As mentioned in our
About Us page, our farm gate beef sales started in 2004 utilising a small herd of Stud Belted Galloways and commercial beef cows and a Black Belted Galloway bull followed by Red Belted Galloway bulls.
Our aim was to get people eating tasty, tender, naturally lean beef at a price that is affordable to all. It has not been difficult once people tasted the Belted Galloway meat. In the early days we found people had some difficulty in believing that a good looking cow could also provide fantastic beef...
All our beef are breed, born and raised on our property. As we are in marginal country, we do not have the capacity to ‘finish off’ our animals as some do to the age of 18 months to 2 years. Our guys are sent off at between 11 to 13 months of age. We and our clients have found this to work out well with tenderness, flavour and the amount of beef they get. In 2019, we decided to decrease our breeding numbers so stud and beef supplies are limited.
On average, the animals that go off at 11 to 12 months can weigh between 150 to 220 kgs dressed weight depending on whether they are a full or a beltie cross. Dressed weight is the carcase weight as it hangs on the hook. So really, it is when the animal is undressed, no hat, shoes or coat etc. And yes, dressed weight does include the bones.
We
do not slaughter on our farm but utilise the services of Two Brothers at
Loebethal. We are able to hang our beef for 8 to 10 days which aids in the
tenderising process. We have a quality control process in place and are
constantly checking with the butcher on how every carcass presents, eg, beef
colour, fat covering and marbling. We also get 2 small pieces of Rump to look
at, cook up and compare. As a result, we have tasted well over 300 of our
animals.
As mentioned, our beef is sold directly to the public as Sides or Mixed Quarters. A Mixed Quarter is half the Forequarter and half of Hindquarter, equalling half a side in all the beef cuts but without all the extra weight or bulk. We have found this to be especially great for couples, people on low incomes or those who have limited freezer space. We organise the assignments of clients to animals and provide a cut up chart and a beef cuts information sheet. And for those that are still unsure – we are only as far away as the phone.
Since 2009, we have branched out into the sale of lambs using the same processes as we do for our beef and this is proving to be very popular.
As at the 1st April 2021, we cannot take any more orders for our Beef as we are downsizing and struggling to fill the needs of our current clients.
We
are still taking orders for our Lambs, which are $11.50 a kg dressed weight and
this is the same price whether it is a whole lamb or a side. There are times
when we may have mutton and these are priced at $10.00 a kg dressed weight. So
please feel free to contact us at contactus@bonnibeltstud.com.au and we will be
able to give you an update on what is available and when.
Lay-by plans can still be organised for those that are on a budget but still wish to have good quality meat.
