Ballan farmers Nick and Vicki Sher and their family have put in the hard yards to become one of the nation’s top beef producers.
The Shers’ business, Sher Wagyu, based at their 280-hectare property, Glen Leckie, at Ballan, was featured at a presentation at the Australian Wagyu Association conference in the Hunter Valley this month.
Among the family’s accolades is a gold medal in the ‘Paddock’ section of the 2015 national Delicious Produce awards.
The Shers have weathered all the ups and downs of the industry since they started cattle breeding 25 years ago.
“The biggest challenges we’ve faced have included the droughts through the 2000s, and the past 12 months have been very dry,” Mr Sher said.
“When the Australian government banned live exports to Indonesia, the Indonesian government made it very hard for its importers to bring in boxed beef.
“Similar issues have occurred with exports to Russia and whenever other countries change importing requirements with little notice.”
Mr Sher said that in the early days, trade shows, food festivals, cooking demonstrations, television shows and presentations were an unexpected part of running a farming business.
“All these efforts and events help to educate chefs and the public about wagyu, about our boutique brand and how we breed and care for our cattle and manage our farms sustainably,” Mr Sher said.
Sustainability has become a key focus at Sher Wagyu with the farm using natural fertilisers, rotational grazing and solar power to run the office.
Sher Wagyu is delivered to restaurants across Melbourne and regional Victoria and is exported to 14 countries, including Japan, the US, Hong Kong, Taiwan and China.
