Zakar Certified Organics

Zakar Certified Organics, we breed and rear our own beef, which we then process in the butchery on the farm. For Martin and I, being in control of the whole process, from breeding the cattle through to processing the meat, is fundamental to being able to guarantee that our beef is genuinely certified organic and the highest quality.

We do things differently and very much the old fashioned way. Our philosophy is simple – we respect nature and its’ processes and intervene only if absolutely necessary. We also believe healthy animals, reared in a stress free environment produce higher quality beef.

Our move to organics was prompted by a number of things. It was on our last block of land that we realised we were doing something fundamentally out of balance with nature. We were heavily reliant on chemical sprays and animal drenches to manage the property and were getting increasingly concerned about the effect all these poisons were having on our health, the health of those eating our meat, the health of our animals and the state of the environment. Having also just started a family, we couldn’t help but feel concerned about what effect all these poisons would have on our children and their quality of life as they grew up and then started their own families.

Our calves are fed on their mums for the first 6-8 months of their lives, not off a nurse cow or out of a plastic bucket. By the time we wean them, their diet is almost entirely grass and they’ve effectively weaned themselves. They’ve built a strong immune system on their mums milk and we therefore have no issue with worms and parasites and hence no need for chemical drenches, vaccines or medical intervention.

Our pasture is full of all sorts of different grass species, many commonly called “weeds” by conventional farmers. However, we believe that, like us, animals need a diverse diet to maintain their health – we do not believe modern day farming on only rye grass and clover provides enough diversity.

Chemical fertilizers and sprays have no place on the farm and our cattle are given homeopathic remedies and BIO-GRO certified natural supplements such as garlic, apple cider vinegar and kelp powder, to maintain optimum health.

To ensure we can provide a continuous supply of high quality certified organic beef, we are also working closely with other “like minded” certified organic beef farmers - people who are passionate about producing high quality beef in an environmentally sustainable and humane way.

Our beef is aged to maximize tenderness and taste, then packed in vacuum bags to maintain freshness, flavour and integrity. And we are also very fortunate to have local butchers, with over 50 years combined experience in their own butcheries, to process our beef.

We hope you will try our beef and enjoy it as much as we enjoy farming it.