Courier Mail 15th July 2008

The Text

Delicious Queensland lamb provides the inspiration for some wonderful winter meals

Philip Johnson

AT A recent function, I had the pleasure of meeting Queensland farmer David Graham and his local lamb was the star of the show.

In the past I've tended to source lamb from other corners of the country, including Flinders Island, Tasmania and Western Australia, so it was refreshing to find a great Queensland product that happens to be some of the best lamb I've tasted.

Farmer Dave may be better known for his appearances on reality TV shows Big Brother and Dancing with the Stars, but for me his dedication to the farming industry during these arduous years is his greatest achievement.

Having revitalised his family's Goondiwindi farm, the key to his success has been to find a sheep breed hardy enough to survive Outback Australia, yet still be superb eating quality.

The Dorper breed proved the answer on the land, but this was not reflected in the sale price at market controlled mainly by the big supermarket chains.

As a result, Dave and a handful of other localfarmers decided to take their product direct to the public. With a few simple licks on the Farmer Dave website, you can have a selection of lamb cuts delivered to your doorstep.

We chose a hind-quarter pack for today's recipes, including boned and rolled leg and noisette, rump steaks, cutlets and two types ofsausages. Dave also sells his lamb at numerous farmers markets including the Powerhouse, Noosa, Mudgeeraba, Carrara and Marina
Mirage.

View Philip Johnson's archived cooking videos and recipes online at couriermail.com.au. Visit e'cco bistro at www.eccobistro.com

Australian Anthill Magazine
June/July 2008

30under30  

They collectively turnover hundreds of millions of dollars each year, yet some are barely out of university. They are proud to be Australian but see their home-grown success as little more than a stepping stone. They have never known serious recession, political instability or significant global conflict, yet they are better educated and better informed than new business owners of any generation preceding them. Meet the future of business in Australia. 

The Finalists*

GLORIOUS GLORY HOUNDS

  

Weekend Bulletin 12 April 2008

Bulletin 12 April 2008

Courier Mail 12 Feb 08

G’Day G’Day - February Newsletter

Happy to say, I’m back in the Saddle,

After spending the year keeping the farm afloat, dancing my way through months of pretty intense commentary, bringing into the light of day my long held dream of doing away with middle men in the lamb industry and well spending my weekends in a delivery van and at farmer’s markets I jumped on a plane.
Funnily enough I even did a few deliveries on the way to the airport.

Thanks to slogging it out for nearly 100 days in the Big Brother House back in 2006 I had a swag of overseas adventure holidays, and due to my commitment to the farm and supplying Queensland with my ‘best on planet’ lamb I was unable to take the trips. However my team persuaded me to take my dream holiday to South America (after all it was all expenses paid and I think maybe the wanted to get rid of me for a while).

We had crazy times that took us to over 5,400m into the Andes in search of Machu Pichu, through the stone heads of Rapa Nui, the Amazon Jungle, the driest desert on earth, the incredible farmland of the Pampa and the bazaar salt flats of Uyuni where we lost all perspective and heaven became earth.
While on the trail of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, a Bolivian civil conflict stranded me in airports for days.

Checkout the website for photos and blogs of my adventures and what the Team got up to while I was away.
For now it’s back to work. Today was product development and here at Farmer Dave Lamb that meant trying out all the new lamb products….Smokey BBQ Gourmet Snags, True-Blueberry Steaks and the absolutely insanely good Bacon Wrapped Eye Fillet Tournedos.

The “Lamb Snag On a Bun” is coming back!

The “Lamb Snag On a Bun” will be back for by popular demand. St Paddy’s day is coming up soon ( 17th March ) we have planned to do a big super fresh batch of supersized Green Lamb Snags. On the weekend before ( 15th & 16th March ). We will cook up as storm and get them onto a bun for you. We have had quite a few people suggesting we have mint sauce as well as the traditional sauces. We also had quite a few people saying they preferred the soft buns to the damper buns so that s the way we are going for St Paddy’s day. Remember, we are new at this so your feedback is important. And thanks to that patriot who came back 3 times for more lamb snags on damper bun, Sam Kekovich would be proud of you.

