NATIONAL supermarket retailer Coles has further broadened its supply and processing base out of Queensland, establishing a multi-year service kill agreement to process livestock at Teys Australia’s Beenleigh plant in southern Queensland, underpinning the supply of beef for Coles customers across the country.

Under the agreement, Teys Australia will process cattle purchased by Coles from hundreds of Australian beef producers at the company’s Beenleigh facility, south of Brisbane.

Coles General Manager for Meat, Charlotte Gilbert, at Beef 2021 this morning

Beenleigh has killed some Coles cattle for the past 18 months under a commercial trial, but today’s announcement is for a longer-term commitment.

Current numbers are around 1800 per week, but that will ramp-up to 2500/week once Coles’ long standing supply arrangement with Australian Country Choice comes to a permanent close in July. Once fully activated, Coles will occupy around 40 pc of Teys Beenleigh’s weekly throughput.

The processing arrangement, along with the addition of 30 new livestock supply contract holders, including 15 in Queensland, was announced during the country’s largest gathering of beef producers and industry stakeholders at Beef Week 2021 in Rockhampton.

Teys is Australia’s second-largest meat processor, with 75 years of experience in the Australian beef industry.

The arrangement with Teys would further reinforce Coles’ commitment to selling only 100pc Australian beef, as well as the long-term sustainability of hundreds of Australian farming families, Coles said in a statement.

“We look forward to supporting Coles’ producer network, and Australian consumers with sustainable and quality beef products under the processing arrangement with Coles at our Beenleigh site,” Teys Australia chairman and CEO Brad Teys said.

Coles already sources directly from more than 100 Queensland cattle enterprises from Capella in the north to Goondiwindi in the south, and the new agreements will increase that number to more than 130, helping to deliver great quality beef for customers.

Second-generation cattle farmers, Rob and Anne Bridle from Tara, are one of the 15 new Queensland cattle producer families to begin supplying Coles directly with cattle for the Coles butcher range, which includes cuts from scotch fillet to mince.

Mr Bridle said a regular supply contract with Coles gave him the certainty he needed to invest in the future of his business.

“Working with Coles directly gives me the confidence each week and stability in operations by having a consistent cycle of cattle moving through the feedlot, and cash flow to reinvest in the business,” he said.

“I like the hands-on approach with Coles visiting the farm regularly and working together on initiatives like the new eNVD app which saves us time on traceability paperwork and gives me fast access to information about price and volumes.

“For customers, it’s important they know there’s a 100% trust element and traceability with direct supply.”

The Bridle family has been breeding and producing cattle since 1961.

“We are proud of the product we are able to provide for Coles customers. When they pick up a packet of Coles beef from the shelves, they are buying product from a family like ours,” Mr Bridle said.

Coles General Manager for Meat, Charlotte Gilbert, said her company was investing in the long-term sustainability of its beef suppliers and the Australian meat industry.

“We are proud of the relationships we have built with all of our producers in Australia. Our new processing arrangement with Teys Australia, and direct livestock supply arrangements with 30 new farming families demonstrates our passion and long-term commitment to the Australian beef industry,” she said.

In Queensland, Coles has more than tripled the number of individual farming families that supply into the program, from 37 in 2018 to more than 130 today.

“Our buyers are regularly visiting our farmers to better understand their business and how we can work together to provide the best quality product for our customers. Over the past week we have visited several farmers in Queensland, and we look forward to engaging with other stakeholders across the industry during Beef Week,” Ms Gilbert said.

• A detailed article on Coles supply chain developments, including comments from  General Manager for Meat, Charlotte Gilbert, and national livestock manager Stephen Rennie, will come later.

Source: Coles, plus additional reporting