NORTH EAST AND GOULBURN MURRAY
Part of the Farmer Group Rural Newspapers Covering Victoria Published since 1986
NOVEMBER, 2017
HAY AND SILAGE PAGES 10-12
FEATURE BREED - POLL DORSET
www.nemedia.com.au
ELMORE WRAP PAGE 14
PAGE 19
From paddock to plate
THINKING AHEAD: Wayne Sullivan and his son-in-law, Peter McCormack, run one of the country’s most successful paddock to plate enterprises. Wayne (pictured left) runs Oak Valley, a 2000 plus acre farm in Euroa. Each week, he sends fresh produce – everything from beef to citrus – to Peter, who runs the highly successful family-owned business, the Railway Hotel in Windsor.
STANDING in the middle of a paddock, knee deep in fresh spring growth, Wayne Sullivan’s phone rings. One paddock over, a small mob of Dorper ewes lift their heads at the noise. Behind them, cockatoos rise sharply into the sky. Half a world away, Peter McCormack is standing in the kitchen at the Railway Hotel in Windsor. Straining to hear over the sounds of cooking, he can vaguely make out the birdsong through the phone – with their call, he knows his father-in-law is on the other end of the line. “Wayne, I think we might need more mushrooms for the menu this week,” Peter says. “How far away are the pigs from being ready to butcher?” It is an idyllic situation, and one that is almost certainly unique in this part of the world. Wayne, a hotel veteran of 40 something years, has spent almost two decades developing his country property, Oak Valley, at Euroa. In Melbourne, his son-inlaw, Peter, runs the eminently successful Railway Hotel in Windsor.
Together, they have helped create a genuine paddock to plate experience. “It was a collective idea, but it depends on the day,” Peter said. “When we are having a good week, when the cattle are growing how they should and the veggies are producing, then we all like to claim the enterprise. “But,” Peter joked, “when things don’t go smoothly – when the birds eat out the orchard and we have to change the menu in a hurry - then things are a little less rosy.” Peter has been managing the Railway Hotel for three years. Before that, he worked in the meat and livestock industry – giving him an inside advantage when it comes to deciding when and what to butcher. “I ring the boys on the farm, and they will tell me what’s best to use – I try to organise the menu to compliment what’s available seasonally,” he said. In the last 12 months, the success of the Railway Hotel’s dining experience – called Highline Restaurant – has skyrocketed.
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We would like to thank all our buyers and clients for their support on our sale day. We wish you all the best with your purchases.
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