Dah DAaaahh - The Latest Winner

If you enter the competition, you just might win.
Rochelle Cook picked up her Squatters Pack at the Marina Mirage Markets on the Gold Coast on 24th December 07
PS – we keep showing the latest winner until we get a pic of the newest winner ! The Australia Day winner should be here by the next edition

Cool Stuff just gone or happening soon:

• 6th Feb - Happy Waitangi Day to all our Kiwi cousins.
  ( Lamb lovers from way back ! )
• 7th Feb - Chinese New Year. Season’s Greetings. I could go some Mongolian Lamb right now, couldn’t you?
• 10th Feb ( Sunday ) is Umbrella Day. I hope it’s not an omen. Just to let you know, Famer Dave will turn up to the markets rain, hail or shine. Check our roster on the web site for dates. It would have to be raining so hard that we couldn’t even get there, to stop us turning up.
• 13th Feb is “get a different name” day. ( I swear it’s true )
• 14th Feb is St Valentine’s Day
• 17th Feb is Random Acts of Kindness Day.

NEWs Flash !

Hey guys we just thought we would remind everyone.
The date on our product is the “ Packed Date” not the “Use By” date.

Romantic Recipe for Spiced Lamb Cutlets

Ingredients (serves 2) ( 3s a crowd, right?)

• 220g butternut pumpkin, unpeeled, cut into 1cm-thick slices
• ½ tablespoon ground coriander
• ½ tablespoon paprika
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 6 trim lamb cutlets
• olive oil cooking spray
• 40g salad leaves
• 75g cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
• 1 small Lebanese cucumber, halved, cubed

Method

1. Preheat barbecue grill and plate on medium-high. Arrange half the pumpkin on a microwave-safe plate. Drizzle with 1 tablespoon of water. Cover. Microwave on HIGH (100%) power for 2 minutes. Repeat with remaining pumpkin. Drain.
2. Combine spices. Coat lamb in spices.
3. Spray lamb and pumpkin with oil. Cook lamb on barbecue grill for 4 minutes each side. Cook pumpkin on barbecue plate for 2 to 3 minutes each side. Serve with salad leaves, tomatoes and cucumber.

Queensland Country Life Newspaper

G’Day G’Day - December Newsletter

Pricing Review of Online Lamb Boxes

We’ve just undertaken a major review of the pricing of our online lamb boxes. Due to increased volumes and new efficiencies, we’ve been able to add items to some boxes and drop the prices of others. We are passing the savings on to you so the value is now better than ever – check it – you’ll love our new prices as much as you’ll love the lamb. Online prices are 15% less than our list price. We have market specials sometimes, but even they ldon’t come close to 15% off. AND as you know, if you have ever shopped at our farmer’s markets, we often run out of stock. Ordering online and by the box ( ½ lamb ) is the best value way to get our top quality lamb and you will always be sure that you wont miss out. Your box is set aside for pick up, we can even deliver it to your home if it is more convenient.

Last Chance to get a Christmas Ham

Ooops – we’ve stuffed up the Christmas Hamper order – we’ve got 1,000 hams and only 900 turkeys. So we have some surplus hams to shift. The good news for you is that these are top quality hams. They are from a local producer in Northern New South Wales and double smoked weighing 3.5 to 4 kg. One of our staff has already tried one at home and was so impressed she rang up on her day off to say how great the ham was – sooo succulent and tasty. We are selling the first 50 hams at $39 (pick up at market). So get in quick. The remaining hams will be available at the markets at the regular price. Click here to order

