| A TASTE OF ITALY IN BURNETT BEEF
CHAIN
Queensland Country Life October 8, 1998
Story by James Nason
Pictures by Rodney Green |
| Take a high muscling Italian
Cattle breed, a Murgon beef producer, a Hervey Bay butcher and one of
Australia's top chefs. What do you get? |
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For the Murgon beef
producer a valuable niche market, for the butcher a rise in beef sales of
300 percent and for the chef the first reason to change his beef supplier
in 15 years. |
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Hervey Bay Butcher Shop owner Jeff Braithwaite
(left) selects Piedmontese cross steers for his
Point Vernon butchery on Jeff Rose's
property Rosevale.
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| It is all part of a unique
"paddock to plate" beef marketing strategy that began in April when Hervey
Bay butcher shop owners Jeff and Jenny Braithwaite bought a Piedmontese
cross steer from Murgon beef producers Jeff and Annette Rose. |
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The Roses, who run a Limousin
and Piedmontese stud on their 324ha property Rosevale, began using the
Italian breed in their operation in 1992 after raising a friend's
Piedmontese calves born through embryo transfer.
"We were very impressed by their weight-for-age," Mr Rose said.
"Some of the calves at eight months old straight off mum were hitting the
scales at 370kg." |
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Jeff Rose, Rosevale, with Mr. Romeo, one
of his stud's top Piedmontese bulls. The
high muscling Italian breed has found ready
demand in a butcher to restaurant beef
marketing chain in the Hervey Bay region.
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| Crossing Piedmontese bulls to a
range of commercial females, predominantly Santa and Droughtmaster, the
Roses were thrilled to find almost immediate demand for the progeny from
Mr. Braithwaite. |
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