According to Ballan butcher Shane Zammit a locally-focused, environmentally aware, paddock-to-plate model is the meat industry's future.
"We raise all the lamb that we supply into the shop all year round," he said.
He says this after finishing a presentation at the Victorian Sheep and Wool Show this past weekend at the Ballarat Showgrounds.
It focused on butchers identifying parts of a lamb and how the product eventually gets to a local supermarket or restaurant, which enthralls the small crowd of children and their parents looking on.
He said he loves conducting these demonstrations but admits to changing things up depending on what an audience can stomach.
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"Part of doing presentations like the one here at the show is awareness and education's sake," he said.
"Today in Ballarat, we've got a little bit more of an agricultural base in terms of our audience, so things are a little bit less of a shock to them, but it's great for young kids to see a lamb hanging,"
"But to be honest, both young and old, do benefit from understanding where certain cuts come from."
Mr Zammit said catering to a particular demographic can significantly benefit a butcher, and engaging with the audience over the years has given him a good sense of what consumers want from their butchers.
"Our target customer is one with a good amount of disposable income, who wants to know where their product comes from, and values good quality," he said.
"So being located in an area like Ballan which is in the growth corridor for that demographic has been an advantage for us. "
But like many sectors of agriculture, Mr Zammit said labour shortages in abattoirs and butcheries are holding the butchers back somewhat.
"The disadvantage we are facing [at the moment] is that labour can be quite hard to find and most of our employees do travel some distance to get to their workplace right now," he said.
He is hopeful the local butchery workforce in Ballan will grow steadily over the next few years, and consistent engagement will throw away misconceptions about the industry.
"I believe generating more interest in local meat has got to do with our sales pitch and what we're about as an environmentally aware, animal welfare conscious producer that has control of the whole process," he said.
"That means breeding the animals on our farms, look after the finishing process, transporting them to the abattoir ourselves," he said.
"That provokes a lot of interest and a lot of passion from our customers as well."