Some of southeast Queensland’s leading agricultural identities are uniting to auction a 350kg purebred Tasmanian Hereford steer at the Ekka on 6 August to raise funds for Farm Angels.
Brad and Sharon Stenzel of Farmers Choice, Nolan Meats in Gympie and Liam Richards, whose family has owned and operated the iconic Mick’s Meat Barn at Warana for more than 30 years have initiated the concept.
Mr Richards said the group was inspired by the work of Farm Angels who have helped more than 4700 primary producers across more than 1300 communities across Australia since its inception 11 years ago.
“Our idea to donate a stunning 350kg Hereford, which has been raised on the lush green pastures of northwest Tasmania will certainly gain some attention with the big crowd at the Ekka,” he said.
“Tasmanian-bred Hereford beef is renowned for its tenderness and flavour and we are hoping it will raise between $3500 and $4000 for Farm Angels.
“It’s been a collaborative effort with the support of Farmers Choice Meats who will prepare and feed the steers for the show while the Stenzel family will maintain the Hereford at their property near Kalbar, west of Brisbane.”
Shad Bailey from Colin Say & Co will call the auction, Nolan Meat will provide transport to Gympie for processing and the team at
Mick’s Meat Barn will cut it to order and provide free delivery from Gympie to Brisbane.
Farm Angels CEO Jason Law said auctioning the Hereford would be an ideal preview to the charity’s annual Flanno for a Farmer day on 15 August.
“We are incredibly grateful to Liam and the rest of the team behind this initiative,” Mr Law said. “As far as I know it’s the first time an auction like this has taken place to raise funds for Farm Angels.
“The work we do is constantly evolving and with one Australian farmer committing suicide every 10 days – and with nearly half having experienced suicidal thoughts – it’s clear that we need as much support as possible for our farmers.”
The auction will take place after the judging of the Led Steer competition at 1.30pm on Wednesday, 6 August.
Mr Richards expects a number of bids to come from attendees, however there has also been strong interest from those who will phone in for a bid.
Interested bidders can register via stocklive.com.au or contact Liam Richards on 0407 751 762.