Product Development

I occasionally get asked for a particular cut that we don’t stock, or a special order. I’d just like to let our customers know, that sometimes we can do these things but other times it doesn’t fit with the venture. Let me explain: (or let me give you the Full Sizzle ):
In order to get the lamb from paddock to your plate direct, and cut out the middle men, we can get you the absolute best quality lamb at “close to” supermarket prices, we have to be super efficient in our supply chain. The best value way for you to buy our lamb, is “online” and by the box ( ½ lamb ). That’s because it’s the lowest cost to us. So some times we can do special cuts, and we often have great products at the markets that you can buy individually but if we have already cut ½ lambs for customer orders, there some times isn’t room to do non standard cuts. ALL THE SAME, STILL ASK !!!!! We are still developing our cuts so what you want might be just around the corner, so don’t be shy. Its all part of the crusade.
We have some exiting new products just around the corner thanks to your input. Wait till you taste our new ribs. we need a name for the too, so any suggestions, don’t be shy!!

Our growing family of Farmer Dave farmers

We welcome the Kirkby family to our growing group of Farmer Dave farmers.
The Kirkby family have been involved in rural agriculture all their lives. Justin was raised in the New England district while Lorroi grew up out the back of Bourke. They now own their own property east of Moree. They started with 700 acres and have just purchased 1500 acres of a neighbouring property. They also have a young family, Sam who is nearly three and Flynn who is 8 months. See the website for more.

We just received our first shipment of lambs from the Kirby’s. The whole team is very excited by the quality of the meat. We can’t wait for you taste it.

What a difference a few months make…

My farm now and earlier this year.

Though there has been good rainfall recently, for many farmers the drought is a long way from over. Debts accumulated keeping stock alive through the many long dry years will take a lot of good years to repay. In the mean time, we at Farmer Dave are making damn sure that they get the best prices for their lambs by cutting out the middle men and selling direct to consumers. We are also providing a market for the drought tolerant Dorper breed of sheep.

Dave’s Travelogue

I’m away over the Christmas period. Finally squeezed in a break to take the Kumuka South America Inca Trail Tour won on Big Brother 2006. Yarns of the adventures will appear on www.farmerdave.com.au during the trip. First installments – Tahiti & Easter Island stop over. You can also take a gander at the pics from the Big Brother prize - Northern Vietnam trip from earlier this year.

See you at the Farmers Markets for the worlds most pure natural Lamb direct from the farm!!

Dave

November Newsletter

Well it’s been one hell of a past few months since I cracked it at the Dalby Sale Yards and vowed never to send my prime Lambs through the auction system again. While the system may work for some it really is a hit or miss set up with more volatility then an angry monkey on red bull. After all the lambs would be destined to pass through a series of middle men till they were sent on their way to restaurants and shopping trolleys with the end consumer having no idea where they came from how they were treated and what they consumed.

With the Farmer Dave Free Range Lamb venture, you as the consumer now know exactly where the lamb comes from, how they were treated, what herbages and grasses they were feeding on and, most importantly, what artificial products have been used….well in our case NONE. In a day and age where chemicals hormones and antibiotics are used to ensure the biggest and the best is placed on your supermarket shelves I reckon you should have the choice to be able to buy your food from natural growers. Which is why we attend farmers markets twice a week, every week, so you can buy the worlds freshest, cleanest, tastiest and most natural lamb direct from the people who grew it.

I say people because I certainly am not alone in this crusade to ensure regular paddock to plate supply of our lamb. Mum and Dad are always there to help on the farm. As are a host of mates that come down to help with the shearing and crutching of the ewes, as well as weeding, fencing and the dreaded stick picking - which is actually vital to ensure no flat tyres on the tractors.

Getting the Lamb to the market has been an adventure in itself but boy it has been fun. With my sisters, their partners and my mates all chipping in - both transporting the livestock and the refrigerated utes, not to mention actually heading into the butchery to help with the process, pack, and of course make the worlds best sausages.
Thanks to you we are still hanging in there. Your support over the past months has been incredible to say the least. We sell out nearly every market day which does mean sometimes the rack or the kilo of our Bush Honey, Rosemary & Mint Sausages you wanted are not available - so I always urge you to pre-order online.

