BLAIR and Josie Angus, Kimberley Station, north of Moranbah, are no strangers to taking risks when it comes to their beef business.
They’ve successfully developed their own branded product and exported it around the world.
Now they want to take control of one of the last pieces of the supply chain they don’t control – processing.
The Angus family have lodged an application with the Isaac Regional Council to build a procesing facility on-farm on Sondella Station, 60km north of Moranbah, and are hoping for an approval “sooner rather than later”.
Mr Angus said the abattoir, which is proposed to have a maximum killing capacity of 50,000 head per year is the logical next step for the family to gain more control of their end product.
The well known chairman of Beef Australia said he plans to change the way meat is processed, from lengthening the chill window, to dry ageing, to the way cuts are made.
Mr and Mrs Angus said when designing the abattoir, they started from scratch and completely redesigned the way the processing of a beef carcase is done – and focused on eating quality, not speed.
“It’s not about multi-million dollar machines, it’s about going back to a blank room with a white sheet of paper - and not actually adopting any existing paradigms,” Mrs Angus said.
“We have things like lengthening out that chill window, and a focus on dry ageing, and slowing the whole process down.”
Mr and Mrs Angus said they will aim to focus on utilising the entire beast and getting the most out of every cut, with limited wastage.
Mr Angus said by slightly readjusting where traditional cuts are made, a “significant amount” of money can be saved.
“In the last 30 years we’ve seen butchers across the nation really stop highlighting the diversity of beef,” Mr Angus said.
“The beef carcase has far more diversity than any other protein. but most butchers only buy in the cuts they know will sell well.”
At this stage the abattoir will be privately funded by the Angus family, but Mr Angus said he had an open attitude towards like-minded producers who wanted to get some “skin in the game”.
Mr and Mrs Angus own four properties covering 162,000 hectares and run a 35,000 head herd of Angus/Belmont Red cattle. Their Signature Beef brand is exported to a number of countries, including European and Asian markets.
The total killing needs of their own herd will account for about 40 per cent of the capacity of the abattoir, with outside producers welcome to utilise the site.