1. AUGUS T 2015 Farm  29 
Farm facts
Melbourne
Natural Grass
Fed Beef
Ellie Mitterer farms a herd of 70
Wagyu-Angus cattle on a 40-hectare
farm at Nar Nar Goon in West Gippsland.
She sells the beef under her
Melbourne Natural Grass Fed Beef
brand, delivering 10kg meat packs to
Melbourne households.
She plans to expand to farmers’
markets within the year.
shortsupplychain.com.au
Once slaughtered, carcasses are taken to
a local butcher, where they are processed
into various cuts and made into mince and
sausages, and bagged. Ellie then creates 10kg
packs containing two each of scotch fillets,
eye fillets, rump and round steaks, as well as a
mix of diced, stir-fry, roasts or topside.
Using her PrimeSafe-accredited mobile
refrigerator van, Ellie then distributes directly
to customers, with one beast supplying about
12 customers each month.
She says she doesn’t have a defined
geographic area for her sales, although tries
to avoid dropping a single pack at a long
distance, preferring instead to have several
customers in the same region.
Most customers have come from Facebook,
or word of mouth, with her website useful in
providing customers with more information.
“Most of my customers are families who
want to know the system is humane and like
more flavour in their meat,” she says.
THIS year Ellie has completed her food
safety supervisors course, which will
allow her to register with her local council to
sell at farmers’ markets. As soon as increased
cattle numbers are ready for slaughter, within
a year or two, she’ll begin selling at farmers’
markets in the east of Melbourne.
“I’d also like to work with other farmers
who don’t have time to deliver their lamb,
pork or chicken. I get asked for these meats
but there’s only so much I can produce,” she
says.
Ellie says her vegetarian days haven’t been
completely abandoned, while she’ll never eat
meat seven days a week, she enjoys tucking
into her own steak or burger.
“I try to make it as natural as I can in a
commercial system,” she says.
“I love knowing they are taken care of, they
aren’t in feed lots, they’re able to socialise,
move around, eat grass, and wreck things.
“I love that I give them a better life.” F
They are what they
eat: (from far left)
Wagyu bull, Mickey;
part of Ellie's herd of
70 grass-fed Wagyu-
Angus cattle; calves
still with growing to
do before they are
abbatoir-ready, which
Ellie says is “based
more on their look”
than age.
theweeklytimes.com.au
For more images
AUGUS T 2015 Farm  29 