Certified Organic Lamb Direct from the Farmer!

Hello to Everyone.
I have been chatting with an organic lamb farmer and want to put in a bulk community order delivered to Newlands!
Please read through the following and if you think you would like to put an order in for a whole OR half a lamb please let Mel know: melmate@hotmail.com or 0404 043 010.
Alternatively, if half a lamb will be too much, you could pair up with someone to share a half but in terms of organising everything any pairs would need to operate as one unit, so as not to confuse the process.
The lamb will be delivered via refrigerated truck by Colin and Sally on Saturday June 15.
We will need payment via direct deposit before the 15th and you will also need to be able to pick up the lamb very close to delivery time.
This is very exciting and such a great way to eat, if it works well it could very well become a yearly occurrence!!
Please contact me if you have any questions/comments/ideas. The finer details will be worked out via email as we get closer to the date. If you are really interested please send me an email of your order and I will pass on bank details.
Cheers Mel.

Colin and Sally's Farm

We run an O.G.A. certified organic sheep and beef grazing operation in the beautiful Strzelecki Ranges in South Gippsland. We believe in sustainable farming and are aiming to produce all the farm’s needs on the property. Our operation comprises of a stud breeding Wiltipoll flock and a commercial beef herd. We select for our flock, animals that show a natural resistance to worms and those whose hooves cope well with the wet ground from the high rainfall we receive each year. This means we don’t have to rely on chemical treatments for our animals. We use no herbicides or pesticides on our pastures, so our animals only eat fresh, natural grass, herbs, and legumes.

We believe in the ethical treatment of animals and strive to maintain a system of grazing that best mimics animals in the wild and our lambs are slaughtered by the award winning Radford’s abattoir in Warragul.

Our farm is always open to anybody who would like to have a look at what we do (with a little bit of notice).

We believe that small farming is essential to the future of sustainable agriculture and for the preservation of small, vibrant communities and local economies. Buying direct from a farmer that you can get to know and trust is a great way to support sustainable agriculture, healthy eating, and inclusive communities. Buying from a supermarket means farmers remain faceless and you place your trust in farming, and ultimately the environment, to large corporatised farms.

We made the big move out here to the Dollar hills just over five years ago, dedicated to sustainable agriculture and passionate about good food.

We are raising our small but growing family here, and we are hoping to pass down a sense of community, sustainable agriculture, and a holistic approach to a healthy existence, to our children. 

We hope you will consider supporting us and try our organic lamb.

Cheers,

Colin and Sally

Breakdown of Costs

After working out all the costs involved we feel we could offer a whole lamb carcass at $12.50/kg for a minimum of ten lambs. Coles, for example, offer cuts ranging from just under $10/kg to just over $40/kg. Based on that range I think that our price would is favourable. It is important to remember that the supermarket prices are for conventional lambs and ours are certified organic.

I won’t know until we get our lambs to the abattoir what they will weigh, but I think it would be between 20kgs and 30kgs a head. This would price a whole lamb at between $250 and $375. 

I thought a breakdown of our costs would allow everyone see what they are paying and that we are receiving a fair price for the lambs.

The overheads for the day include fuel, hire of refrigerated van, and road toll fees. These I have worked out to $362.

The cost per lamb is worked out thus:

-$27/head slaughter fee.

-$1.50/kg butcher fee.

The cost per lamb will differ based on weight but I estimated most lamb carcasses to be around 20kgs. Based on this figure a lamb would cost $57 to be killed and butchered.

I then need to add the cost of the overheads of $362. I divide by the minimum ten lambs which is $36.20 which takes the total cost of each lamb to $93.20, leaving us a profit of $156.80 for each lamb. 

As we would expect to receive anywhere from $90 to $120 a lamb at the regular market we think this is a good profit margin when you take into account our time involved away from the farm. 

Cuts of Meat Available

Some decisions need to be made regarding the cuts that are available.

You will receive (obviously adjusting quantities for a half or a whole lamb):

• Soup bones
• Shanks
• Spare ribs

The following parts of the animal can be butchered according to your preference:

• Forequarter – chops OR boned and rolled OR bone left in shoulder roast
• Cutlets – as cutlets (separate) OR as a rack
• Loin – chops OR a roast
• Leg – chops OR roast (boned and rolled OR bone left in)

• chump section of lamb: roast or chops?