Fires and Drought Forces Farmers To Sell Meat On Social Media
After their northern NSW farm was destroyed by fire in 2019, they had lost most of their cattle and were left with nowhere to go, Bianca Tarrant, and Dave McGiveron, had no other option but to come up with a new business idea – otherwise they would lose everything.
“We went through rough times after the drought, then a bushfire came through and burned 70 percent of our property. We had to offload a lot of cows, we were really struggling to feed the animals – the breeders that we still had,” says Bianca (seen below).
“Prices at the sale yards were so low when we had to offload that if we did, we would go broke and lose everything, so we had to find another way to survive. We started selling cuts of beef to families through social media and demand just skyrocketed. We couldn’t believe the support we received from communities that were so distant from us, it showed us how far reaching the support for farmers is when we needed help.”
Since launching the meat subscription offering, and growing their new business, Our Cow, the young couple have been inundated with orders and support – mainly from Australians living in the cities, wanting to know where their meat comes from.
“We love that we can provide a better way for Australians to eat meat. It’s high-quality meat products, directly from the farm,” she says. “It hasn’t changed hands 10 times before it gets to your dinner plate.
“We also wanted to be able to give back to those people that helped us, so they don’t feel like they have to dip into their pockets to help farmers all the time, they can support farmers every day through the food that they eat.”
Australia grows some of the best livestock in the world, but the majority of it gets exported overseas.
“The quality of the meat at Our Cow is far superior than anything you’d find at the supermarket. The majority of the meat you buy in supermarkets is industrially farmed, and we are not about that. But our prices are comparable, if not a little cheaper than the supermarkets. It’s all about convenience, the boxes come in a chilled container, right to your door. You get to know the farmer and have a connection with the person who grew the meat.”
Our Cow buys stock straight off farms and transports it to a factory in ‘beef capital’ Casino in Northern New South Wales, it’s then prepared and distributed feeding more than 10,000 families nationwide.
They are already working with 50 beef producers, as well as lamb, pork and organic chicken producers who supply to the service.
“This gives farmers an alternative, secure, sustainable livestock market by not relying on cattle prices through conventional selling methods and large multinational companies to purchase products, instead going directly to the consumer.”
“Once we started the business, the demand grew quicker than what we could supply it and we knew there would be so many other farmers that would be in the same boat that would also want a guaranteed price,”
“So, we were able to bring on other farmers to the Our Cow team and our point of difference is we can offer farmers a secure and a stable price which does not fluctuate like the price at the sale yard does.We stay above the average and offer locked in pricing so there is no change with the weather and supply and demand.”
“We also recognise there are many customers out there that want to know where their meat is coming from and they want to support Australian farmers who are farming sustainably and have high animal welfare standards.We see how much support goes to farmers in times of need, but this is a way for consumers to directory support farmers every day by purchasing their meat this way”.
For more information visit ourcow.com.au
