Under the watch of the St Patrick’s head mountain, lies the town of St Marys.

“The pristine environment is only ten kilometres from the coast and produces excellent beef cattle.” During summer we get the sea breeze coming over the hills and the winter can deliver breathtaking conditions including frosts which can last most of the day,” says Alison.

Nestled in the foothills of the Snowy Mountains, the Nankervis family are passionate about farming in a way that creates a better future for the land, the consumer and the next generation. 

Joined by their son Joe, Linda and Gary have farmed at The Ranch for almost 30 years, but the property has been in Gary’s family for more than 50 years. 

“We want to leave the land in a better state than we found it. We value every part of the animal and want to produce the highest quality beef.”

“For us it’s all about farming sustainably and ethically… we want the beef we produce to nourish people and the planet.” 

Calm, quiet cattle are the cornerstone of Gippsland producer, Barry Hollonds, approach to producing superior eating quality beef. 

“We don’t subsidise feed at all. We just rely on good quality pasture,” Barry said.

“I regularly walk around my farm among the cattle so they get used to me interacting with them and they settle down a lot easier.”

Fourth generation Gippsland cattle producer, Shane Harris, farms by five core tenets: high animal welfare, rotational grazing, resilient cattle, good infrastructure and maintaining ground cover. 

“We try to run as simple and natural a system as possible to produce resilient animals that require less intervention from us,” Shane said.

Victorian cattle producers Olivia and Tom Lawson have their sights set on a recipe to improve productivity and carbon neutrality. 

“Sustainability means much more to us than just carbon. It’s a holistic approach across our business; the importance of biodiversity, low stress stock handling, animal welfare, health and performance, 100% ground cover, and people,” Olivia said. 

“We get excited when the tractor sits in the shed for a long time; it means our grazing system is set up well, our soils are biologically balanced, carbon is being sequestered and our plants and livestock are performing.

“Our journey in sustainable beef breeding and production has taught us the importance of keeping things simple: breed productive easy care cattle and closely monitor your grazing system.”

Along with their three young children, Tom & Jo Youl focus on simplicity as a guiding principle at their farm. 

The Quoin’s original homestead block has been in Jo’s family since 1932 – with a break of several years as part of the soldier settlement program. 

Rotational grazing and learning from the experiences of his neighbours form the foundation of the Youl’s operation.