Meat Me At The Gate producers sell out most weeks

The couple run a grassfed operation of about 100 head at Officer South, joining Angus and Friesian cows to Charolais bulls, and sell their meat direct to the public at their farmgate produce store.

They launched their Meat Me At The Gate business in 2019 after deciding they wanted to cut out the middle man.

They said it also helped meet growing consumer demand for those that wanted to know the origin of their food.

"We don't pay someone to sell our meat for us, and the [customers] come and speak directly to us," Mr Beard said.

"We breed them, we grow them out, and then we sell them to the public from the fridge, so there's complete traceability from [start to finish]."

Ms Beard said a big focus for them was low-stress handling of their livestock, as it helped keep the meat nice and tender.

Part of that priority involves not using livestock trucks.

Instead, they transport their cattle to the processors themselves, with the carcases butchered at Bunyip River Meats, Koo Wee Rup.

The couple run an e-commerce store, where their clients can place orders online in advance.

Mr Beard then packs those orders up himself and places them in the fridge ready for pick up on their open days.

The public are also welcome to turn up on open days to see what's available.

"We're open for a day and a half basically every two weeks and if we don't have the cattle ready, then we'll slow back down and open once a month," he said.

"I think even with that being part of the story, people appreciate the fact they know it's fresh and they know it's our stuff.

"Our regulars that know we're closing up for a period of time will buy up bigger to stock their freezers."

Ms Beard said while it was easier to send their meat to a wholesaler, the profit margin was often "not too different".

She said they sold out of their beef most weeks, as well.

Being in a culturally-diverse region, they said they had a variety of people travelling from as far as Frankston and Lilydale to buy their beef, and they were often able to sell more of the carcase, including livers, hearts and oxtails.

Although they set their own prices, they said they had to be careful what they charged and realistic about what their competitors prices were set at.

Mr Beard said many of their customers appreciated the minimal fluctuation in their prices though.

"We researched that if you were to go to say [Woolworths], and bought veal or grassfed beef, it's a very similar price, so it's not like we're charging an arm and a leg," Ms Beard said.

Mr Beard said using social media platforms like Facebook to promote their business had been invaluable.

"Facebook is a great marketplace if you do it right," he said.

Ms Beard said they were also intentional about the breeds of cattle they used, with the Friesian blood creating a high production of milk for calves to boost growth rates, and the Charolais bull giving their cattle a calmer temperament.

They feed their cattle mostly sorghum, millet and a brassica blend.

Mr Beard said they previously used lucerne but with recent years being too wet to produce those crops, they were leaning towards other options.

He said his family had been on the property for seven decades.

"Our kids are growing up in the same house their grandfather grew up in, which is a common story in rural Australia, but we're pretty well in suburban Melbourne," he said.

"The biggest thing is you've got to know who you are or what you want to be.

"Michelle really likes the community aspect, getting to know people and being in the community, so if you don't like that, you wouldn't do it."