This week’s lamb has been leaned up a little due to the past few weeks lamb being a little too fatty for some.(One of the great things about drought is being able to supply very lean lamb…only problem is my lambs and I were overjoyed with the recent rains - some of our customers got used to the ultra lean roasts!) All are 100% Dorper Cross off my farm ‘Ulupna’ (aboriginal word meaning ‘where the birds come down’), and have been fed on a paddock of organic Barley with Wild Mint, New Zealand Spinach and Salt Bush herbages underneath, so the flavour in the lamb is our best yet.
I have also been busy visiting farmers all over Northern NSW and Southern Queensland to ensure we are able to keep up with supplying a growing list of customers and restaurants so you will hear more about each farm in the coming weeks as they supply us with their wonderful Free Range Dorper Lambs.

I am currently overseas on a previous commitment and I am using the opportunity to “learn up” on my breed of sheep and will be back at the markets personally in a few weeks. Sign up for the email newsletter to keep up-to-date .

Dave

Farmer Dave Went Back to School - Enhancing Entrepreneurial Skills Course

Dave was selected as one of sixteen innovative young men and women from across Australia to hone their business talents by participating in the Australian Government’s Enhancing Entrepreneurial Skills Course held in Melbourne from 10-13 September 2007.

Participants come from across the supply chains of a range of industries including pork, horticulture, cattle, seed production and agribusiness,” Ms Ley, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, said.

“We have selected a group of 18-35 year old budding entrepreneurs who are enthusiastic about growing their businesses through innovation. This course aims to help young Australian farmers and business people to recognise opportunities and adopt a market-driven approach to their business.

“Participants will explore the big picture of their operating environment and supply chain, as well as the fundamentals of growing their business, developing markets and putting new ideas into action.

The course builds on the success of the first Course that was held in May 2007. Graduates of that course reported that they have more confidence and know-how to build their business and explore and exploit opportunities.

“By blending and sharing their diverse skills and experiences, participants get unique insights into challenges and opportunities that extend beyond their own businesses and industries to the entire agricultural sector,” Ms Ley said.
Sussan Ley, said when announcing the names of successful applicants for the course.

The course allowed for Dave to hear from market leaders from well known brands such as Capilano Honey (the worlds largest supplier of honey), Carmens Muesli (an inovative producer of breakfast cereals and bars), Healthy Habits (the number one Franchised Sandwich Bar in Australia) to name just a few. The course culminated in a group pitch to a panel of experts including the CEO of NAB Agribusiness, The Vice Dean of Victoria University, The editor of Anthill Magazine and the head of the DAFF, which Dave group were the succsseeful team in securing the panels support.... for Farmer Dave Free Range Lamb.

Finalist 2007 Rabobank Red Meat Innovation Awards

After only one week of operation Farmer Dave Free Range Lamb was selected as a finalist for Sheep Meat Producer Award in the 2007 Rabobank Red Meat Innovation Awards.

The Sheep Meat Producer Award recognises outstanding achievement in the sheep meat industry. The entrants in this award needed to have demonstrated innovation within their business, shown initiative with quality assurance and environmental management and actively promoted the benefits of red meat, in particular sheep meat to their consumers.

We didn't win but were selected as a finalist from strong competition. Maybe next year after we are established longer and our growing family of customers help forge Farmer Dave Free Range Lamb as not only the best paddock to plate product line on the markets but the number one Lamb Brand in Australia

Dave Showcases Free Range Lamb on 9am with David & Kim 3rd October 2007

The Lemony Lamb Cutlets Recipe mentioned on Show

Website markets paddock to plate lamb

By MARTIN BUNYARD, QUEENSLAND COUNTRY LIFE 27 September 2007

HONESTY is at the heart of being young, smart and ready for Dave Graham. Almost two years on from his appearance on the Channel 10 reality series Big Brother, Dave is creating a career centred on the rural life he dearly loves

These days his schedule is filled with promotional appearances and business meetings. But reality television aside, Dave has been focused on developing an internet business that is attracting accolades from across rural industry.

