Quite a few news articles on line and worth a read.
The idea of Blackfella Beef was developed by the Wangan Jagalingou and Western Kangoulu Indigenous groups and has garnered financial support from Meat and Livestock Australia (MLA) and the University of Southern Queensland. The image below is of Jonathan Malone and Kelvin Dunrobin launching Blackfella Beef at Beef Week with Stairmaster the champion Senepol bull.
The next step is to identify how many Indigenous-owned cattle enterprises there are in Queensland that could market their beef products under the brand.
With a significant number of beef properties owned and /or operated by indigenous Australians, predominantly across north Australia, the concept has a lot of marketing potential. There seems to be a degree of support among indigenous people in the industry, at least in Queensland so far. Certainly there are many large cattle properties in the NT and the NW of WA that are owned and operated by local indigenous groups that could be part of such a group. But it has to do more than just be an indigenous brand - if it does not offer quality beef it will be wasted. It has to offer advantage or it will be meaningless.
Quality beef includes genetics, stock handling, quality as well as seasonal issues, especially across the north, and management - on and off the property and through to customer quality and branding. Certainly a lot to consider.
Will it be organic beef? With organic beef a fast growing commodity, many of the northern properties could be set up to qualify for this category, but often handling through the slaughter process can be problematical to maintain authenticity.
There is a long way to go yet.
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