You stop paying retail on every single cut

 

This is the heart of it.

 

Walk into a butcher and every cut is priced on its own. Scotch fillet is dear because scotch fillet is dear. So is porterhouse, so is fillet, so is rump. You pay top dollar for the premium cuts and the butcher carries the risk on everything else.

 

Buy a quarter, half or whole carcass and that flips. The premium cuts are averaged across the entire animal along with the mince, the sausages, the roasts and the slow-cook cuts. One price per kilo, for all of it.

 

At our current pricing that works out to roughly $20 to $22 per kilo of take-home meat, depending on the size you choose — and that's the price of your scotch fillet as much as your mince.

 

We've shown the full working on our freezer and weight guide, including how dressed weight converts to what actually goes in your freezer. Have a look at the numbers yourself.

 

 

 

There's no middleman taking a cut

 

Most beef in this country travels a long way from the farmer to you, and passes through several sets of hands on the journey. Every one of them has costs and every one of them needs a margin fair enough, that's business.

 

The trouble is what it leaves the farmer. For years we sent animals through the traditional supply chain and regularly received less than it cost us to produce them. We were one decision away from exiting 70 years of breeding.

 

In 2023 we wrote a Facebook post asking local families whether they'd like to buy beef directly from the farm. That one decision changed our business.

 

Now the chain is: our paddock → Menzel's Meats in Kapunda → our refrigerated trailer → you. That's it. The value that used to disappear into the middle is split between a fairer price for you and a viable farm for us.

 

Read our full story →

 

 

 

You know exactly where it came from

 

Not "Australian grass-fed" on a label. The actual paddock.

 

Our cattle are bred and raised on our own farm at Riverton, Terowie and Eden Valley, from Poll Hereford genetics we've been improving for more than 70 years. They are:

 

• 100% grass-fed and grass-finished pasture, not a feedlot they are as free range as they should be!

• Pasture raised

• No added hormones

• No antibiotics

• Hand-picked we select every animal that goes on a beef run

 

The beef we sell is the beef we feed our own family. We've never found a reason to make that a marketing line rather than a rule.

 

 

 

It's processed locally, by people we know

 

Your beef is processed at Menzel's Meats in Kapunda about 20 minutes from our front gate.

 

That matters for three reasons. The butchering is done by people whose work we can vouch for. The beef is properly aged rather than rushed, because we've asked for it that way and we're willing to pay for the time. And the money stays in the district, the farm, the abattoir and the butcher are all within an hour of each other.

 

 

 

Fewer food miles, less packaging

 

Your beef travels from our paddock to Kapunda, and then to you in our own accredited refrigerated coolroom trailer. No interstate freight, no distribution centre, no depot.

 

And because it arrives fresh in bulk cartons rather than individually portioned into retail trays, there's no polystyrene, no ice packs, and a fraction of the plastic. You portion it to suit your household and freeze it, which means you also stop paying for packaging you were only ever going to throw away.

 

 

 

An honest comparison

 

We'd rather set the trade-offs out plainly than have you find them later.

 

What buying direct asks of you:

 

• Freezer space. A quarter needs a small chest freezer or a few drawers. A half needs a real one.

• Money up front. You're buying six months of beef in one go, not a week's worth.

• An hour of packing. Your beef arrives bulk-packed and you portion it yourself.

• You eat the whole animal. Osso bucco and brisket as well as scotch fillet. Most people come to enjoy this part.

• Planning ahead. Beef runs happen on set dates and numbers are limited.

 

What you get for it:

 

• Every cut at roughly $20–22 a kilo, premium cuts included

• Beef you can trace to a paddock and a family

• 100% grass-fed and finished, no hormones, no antibiotics, properly aged

• Fresh, never frozen, so you control the portions and the packaging

• Six to twelve months of not thinking about the meat aisle or rising red meat prices

• A South Australian family farm that stays in the family

 

If the freezer space or the up-front cost is the sticking point, start with a quarter. Most of our customers did, and a fair few have moved up to a half since.

 

 

 

And there's the bit that doesn't fit on a spreadsheet

 

We've watched too many family farms disappear or get swallowed up. We're trying to show there's another way one where a real farming family can run a sustainable business, listen to its customers, and still be here if our sixth generation decides to have a go.

 

That's our why. When you buy a quarter from us, you're part of it.

 

 

 

Come and see for yourself

 

Choose your quarter, half or whole carcass, pick a beef run date, and secure your order with a $50 deposit. Numbers are limited on each run.

 

See available beef runs →

 

Got questions first? Our FAQs cover nearly everything, or ring Mark on 0400 25 68 50.

 

Mark and Rachael Garryowen Direct Beef — local food for local people.