A cleverly constructed website called www.farmerdavedirect.com.au has built a platform to launch an online farmers’ market.
The new venture is known as Farmer Dave Free Range Lamb and involves online sales of branded lamb product.
“The principles of the online farmers’ market are based on supplying consumers with free range lamb produced in a sustainable way by family farmers, processed by rural butchers and transported by regional carriers,” Dave said.

The new venture received a tick of approval recently after being selected as a finalist in this year’s Red Meat Industry Awards held during Queensland’s Royal Show.

A strong motivation to reduce the price volatility many sheep meat producers face lead to the creation of Farmer Dave Free Range Lamb. “As a producer I realise it’s difficult getting $27/head for your lambs one week, then $78 the following week,” Dave said.
“The price volatility in the market was a real concern because as producers we are at the bottom of the food chain.” This is what makes Farmer Dave’s online sales such a successful concept. Using his fame, Dave has built a website that has received an estimated 100,000 visitors in the past eight months.

With an established customer base, Dave can offer lamb producers a paddock to plate selling opportunity. “If a producer can take themselves from product supply to retail consumable product then a lot of the volatility is taken away,” Dave said. While taking a moment away from the Enhancing Entrepreneurial Skills course he was attending, Dave explained that his business concept isn’t new, but just being done in a different way to anyone else.

“Being smart in agriculture is about taking an age old business and looking at how it can be done better,” he said. And the business concept appears to be working, especially since Dave is known through his reality television career by almost five million Australians.
“I’ve been very busy trying to fill the online orders,” he said. A standout quality of Farmer Dave Free Range Lamb’s is the fact it will be producer owned. The concept works in a way that every producer who provides lamb for the Farmer Dave label will get shares in the company.

Ownership of the lamb is retained by Farmer Dave Free Range Lamb, with a service fee being paid to abattoirs, butchers and carriers.
Another bonus to producers from using the Farmer Dave service is an increased price for lambs compared to average market prices.
According to Dave, the online business has paid producers 30 percent above recent market prices obtained for lambs sold in saleyards.
“The idea is to take my current connection to farmers and extend that to farmer’s products,” he said.

“We give producers price stability that is normally not found in the market.”
The future looks bright for Dave’s business, with a venture capital company SCB Management backing the business for Farmer Dave Free Range Lamb to become a nationally available product.

Consumers in South East Queensland, Sydney and Melbourne can order lamb product online for delivery.

“Sometimes the biggest fear we have is being successful and are scared that our venture may succeed – I no long have that worry,” Dave said.

“My aim is now to be the number one lamb brand in Australia.”

Farmerdave Out & About

Big Pineapple Farmers Market 1st September & Noosa’s Farmers Market Sunday 2nd September

.We are busy preparing for this weekends inaugural Big Pineapple Farmers Market as well as the Noosa Farmers Market, so will see you there to taste the best natural Lamb you have ever tried..

Brisbane’s Powerhouse Farmers Markets a success

Brisbane’s Powerhouse Farmers Markets on Saturday 25th August was so successful that even despite number being slashed due to the rain showers throughout the morning the Farmer Dave Team sold every box of lamb, including the boxes set aside for Sunday's Noosa Market - Thank You to every one for the incredible support for our first Market Day.

Big Brother Housemates Lend A Helping Hand to Farmer Dave

Big Brother runner up Zach Douglas is making an unexpected stop over behind the BBQ at the Brisbane’s Powerhouse Farmers Markets this Saturday 25th August. Donning one of Farmer Dave’s bright orange aprons, Zach will be rolling up his sleeves and being the hostess with the mostest in support of fellow country boy Dave Graham. Joining other former Big Brother housemates Camilla, Claire, Darren (BB06) & Rebecca (BB07) who have also recently lent their support to Farmer Dave’s Free Range Lamb venture.

