IN A solid endorsement of the Shorthorn breed, its national society has teamed up with Australia's largest beef processor to deliver a high-end beef product.
Announced late last month, the branded product will be delivered to global retail and food service markets in early 2016.
For Shorthorn Beef directors Matt Ashby, Gulnare, and Chris Thompson, Yorketown, it is an exciting initiative they hope will deliver significant gains for the breed.
"JBS were the ones that initiated this, there was no push by Shorthorn Beef to start with," Mr Thompson said.
The product will initially involve 350 carcases being processed each week - amounting to 18,200 a year.
"But they're thinking it could be 10-fold in no time, that's how confident they are with the product," Mr Thompson said.
Mr Ashby said JBS was "feeling the market" and whether it could source the numbers.
"That 18,000 is a figure the board's given them, we reckon we can source 18,000 or about that figure," he said.
"And if all goes well, and if they think the cattle are out there, they're actually thinking 12 months later it could be 180,000."
The product will be underpinned by MSA and meet a minimum marble score of two.
Cattle will be grain-fed at one of JBS Australia's five feedlots and initially processed at the Riverina Beef plant near Narrandera in southern NSW.
Mr Thompson described the initiative as a "pull-on effect".
"That's where you need to drive your demand from; it's starting from the consumer end back to the original status of these cattle so the drive's coming from that end and it's pulling us through," he said.
"It's not like we've pushed a product that we're hoping is going to work in the marketplace, the marketplace has come looking for this product.
"It puts us in a very unique position."
Mr Ashby said JBS had been approached by beef retailers wanting another product, and in turn JBS had approached Shorthorn Beef with the proposal.
"This was only announced 10 days ago and within three days, they had an order from one of the biggest steakhouses in Brisbane and up that eastern seaboard wanting the product - that's pretty strong vibes from the industry and what they're after," he said.
Carla Wiese-Smith
Editor of SmartFarmer magazine.
Editor of SmartFarmer magazine.
