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Coles carbon-neutral beef can be found in supermarkets across NSW, South Australia, Tasmania and Victoria. And cattle from the Mathie family operation, Wybalena, meet the desired specifications for this product.

But, the backstory behind the producers supplying the cattle and meeting stringent criteria to join this market is an impressive one.

The operation at Wybalena covers 3600ha of owned and leased land and draws on decisions and strategies implemented years ago. It was not a kneejerk decision to simply tick a few boxes and sell into a new market.

Daniel Mathie, wife Hannah and daughters Lydia, 4, and Evelyn, 2, are carrying on the work that began taking shape decades ago.

Daniel is also assisted by his sister Ellen, who has a significant input into the business and is studying agriculture at Charles Sturt University in Wagga Wagga, and brother William recently finished school and is starting full time on the property.

LONG PROCESS

Daniel has spent his life on the Holbrook property and said his grandparents moved to Wybalena in 1990 after running a dairy farm at Camden in NSW.

His father, Andrew Mathie, did some groundbreaking work in establishing the successful composite herd.

He used Angus genetics as a base and incorporated Simmentals to promote hybrid vigour and combine the attributes of the larger-framed European breed.

Then the maternal qualities of Gelbvieh cattle were also added to the mix to create what has evolved into a tried and true high growth rate, impressively performing herd.

Throughout the years the family has run sheep too, but now the focus is solely on cattle and the aim is to make silage and constantly evolve the pastures to enhance what is already a relatively self-sufficient low-input operation.

“Dad has been working on the composites since the 1990s,” Daniel said.

“He has a real interest in the cattle breeding.”

BREED, FEED AND TREES

The success of the cattle program and genetic selection has been complemented by Daniel’s passion for pastures and sustainability.

The herd of 2200 spring-calving breeders is grazed on perennial pastures and there has been about 30,000 trees planted on the property.

The trees not only provide shelter for the cattle, but also help attract native fauna.

In fact, the Australian National University has studied the environmental diversity on the Holbrook property as a result of the family’s shelter belts and tree-planting projects.

The recipe for success with the beef operation focuses on turning progeny off when they reach 300-320kg carcass weight. Daniel said that equated to 565kg liveweight.

“We are targeting a carcass weight and we are getting paid on that weight,” he said.

The cattle in the carbon-neutral program are sold during a calendar window of January to August.

This has helped shore up marketing for the family and adds to additional cattle trading that occurs when the market is suitable and there are margins to be made.

From January to August one B-double each week is loaded up with cattle for the carbon-neutral market.

Reflecting on the branded beef program, Daniel said the work at Holbrook evolved over the years and earlier tree planting had helped prevent erosion and maintain the property to where it is today.

Hannah said it was interesting to compare Wybalena now with how it looked before the tree planting had begun.

As well as the pasture approach, silage is made to provide supplementary feed. The feed is used to finish cattle for market and adds to stability during years when feed is not so abundant.

“We make our own silage, although we didn’t make any this year because it was too wet to put machinery on the paddocks,” Daniel said.

“This is only the second or third year that has happened.”

FEEDBACK LOOP

Sharing and gaining insights with other farm groups such as Landcare has also proven valuable.

“We have had a video and interview with Landcare to share what we are doing here,” Daniel said.

To further manage the pastures, the paddocks are used in a rotational manner.

This meant fencing programs were implemented and paddocks could be grazed opportunistically at the right times.

The aim is to constantly maintain a high degree of ground cover, even in hot, dry summer conditions.

“I guess my goal is to leave the land in a better state than we found it,” Daniel said.

Using feedback and working with consultants has also paid dividends in terms of management.

Daniel gets feedback about the cattle and how they perform by using an app on his phone and there is also an audit process to meet the criteria of supplying carbon-neutral beef.

He said the cattle turned off were Meat Standards Australia graded and in the past few years they had achieved a 98.7 per cent compliance.

“It’s good to have producer-specific feedback and also compare ourselves to peers who are selling into the same program,” he said.

CERTIFIED CARBON-NEUTRAL

Solar panels can be found across the property and in many instances have replaced diesel-powered pumps.

“We do have a couple of bores set up with solar and it is a lot less hassle,” Daniel said.

Coles national livestock manager, beef and lamb, Stephen Rennie said Coles was proud to provide a sustainable meat product.

The beef range is certified carbon neutral from paddock to shelf in accordance with the Australian government’s Active Carbon Neutral Standard.

Suppliers of carbon-neutral beef for Coles liaise with Integrity Ag and Environment.

This consultancy has been working with Coles for two years to pilot the program and help deliver carbon neutrality by maximising productivity in the supplier herds through on-farm tree planting, soil carbon sequestration and in the near future, feeding next generation supplements to directly reduce livestock emissions.

The results are then scrutinised by the federal government’s Climate Active program.

The direction of management at Wybalena, including long-term and large-scale tree planting played a role in reducing carbon.

The impetus to turn cattle off at opportunistic times and also incorporating solar power has all worked in concert to help meet the requirements.

Article Attrition: Nikki Reynolds, The Weekly Times