“Growing up in the country, I know how tough it is for farmers and this venture is about buying direct from those farmers who are doing the right thing by the environment, plus I get to look fabulous in one of Dave’s fabulous bright orange aprons.” Zach said.

New Products

Very soon we will be providing the option to purchase Organic Lamb as well as a new Hogget Box, which is a matured Lamb, giving a deeper flavour and larger portion sizes, so stay tuned for more choice straight from the paddock.

The EKKA Launch

The Launch of 'Farmerdave Free Range Lamb' went brilliantly!! It was brought forward a month as I was asked by AgForce to be the keynote speaker at the Brisbane Ekka Youth Forum, and it occurred to me what better way to pass on the message to young people that 'you can do it' than actually launching a venture in front of them. (Just to let you in on a secret, we were not ready, but hey I'll always go for the challenge.) The speech had the underlying theme of 'When Faced with a No Win Situation Use What You Have at Hand'. I started with a quick montage of my time in the BB house (the theme music sent shivers up the housemates who where present), Deal or No Deal and Dancing with the Stars (the theme music of which sent shivers up my spine!!!) and after a few jokes about my inability to dance and my partner's amazing breasts (yes over one hundred sets of young male eyes where transfixed on the big screen picture behind me!!!), I made it very clear that young people where vital to agriculture with the old WWI 'Your Country Needs You' poster. After all, every human needs to eat.

I used this story to make the point that our 'hyenas' are drought, big corporates, supermarkets, and diminished say in elected government. We cannot fight them, as after all the kid's stick would have probably just broken and made the hyena angry, so we must fool them.

Following on with the analogy, I said we have many 'sticks'. By using what we have at hand, we can make the problem smaller... using the massive amount of information we now have, thanks to the internet being everywhere, the advice of our friends, the support of our families, the understanding we have of the consumer, our time being educated and socialising in the city, the fact that the consumer is now skeptical of supermarkets, and also more understanding of farmers' difficulties then ever before.

I then changed tack, saying that I had heard many speeches telling me fluffy stuff on how to do it all. So I changed it to me..

My 'hyenas' were being bashed and left for dead on a Brisbane street, allowing me to know that I can recover and be stronger from the worst of hits; my farm being ravaged by drought for the entire time I have leased it, total losses of my crops, massive losses of my sheep, the need to look after a nursery of abandoned lambs; and of course being Australia's worst dancer.

My 'sticks' were my mates and family and their unwavering support; having good strong Dorper cross lambs despite the drought; a love for the land and my animals; a brilliant website made by my mate Tim that has had over 110,000 visitors; and of course the knowledge that I cannot be a dance instructor so I'd best focus on what I CAN do..

Summing up, I reminded them that yep we have 'hyenas', lots of them, so use what you have at hand to fool them, not fight them, just like the little black kid, his pot belly and the stick he grabbed.

So using this, I grabbed my sticks and produced 'Farmerdave Free Range Lamb', an online marketplace for consumers to buy premium natural lamb, which they can trust comes directly from the family farmer who loves his land and his stock.

And, well, you probably know the rest as you're on the site right now.

With the best chefs in the state on hand, we served up plates of free range lamb cubes with homemade tzatziki dipping sauce and I tell you what, the audience didn't give a bugger about me after that. their eyes had a far away look whilst they savoured the incredible flavours of the perfectly cooked pieces of outback Australia.

So with that I realised we were on a winner. I then spent the night with constant comments on the quality of not just the lamb tasters but the packs I had on display, which was so needed after the weeks of nerves leading up to the event, thinking it all might fail. In fact a few days before I woke up sick from nervousness....but was reminded by my mum that if I can get out and dance in front of three million people on a live show then I can give this venture a go.

So I just gotta hope that people out there in consumerville see the clear advantages of buying direct from farmers online and having our boxes delivered to their door.