool has always been a passion for Eric. He is a qualified wool classer and has classed wool and sheep in 4 states of Australia. The geography, topography and “normal” rainfall of where we are situated made us settle on growing quality, fine wool. Our goal was to try and average 18micron for our grown sheep.

Since changing our farming system in 2004 we have continued to reduce our micron to our present adult average of 17.4 micron whilst increasing our wool cut per head to an average of 4.7kg. An added benefit of this change has been an increase in the tensile strength of our wool. Most of our fleece lines now average between 49Nkt and 55Nkt and our weakest at 43Nkt (usually a line of Skirtings).

We have been able to produce well grown, well muscled merino wethers that have been much sought after by both restockers and the meat trade. The flavor and texture of pure Merino meat is quite different to lamb normally sold by butchers. To those who have tried merino meat, many now prefer it to other lamb or mutton. It is a taste sensation all of its own.

To read about the health benefits of Grass Fed Lamb go
to http://www.eatwild.com/healthbenefits.htm

Benefits of Grass Fed Meat (206 KB)