FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Most frequent questions and answers
Provenir is better for the livestock, the farmers and consumers.
Our on-farm processing removes the need for livestock to experience the stress associated with transportation to an abattoir. The final days are the most critical in ensuring that the quality of meat is maximised and the welfare maintained. While mobile on-farm processing is at the heart of our operation, it is not the only reason our meat is better. We partner with farmers practicing high welfare, traditional practices to produce top quality, grass-fed cattle and sheep. The meat is processed in our own artisan butchery utilising a combination of traditional butchery and advanced techniques of chilling and hanging in order to maximize quality. Our processes respects the life of the animal and values the quality of the meat throughout the whole process.
Artisan butchery is the time honoured care, skill and craftsmanship of the butcher to value the whole beast. Bringing artisan butchery into the modern context we utilise technology to incorporate proven techniques including multi-staged chilling and advanced hanging methods to maximise yield and tenderness. At Provenir we see artisan butchery as a perfect balance of traditional skills and modern technology, working together to produce exceptional quality meat and a range of cuts that you wont find in the supermarkets.
Yes, and no. Our on-farm processing is undertaken in a licensed abattoir and butchery, enabling the meat to be sold commercially.
Our commercial operation should not to be confused with mobile (or home) butchering, which is the on-farm slaughter and butchering of a farmers livestock for their personal consumption. Depending on state based regulations, this meat must not leave the property, cannot be legally sold or even given away.
Typically, on-farm processing is undertaken by the farmer or by professional ‘on-farm butcher’, who are skilled at both the slaughter and butchery of the livestock. The ‘on-farm butcher’ will conduct the slaughter on-farm and supply a mobile cool room to hang the carcass before returning at a later date to undertake the butchery, packaging and supply of the meat to the farmer or landholder for their freezer. This process is great for animal welfare and the livestock owner, farmer and his or her family but unless you receive an invitation to the dinner table, this meat is unable to be legally obtained off property, whether as a gift or for sale.
Provenir will conduct on-farm processing in our commercially licensed abattoir, just like current fixed abattoirs, our difference is that we are mobile and therefore able to process on-farm.
We all have our own ethics and the founders of Provenir respect that what may be ethical for us, may not be ethical for you. We acknowledge that your definition may be different from ours and that is why we choose not to label our meat ethical and instead have chosen to express the processes we employ as being highest welfare. We do, however, believe in full transparency and providing you with the whole story of how our meat is produced. We hope that by providing this information you are able to make an informed decision as to whether you feel Provenir meat is right for you.
Further, the founders of Provenir believe that if we are going to eat meat, we should respect the life of the animal to the very end, never compromising animal welfare. We believe that the only way to achieve this is through mobile on-farm processing. We also believe that honouring the life of the animal by valuing the meat and eating mindfully fits within our ethics; everything else is a compromise.
At the heart of Provenir’s business is our mobile on-farm abattoir, however, we know that to produce exceptional meat the process begins on the farm and continues through into the butchery.
Provenir is not a farm, rather we partner with select farmers who meet our high welfare farming criteria. Provenir purchases the stock from our partner farmers at the point of processing.
We own our own butchery and our artisan butchers utilise traditional techniques and modern technology to maximise yield, taste and tenderness to produce exceptional quality meat.
We partner with retailers, chefs and restaurants that value true provenance, high welfare and exceptional produce to supply you with Provenir meat.
One day we hope to create a closer connection to our consumers by opening a retail and online butcher shop, so that you may purchase direct from us. Until then please seek out and ask for Provenir meats at select retailers and restaurants, and register your interest to be one of the first to know when you can buy direct.
Provenir has a requirement that all livestock have not been transported for a minimum of two months prior to processing. This ensures the livestock are calm and have adjusted to their new environment and herd following any transportation.
The majority of our farmers have their own farm breeding programs and the livestock processed by Provenir will have lived their whole life on the same farm in which they were born, and raised stress-free within their own herd. However, there may be some instances where the livestock have been transported. The first instance is that in this vast country of ours, the farm or station is so large that livestock are transported between locations within the station. This may be a better option than droving over long distances, which may cause livestock greater stress and physical exhaustion, and discomfort.
The second instance may be that some farmers specialise in raising cattle, rather than having their own breeding programs, or they may be bringing in new stock and bloodlines. In this situation, livestock may have been transported between farms before settling within their new herd.
As we are all about transparency and provenance, you can read about the practices of our farming partners which will include details of whether they supply Provenir with stock that has been transported during their life or where they were born and raised on-farm.