Topic:Food and Beverage Processing Industry
Fiona McBean and Pete Cogill with their children at Eva Valley Meats. (ABC Rural: Matt Brann)
Northern Territory cattle producer Fiona McBean remembers the day she and her husband Peter Cogill decided to have a crack at running their own abattoir.
"Peter was off contract mustering, I was home alone, and we'd run out of our own beef," she said.
"I went to a major supermarket and bought some mince … and it wasn't great.
The couple soon bought a property 100 kilometres south of Darwin called Old Cameron Downs and started up their own boutique abattoir called Eva Valley Meats.
The abattoir and business has just celebrated its 10th anniversary.
Eva Valley Meats faced plenty of challenges in the early days, including convincing people that Top End cattle could be tasty.
When ABC Rural visited the abattoir in 2016 after it had completed its first few kills, Ms McBean said there was a huge misconception that Bos Indicus cattle from northern Australia did not taste as good as Bos Taurus breeds in southern Australia.
"I find it amazing that there's still such a strong theory amongst the general population that Bos Indicus cattle are a lesser [tasting] animal, and it's just completely untrue," Ms McBean said.
Fiona McBean in 2016, showing ABC Rural beef processed in the new abattoir at Old Cameron Downs. (ABC Rural: Lisa Herbert)
Speaking to ABC Rural in 2026, Ms McBean said it did not take long for demand to take off.
"Pete processed those first few animals, and I reckon within three months we needed a full-time butcher because we couldn't keep up with the amount of demand coming our way," she said.
"We've got so many repeat customers now, which I think proves we can deliver a beautiful carcass."
The family is still running a herd of mostly Senepol-Brahman-cross cattle and is also processing buffalo from the region.