Farmer In Focus – Kurrajong Country Meats

This week we sat down with one of our stallholders who has been with us since 2004 and is a familiar face to many of our customers.

Andrew Schmidt from Kurrajong Country Meats, is a beef and lamb farmer based in Wellington NSW. As a fifth-generation farmer, Andrew and his family have been happy on their 1,000-acre property known as ‘Locherne’ in Wellington since 1989. His family were the original settlers on the property at Dorrigo NSW where they mainly had dairy cows and fields of potatoes.

The Schmidt Family first joined the Market back in 2004 when they were looking to find ways to combat poor beef sales, and Andrew has been with us ever since.

Previously relying on butchers for processing, Andrew took the big step to build his processing facility on the farm and hasn’t looked back. He now employs a butcher one day a week to assist him with butchering which is undertaken every Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, so that the meat is ready to be taken to Market very early on Saturday morning.

Taking the paddock-to-plate experience even further, Andrew now offers a variety of homemade pies. Everything, from tending to animals to baking pies, is managed onsite at the family farm and brought here for us to enjoy at the Market. Andrew’s pies include three mouthwatering flavours of Chunky Beef, Beef Bacon and Cheese, Chicken Leek and Bacon, and Honey Mustard Chicken. Nothing beats fresh hot pies on these cold Canberra mornings.

Be sure to stop by and check out all of Andrew’s amazing products including sausages, schnitzels, pork, lamb and so much more as well as his delicious hot pies. You can find Andrew at the Market every week in stalls 174-176.