A high-flying Romsey beef farmer is looking to go global via the airline food industry.
Frank Pereira, owner of Millhouse Pastoral, is exporting beef directly into high-end Singapore restaurants, and plans to expand into Indonesia and possibly Taiwan later this year.
Mr Pereira runs an Angus herd on a 65-hectare property after buying the Romsey farm from his wife Suzie Wilson’s parents in 2011.
“We turn about 200 head of cattle when conditions are good,” he said.
“We’re a reasonably large operation for the Macedon Ranges, but we never want to be too big. We’re boutique and we prefer it that way.”
Doors continue to open globally as popularity grows for the couple’s grass-fed product.
“I was offered an opportunity to teach agricultural farming to year nine to 12 students at Assumption College in Kilmore, and I also enjoy that work. I try to foster a love of farming in the next generation. I want them to know that if we don’t have farmers, we don’t eat.”
Mr Pereira says he’s in the process of signing a memorandum of understanding with Taiwanese buyers, while the Indonesian connection is also promising.
Also in prospect is Millhouse Pastoral supplying beef for meals to all the international airlines that fly in and out of Changi Airport.
“We moved from Canberra, where I was teaching, and when we arrived in the Macedon Ranges we were awestruck by the quality of food here, and that’s why we decided to buy the farm. We’re now seeing a keen interest in grass- fed aged cattle and we’ve aligned ourselves with Little Farms, a gourmet food producer in Singapore, to expand into the overseas market.
“There’s high demand out there for boutique products. If a diner is spending [the equivalent of] $200 for a piece of ribeye, they want to know the name of the farmer, the name of the cow, where it came from and what it ate.”
He said one of the biggest challenges was sourcing appropriate stock, to sell into the Asian markets.
“It’s not so much finding stock, it’s about finding good quality stock, to meet the Millhouse brand,” Mr Pereira said.
“The soil, high rainfall and temperate climate here make for great conditions to farm. That’s why we will source cattle from the Macedon Ranges to meet demand ”
