Eat.Drink Mornington Peninsula 2024

Page 126

FROM PADDOCK

Small producers having a big impact

Kevin Wyatt produces exceptional beef. His Angus cattle are bought by one of the most particular meat buyers in the state. Kevin’s production, however, is small. Tiny compared with most cattle productions. He turns off just 10 animals from his Main Ridge farm each year. But it is the small producers like Kevin who help maintain the rural nature of the Mornington Peninsula. “The patchwork of paddocks, orchards, windrows and laneways are all artefacts of a rural lifestyle that started long ago,” says Kevin, a retired lecturer and passionate supporter of agriculture on the Peninsula. “Without farmers, the Peninsula would not be the beautiful place it is.” Kevin is a big supporter of the Peninsula wine industry, working on the International Cool Climate Wine Show held here each year. He is also instrumental in the Red Hill Cider Show, which is held under the auspices of the Red Hill Show and is the second-largest cider show in the nation. However, his herd of 10 breeding cows, bull and 10 calves is his true passion. To make his cattle venture viable on his 6ha farm, Kevin has enlisted the help of neighbours. He agists his cattle on neighbouring farms in return for payment in beef. Free-range, dry-aged, grass-fed beef. Kevin raises his cattle differently

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to other farmers. First, he has carefully selected his herd of breeding cows to have excellent conformation – bone and muscle structure on which to grow meat – and they also have to be great mothers. He leaves the calves with their mothers for 10 months before weaning. The herd feeds on the rich pastures that grow in the deep clay/loam enjoying more than 950mm of rain on average a year. Kevin supplements grass with hay and silage that is baled on the farm. Although 6ha doesn’t sound like a lot of land, the paddocks are super-productive, protected from the prevailing wind by a broad windbreak of native trees. Kevin follows the tenets of regenerative agriculture, using natural fertilisers to feed the beneficial bugs in the soil. This microscopic army makes compost to feed the grass that the cattle eat. “I am not anti-chemicals,” he says. “I just prefer to use a whole lot less of them.” We wander through the windbreak into the paddock. Blue superb fairy-wrens flit between the branches and a wagtail dances in the air, hunting the flying insects that we disturb. The animals are curious but quiet. They are big and are grown out until they are about 600kg. “There is a direct correlation between the way an animal is looked after and the way their meat eats,” says Kevin. “You will never get a tender steak from a stressed steer.” Kevin has teamed with O’Connor meat processors in Gippsland to slaughter his animals. “They share my values about animal welfare. They make sure the animals are looked after in the most humane way.” Kevin turns off his cattle in autumn each year. “It is a great pleasure to eat beef farmed here on the property,” he says. “Perhaps with a glass of local red.” Buy Main Ridge Cattle beef from Mornington Prime Cuts.


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Articles inside

Connection to Country resonates with Peninsula wine producers

6min
pages 8-9

Switch to reusables

2min
page 172

FROM SMOKE - Stone provides a solid base for thriving business

3min
page 170

FROM OVEN - Alex’s tarts are a work of Arc

4min
pages 168-169

Phillippa’s Flinders and beyond

3min
pages 146-147

Where the milliner hangs her hat

3min
page 135

FROM FIELD - Bring the family for a cracking day out

3min
pages 128-129

FROM PADDOCK - Small producers having a big impact

3min
page 126

THE PENINSULA’S FINEST - Peninsula’s producers are making their mark

3min
pages 122-123

FROM POT - Preserving the flavours of the past

4min
pages 120-121

FROM TREE - Louise is determined to not waste a tradition

4min
page 111

FROM AIR - Waste not, want not

3min
pages 108-109

Baking with kindness

3min
page 83

PENINSULA MADE Produce paradise for master chefs and home cooks

3min
pages 80-81

FROM VAT - Embracing the spirit of change for a better world

3min
pages 44-45

FROM BEAN Doing good business with good people

3min
pages 42-43

FROM THE DARK - Fabulous local fungi

3min
page 21

FROM EARTH - Heirloom tomatoes run rings around the rest

3min
page 18

THE SEASONS four recipes that celebrate the best of our produce

2min
page 12

FROM SEA - Get by with a little kelp

2min
page 11

From the producers to the consumers, this ones for you

6min
pages 4-5
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