Our Guarantee of Quality, Taste and Tenderness

Barleyfield Beef is premium quality grain-fed beef, bred and nurtured on the Barleyfield farms in Gingin. All Barleyfield beef is hung for approximately 7-10 days on the bone prior to being cut up. This process naturally increases the tenderness and flavour in the meat.

Minimum Orders and Packaging

We sell our beef as a package consisting of half a side (a quarter of the body), and is sold on carcase weight, which includes the bone. The weights of these quarters will vary during the course of the year between approximately 40kg and 60kg. Once it has been boned out the quarter will constitute approximately 70% of edible meat.

Once the meat has been boned out it is cut into all the relevant cuts and is packed into two person portions. Steaks are packed into 2 steaks/pack, mince and sausages into 0.5kg 0.50kg/pack and the roasts are approximately 1.75 kg. We also offer the option of having the silverside corned. The sausages are gluten-free, MSG free and preservative-free and the mince is high grade lean mince also made without preservatives. Each quarter consists of the cuts listed below although there are some minor variations made between summer and winter. Bones are also available without extra cost.

Each week we offer a variety of fat levels ranging from medium (similar to the level usually found at the butchers’) down to "super lean" which is virtually fat free. This latter is also appropriate for people suffering diabetes or with cholesterol concerns.

Delivery Details

This is delivered free of charge and we request cash on delivery.  We deliver throughout the metro area including Mandurah. We will, of course, negotiate a mutually appropriate time for the delivery. We can also organise for deliveries to be made to most country centres with freight costs additional.

The Cuts in Each Bulk Package

The percentages listed here are rough approximations only. The percentage in each cut is dependant upon the structure and metabolism of each animal individually.

No antibiotics, pesticides or veterinary chemicals are used on Barleyfield calves or in their food or water. Conventional beef production in Australia entails the use of systemic pesticide treatment which is used to kill both gut parasites and lice. We reject any pesticide or chemical application.

In addition, conventional feeding practices throughout Australia include the use of antibiotic gut supplements in all grain feeding mixes. These are used in order to stimulate the action of the gut to enable the animal to digest the high protein foods which they are fed.

All Barleyfield cattle are fed using our own Barleyfield formula of mixed oaten hay, wheat, barley and lupins. All fodder components are carefully selected for quality and cleanliness and careful monitoring enables us to avoid the use of antibiotic gut supplements.

The Barleyfield Guarantee of quality and genuine chemical free meat stems from a commitment not to sell any meat which we would not be prepared to eat ourselves or to feed to our children. This costs approximately 35% more in production costs than in the production of conventional beef. With our strong affiliation towards Organic, Permacultural and Biodynamic principles we believe that we have achieved the balance between agricultural sustainability and ethical meat production.

Our rejection of the use of gut stimulants which contain antibiotics reflects our concern over the use and abuse of antibiotics in animal foods. We believe that the concern expressed by the medical profession about the progressive incidence of antibiotic resistant germs is justified due to the use of antibiotics in the food and water presented to cattle, chickens and pigs in the food industry being the norm rather than the exception. We believe that well treated, carefully fed animals should not need the use of such chemicals.

Antibiotics and Resistance
http://www.ems.org/antibiotics/sub2_antibiotics.html

Farmers in Australia are encouraged to implant all their calves with growth hormones when they are weaned. As a result, conventional beef cattle produced in Australia are automatically implanted with slow acting growth hormones. These hormones trigger abnormal growth rates in calves, which can achieve in excess of 20% more growth with the same amount of feed within a period of 90-100 days. This greatly increases the returns gained from cattle fed on either grain or grass.

Our rejection of the use of hormonal growth promotants originated in the 1980’s and we have resisted their use ever since. This commitment stems from a concern over the impact upon humans (especially children) from the consumption of these artificial hormones. Our scepticism has been shown to be validated with the banning in the United Kingdom and European Community of the use of Bovine Growth Hormone (BGH).

Bovine Growth Hormones
Reprinted from The Ecologist, Vol 28, No 5, Sept/Oct 1998
http://www.argonet.co.uk/users/john.rose/rbgh.html

Beef Growth Hormone Linked To Cancer
CBC News 5-3-99
http://www.jeffrense.com/health2/beef.htm

Although we are often described as being Luddites, we believe that we do not wish to be treated as guinea pigs while conclusions are being formed on the safety of genetically engineered products. Whilst even the Food and Drug Administrative body of the US is unsure of the impact on humans of some genetically engineered products, we believe that these products have no place in the production of our beef.

Starlink: Genetic Modification
http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/ap/20010108/bs/biotech_corn_1.html