Producing pork with regional pride

TWO months ago, when restaurants closed and pork prices fell, Mount Mercer’s Western Plains Pork saw the value in taking one of their professional partnerships to the next level.

Judy Croagh said the team had been working with Salt Kitchen Charcuterie, growing pigs especially for them, but they saw the collaboration also had potential to expand.

“We like regional, local business opportunities, and I’m very passionate about great quality produce, and working with excellent people,” she said.

“Salt Kitchen’s Mick Nunn is a chef that I knew. When the pandemic hit, we were talking and it made sense to do something else together, because we wanted to keep selling the pork we had for restaurants.”

Coordinating an online sales platform, porkfarmtoplate.com, the brands bundled their fresh pork and charcuterie products and started delivering boxes directly to homes.

Mrs Croagh said the last ten weeks have been “cool,” as her business has reassessed their approach, got a greater grasp of what the consumer wants, and have discovered a new way of selling and supplying produce directly to them.

“It’s opened up another chapter. To have someone to work with, and have a common goal, has been great,” she said.

“Mick works unbelievable hours. To have that same want, desire, passion, to be able to supply and service the consumer with good quality product, it’s been really good.”

As regional Victorian farmers and food producers, Mrs Croagh said her team has a great sense of pride.

“We should be proud of what we have in this western Victorian area, whether it’s Golden Plains or Ballarat, even further west, and in Australia, we should be proud of the standard of food product that we produce.

“Twenty years ago, there was not a lot of food produced going straight to the end user. These days, it’s changed so much,” she said.

“To be able to deliver that, and to make people aware that they should be discerning about what they eat and where they purchase it from, that’s really important.”

If there’s one thing the COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted for Mrs Croagh, it’s that all Australians should seek out and support the farmers, makers and small businesses creating products in the area that they live.

“Think local. We should be self-sufficient,” she said. “I know the food standards we have for the food industry are really high. We should all understand that, value that, and take that further as we come out of this.

“Look for Australian goods, be really proud of them, be proud of Victoria and our region, as well.”