IF you haven't heard of Dandaragan Organic Beef then chances are you have not been accessing top quality, Western Australian owned and grown, organic, grassfed beef.
Like many other WA producers, the current situation with the global pandemic, has seen locally grown and produced goods come to the forefront and Dandaragan Organic Beef is perfectly placed to gauge the direct impact it has on its business.
Gaining organic accreditation 20 years ago, Dandaragan Organic Beef has seen a gradual growth and change in its business, in particular the way it distribute its products to the public.
Originally started by David and Joan Cook, their daughter Tracey Cook and husband Richard Cooper, along with their two sons, have taken over the day to day management of the business after returning to the farm in 2011.
Tracey runs the marketing, finance and online platforms for the business, while Richard handles the farm and cattle management.
She said 20 years ago her parents initially started the organic beef business by selling direct to customers in Perth, but as demand grew they switched to wholesaling direct to butchers.
"You can buy our beef from a range of quality butchers, for example our longest standing client is Mondo di Carne, which wholesales into restaurants, health food stores and independent supermarkets, as well as retailing in store," Tracey said.
The advent of panic buying and the inability of the large supermarket chains to keep up with consumer demand, has seen local butchers and independent shops become a much more trafficked sector of the market.
Dandaragan Organic Beef has noticed an uptick in its supply to regular stockists.
"Butchers are really in a unique position within all of this, because they can just call their suppliers like us and increase their order for the week, unlike the big chains," Tracey said.
"It is great to see our long-term clients have an increase in their business because they offer quality local produce everyday."
The newest arm of the business, home-delivered organic beef boxes purchased via the Dandaragan Organic Beef website, has also experienced a big rise in demand from existing and new customers.
"We had a huge spike in online sales of our 10kg family boxes, now that everyone is cooking at home they have time to try new things and want to boost their nutrition with high quality produce," Tracey said.
The cooks set up the online business in 2018 for those who wanted to buy farm direct and appreciated the paddock to plate aspect of their organic beef production system.
"Our home delivered boxes are an easy way to purchase quality organic beef without having to think about buying meat from week to week," she said.
With the online shop and logistics already in place, Dandaragan Organic Beef was ready for the surge of orders from people wanting to order their meat because they were not able to purchase elsewhere or just wanted chilled beef delivered safely to their door.
Dandaragan Organic Beef has long adhered to a sustainable, holistic and animal welfare style of farming and offers a transparent and accessible business for its clients and customers.
"The pandemic has made people worried about food security and provenance, due to the short supply of certain goods at the supermarkets," Tracey said.
"People are finding it increasingly important to know where their food has come from."
To build this connection with customers, Dandaragan Organic Beef hosts an annual farm open day, which features a true paddock-to-plate culinary experience.
"Last year we had chef Stuart Law up here and he did this amazing asado, a south American barbecue, we did a tour of the farm and then had a long table lunch out in the paddock," Tracey said.
"Having a great product that is consistent is one way to satisfy clients, but our farm open day offers that next level of understanding and connection, and completes the loop for our clients and for us."
The Cook family has farmed their property, Noondel, at Dandaragan, about 200 kilometres north of Perth, for more than a century, with the fifth-generation now living on the farm.
In total Noondel, plus their other local property, Tekymbah, comprises 3035 hectares of land, with the entire area dedicated to producing cattle for Dandaragan Organic Beef.
Both properties were converted to organic in 2000, which means they do not use pesticides, artificial fertilisers, hormones or antibiotics.
Instead they use organic farming principles, grazing methods that mimic those of wild herding animals, perennial pastures and low stress stock handling methods.
They stock about 2000 head and the cattle are able to roam in big herds - they are moved onto fresh pasture and water every couple of days, while also having access to mineral supplements.
"At Dandaragan Organic Beef, we believe in treating our cattle with respect, working in harmony with the land and delivering a sustainable product that is both healthy and tasty," Tracey said.
"About half the farm is down to perennial pastures now, so we have a diverse range of forage for the cattle."
They breed the majority of their own cattle, using both Red and Black Angus and Square Meater cattle breeds, and also buy in weaners from a local organic producer, who uses the same farming principles and genetics, in order to meet demand.
Their strong commitment to humane, low-stress animal management and treatment extends past the farmgate, with the cattle transported only 100km, to the organic certified Gingin abattoirs.
You can find Dandaragan Organic Beef in supermarkets and butchers around Perth, or you can buy direct online.
Ranging from 10kg to larger bulk packs for buying clubs, their boxes are delivered to consumers from Port Hedland to Albany, out to Kalgoorlie and everywhere in the metro area.
You can also subscribe to the DOB Collective, to have a 10kg Dandaragan Organic Beef box home delivered, at your choice of timing, every month/every two months/or every three months.
"Each box is perfectly packed and portioned to create nutritious and delicious meals at home," Tracey said.
"Our goal is to make high-quality WA-grown, organic, 100 per cent grassfed beef accessible to as many people as possible and to build a community of households with a deep understanding of where their food has come from, who grows it, and how it is grown."
As part of this initiative DOB Collective members receive early bird access to tickets for the annual farm open day.
The 10kg pack contains a mix of the following cuts: roast, rump, eye fillet, porterhouse, scotch fillet, round, osso bucco, ribs, burgers (gluten free and preservative free), sausages (gluten free and preservative free), mince and diced steak.
About half the pack is prime cuts and the other half is burgers, mince, sausages and diced steak, with all cuts vacuum packed, chilled and able to last for about three weeks in the fridge.
The business has certainly garnered a strong following over the past 20 years, with lots of hard work and effort put in by the Cook family, so it is good to see this local WA business being embraced by West Aussies, especially during these unprecedented times.
It also highlights the fact that we are very lucky to have the level of food security in WA particularly, as well as the rest of Australia, and we need to keep supporting our local producers.
