Farmer Dave

At Farmer Dave Free Range Lamb our goal is to supply your family with Premium Lamb produced sustainably by environmentally concerned Family Farmers, processed by Rural Butchers who have your taste and eating quality at the top of their priority list. The premium lamb box is then delivered right to your door by our regional carrier or taken to a convenient pick up point to ensure you receive the freshest, most succulent lamb you have ever tasted.

We aim to provide the full experience by sharing information about myself, David Graham and our other family farmers, our farms and system of farming, our butcher and his carving tips and even my family recipes.

What thoughts started this idea?

The last straw came not so long ago when a line of my lambs was sold on the open market for a paltry $21 per head. I knew that each of those lambs would then head through the supply chain, ending up in the trolleys of consumers with an end market value of up to a staggering $300. The result - a high cost to the consumer, plus a crippling cash loss for the grower.

An easy calculation, as in order to get the lambs and their mothers through the drought I spent $35 on the lambs. To make matters even worse, it can take up to a month for struggling, cash poor farmers to get paid for their stock at all.

We started this venture to address the current disparities adversely affecting both farmers and consumers.

  • Poor prices for farmers' Lamb.
  • High prices for consumers to buy the same Lamb.
  • The drought's massive lowering of productivity.
  • The need for Outback Lamb producers to invest in drought tolerant Dorpers, necessitating higher returns to justify that investment.
  • The consumer'’ need and to assist farmers to survive.
  • The inability of isolated farmers to take their produce to Market individually.
  • The clear desire from the public to know more about the origins of their food.
  • The massive feed back from the general public desiring to purchase directly from farmers.

The Farmer Dave venture is about doing our bit to address the sustainability of drought ravaged Australian Farmers who do not receive a fair share of the high prices at which their products are being marketed on Supermarket shelves, while simultaneously giving the consumers what they say they want: “knowledge about what they are serving up to their family”.

Currently family farmers are not being paid for their environmentally proactive farming practices, or the greater care and effort which go into raising their stock and crops. However a purchase through the Farmer Dave Label allows the consumer to purchase from farmers who really do care about what they produce and the environment in which they produce it.

Due to a clear desire from the general public to support farmers, it became evident that innovation was required to ensure a direct connection from paddock to plate. As the Farmer Dave website was so successful in conveying information to the public it was clear that this was the medium to be used. Complying with our principles we then sourced a Goondiwindi abattoir, butcher and carrier to ensure our product made its way to the consumers’ door with no middle men and no adulteration.

Prior to the Farmer Dave label we were price takers. Now we set the price, fairly and economically, and have stability and control over how the consumer receives our premium products. No longer will a consumer be blindly told this is 1.2kg of Lamb chops. Now consumers will know those chops are from sustainable family farms, grown naturally on the pastures of the Western Darling Downs without unnecessary chemicals, antibiotics, hormones or inhumane practices.

Our Goals

  • A desire to ensure the benefit of the venture is open to all environmentally proactive sustainable family farmers.
  • Ensure the benefit of knowledge of food origin and direct connection to producers is open to consumers.
  • Allow and ensure transparency across the board.
  • Increase competition for lamb, giving stability to the drastic fluctuations in lamb prices.
  • Ensure a future for lamb.
  • Give more options to farmers for marketing their produce.
  • Give more options for consumers.

In short, the Farmer Dave label allows an infinite number of family farmers, the backbone of the nation, to tell their story and be paid for the extra effort they put into their farms. This will ensure the long term sustainability of not only their farm but family farming as a whole and of the Australian outback environment in which they farm.

All suppliers to the Farmer Dave Label abide by our code of ethics.

Sustainable

  • Must be family owned and operated.
  • Have clear direction for the future.
  • Restrict the use of chemicals to an absolute minimum.
  • Be economically sound and financially viable.
  • Involved in local environment management groups such as Landcare or Murray-Darling Sub Catchments Groups.
  • Grow breeds of sheep which require no chemical intervention to stay healthy such as the Dorper.

Ethical

  • Believe in the future of Australian Agriculture.
  • Ensure the highest degree of animal welfare.
  • Actively involved in locally sourcing farm inputs from their region.

Humane

  • All breeding stock must be free range.
  • All supplement fed stock must have access to natural vegetation, tree cover and clean water.
  • Low stress stock handling techniques must be used.
  • Refrain from mulesing lambs.
  • Ensure animal health is continually optimum.