Whyalla Beef is a wholly owned subsidiary of NH Foods Australia involved in the breeding, backgrounding and lot feeding of beef cattle.
Whyalla Feedlot is the flagship for the business, located 25km north west of Texas on the Queensland –New South Wales border. Purchased in 1988 the site was constructed to 50,000 head and through expansions over the years, current capacity is 55,000 head with a license for 75,000 head. Whyalla Feedlot is one of the largest and most technically advanced feedlot operations in the southern hemisphere.
Whyalla Feedlot is primarily made up of Angus and Wagyu breeds with cattle sourced from all over Eastern Australia. Depending on the market and breed of cattle, they are fed anywhere from 100 to 350 days.
The feedlot turns off in excess of 120,000 head of cattle per year with cattle processed at company subsidiaries Oakey Beef Exports and Wingham Beef Exports. Cattle are principally hand fed on a Barley based ration.
The feedlot directly employs 90 skilled staff and contractors to ensure animal health, welfare and maintenance are carried out daily so quality assured standards are met.
Quality Assurance
Quality assurance is paramount at Whyalla Beef. To ensure a consistent quality product the company maintains a totally integrated management system that includes accreditations from the National Feedlot Accreditation Scheme (NFAS) and Livestock Producer Assurance (LPA). Employee health and safety is encapsulated within our Health and Safety Management System.
Our Feedlots and farms are accredited to produce MSA graded product and EU and EU High Quality accredited beef.
Whyalla Beef
A combination of company owned assets and strategic partnerships across Eastern Australia form part of the integrated supply chain to produce high quality beef for export and domestic markets.
Formally known as Oakey Holdings, the company had a name change to better reflect business activities undertaken since its inception in 1988. The vast majority of cattle produced by Whyalla Beef are processed and marketed through affiliated NH Foods subsidiaries for consumption around the globe.
Bective Feedlot
Whyalla Beef has had a continuing lease of Bective Feedlot since 2014. Bective Feedlot is ideally located near Tamworth on the Liverpool Plains. This location enables cattle and commodities to be sourced easily and is within a strategic location to our company subsidiary Wingham Beef Exports for processing.
Bective Feedlot has a capacity of 4,800 head and is accredited for EU High Quality Beef. Cattle are fed from 100 to 200 days with breeds comprising Angus and Wagyu.
Feeding Partners
On occasion Whyalla Beef contracts feeding space at a number of different custom feedlots. Due diligence is carried out prior to entry to ensure cattle performance will be at a high standard and meet Whyalla Beef’s market requirements.
Breeding
Whyalla Beef’s F1 Wagyu breeding program starts at ‘Scheelite’, on King Island in Tasmania. The 2,800 hectares ‘Scheelite’ farm was purchased in June 2001 and is located in the South East corner of King Island where it receives over 1,000 mm of highly reliable rainfall each year. The property breeds from 1,300 Angus cows. Progeny for feeding travel to the mainland at weaning and are backgrounded in the Riverina and then finished at Whyalla Beef Feedlot.
King Island is located mid way between Melbourne and Tasmania in Bass Strait and is highly productive perennial grassland developed from historical soldier settler programs. ‘Scheelite’ is a Johnes free EU accredited farm utilising a variety of natural, high performance pastures. Fullblood Wagyu bulls are sourced from the mainland and transported to the Island.
Whyalla owns a Purebred Wagyu breeding herd in the beautiful New England area of NSW. These cattle are managed under a partnership with the owners of the farm to ensure a supply of Purebred Wagyu for feeding at Whyalla Feedlot and as seed stock for ‘Scheelite’ on King Island.
Backgrounding
Dumaresq Grazing Service
Dumaresq Grazing Services began in 1996 as the Wagyu breeding program for the company. It served to produce Fullblood and purebred Wagyu’s destined for live sale to overseas markets and feeder cattle into the feedlot. It encompasses more than 5,000 hectares of grazing land surrounding the Whyalla feedlot site.
The breeding of company Wagyu’s is all done offsite today at ‘Scheelite’ on King Island and ‘Millbank’ in Walcha. The grazing land is now managed as an entity to the Feedlot which serves to precondition and background cattle before entry into the feedlot.
Backgrounding Partners
Whyalla Beef has established long term backgrounding partnerships with land owners in different geographical locations across Queensland and New South Wales. Cattle are vaccinated and managed to ensure a constant supply of socialised cattle are available for introduction to the feedlot. All cattle are personally selected for this program by our buyers and production staff.
Farming
Whyalla Farm
A farming business operates within Whyalla Beef which is able to produce quality assured grain, hay and silage for internal consumption. Ideally located along the Dumaresq River, crops are able to be grown year round under irrigated pivots and dryland farming paddocks.
Farming Partners
Due to our location in a highly productive agricultural area, Whyalla Beef utilises many local producers and there prime farming land for essential commodities like Hay, Silage, and Barley.
Our Products
Due to its network of reproduction and back-grounding properties, Whyalla Beef is able to produce Verified Australian Black Angus beef suitable for the Group’s long-fed feedlot program. In addition, Whyalla Beef also produces F1 Wagyu and Japanese Agricultural Standard (JAS) accredited beef for a range of international markets.
- OMUGI – 150+ DOF Angus, Barley Fed
- Angus Reserve – 150+ DOF Black Angus Cattle
- OMUGI – 200+ DOF Black Angus, Barley Fed
- Australian Wagyu – 300+ DOF Minimum F1 Wagyu
- Wingham Reserve – 120+ DOF British
- Oakey Reserve – 120+ DOF Black Angus EU
- 1788 Platinum– 200+ DOF Black Angus Long Fed EU
- EU Wagyu – 120+ DOF Minimum F1 Wagyu
Awards
Through its network of reproduction and back-grounding properties, Whyalla Beef is able to produce Australian Angus beef suitable for The Group’s long-fed feedlot program and F1 Wagyu, JAS (Japanese Agricultural Standard) accredited beef for a range of overseas markets.
- 2019 Winner – Bective Station – Most Outstanding MSA Beef Producer Feedlot (NSW)
- 2016 Winner Elanco Feedlot of the Year
- 2014 ACC Feedlot Industry Safe Work Award for Best Solution to an Identified Workplace Health and Safety Issue
- 2012 Winner Elanco Feedlot of the Year – Environment Category
- 2012 Winner Elanco Feedlot of the Year – Animal Welfare Category
- 2006 Winner Elanco Feedlot of the Year
Our Buyers
For all livestock enquiries, please contact our buyers directly
Kurt Wocker
Livestock Manager
0427 754 852
Bronson McLay
Livestock Buyer
0408 774 165
NEW ENGLAND/NORTH WEST NSW
Greg Callinan
Livestock Buyer
0429 476 522
CENTRAL WEST NSW
David Nell
Livestock Buyer
0408 443 734
SOUTHERN NSW/VICTORIA
Andrew Lowe
Livestock Buyer
0428 229 420