FARMER Dan produces quality meat and sells it direct to the public at affordable prices.
Jack River producer Dan Drougas – who is the face behind Farmer Dan – said it was a practice that isn't seen often in this day and age.
"People should be able to buy good quality food for their families at an affordable price," he said.
Having recently been awarded a bronze medal in the Royal Melbourne Fine Food Awards branded beef category, Farmer Dan's beef is obviously tasty.
And his customers agree, because he can hardly keep up with demand.
The Drougas family sell their produce at farmers markets and through their website.
They began their online shop when they were struggling to make ends meet during the drought and had to come up with new ways to make a living.
"Small farmers can remain viable if they look outside the square," Mr Drougas said.
"We offer a premium product for less cost and we don't rely on what we are getting paid, we market our produce and get return customers."
Starting off by travelling to Ballarat Farmers Market, Farmer Dan developed contacts and customers that offered an opening into the Melbourne markets.
They now attend seven farmers markets around Melbourne a month in their recently upgraded refrigerated display truck.
Mr Drougas said you had to have the right product and attitude to be successful.
"Once people try our produce they know it is really good and they keep coming back," he said.
"We offer customers samples and we are proactive in making contact with people, who will the buy our produce.
"People are always keen to see the farmer producing their food and hear about how it is being produced."
Farmer Dan's livestock is free-range and chemical free, with a focus on animal welfare and contentment.
The herd of 100 Angus, black baldy and Murray Grey cattle live along side a Wiltshire Horn sheep flock and Berkshire pigs.
Farmer Dan free-range beef comes from 8-14 month-old cattle, both steers and heifers, in healthy condition.
More than 100 cattle are processed annually. "We don't process anything over the age of 14-months," Mr Drougas said. "This is for quality control and tenderness – older steers need to be in top notch condition through the winter, whereas the younger ones get by more easily."
Farmer Dan delivers his cattle to the local abattoir, Radfords, on a bi-weekly basis, where they are processed.
"We deliver the animals ourselves, at the end of a killing session, to limit the stress and ensure they are processed straight away," Mr Drougas said.
"It is a modern facility that meets all the animal welfare needs that people are looking for when purchasing meat."
The meat is then taken to a butcher in Melbourne who cuts and packs it and turns some of it into gourmet sausages.
As well as Farmer Dan free-range beef, the Drougas also sell lamb and pork from their property.
*Full story in this week's Stock & Land
