Topic:Food and Beverage Processing Industry<\/p>\n
Fiona McBean and Pete Cogill with their children at Eva Valley Meats. (ABC Rural: Matt Brann)<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
"Peter was off contract mustering, I was home alone, and we'd run out of our own beef," she said.<\/p>\n
"I went to a major supermarket and bought some mince \u2026 and it wasn't great.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
The abattoir and business has just celebrated its 10th anniversary.<\/p>\n
Eva Valley Meats faced plenty of challenges in the early days, including convincing people that Top End cattle could be tasty.<\/p>\n
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.\u00a0<\/p>\n
"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.<\/p>\n
Fiona McBean in 2016, showing ABC Rural beef processed in the new abattoir at Old Cameron Downs. (ABC Rural: Lisa Herbert)<\/p>\n
Speaking to ABC Rural in 2026, Ms McBean said it did not take long for demand to take off.<\/p>\n
"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.<\/p>\n
"We've got so many repeat customers now, which I think proves we can deliver a beautiful carcass."<\/p>\n
The family is still running a herd of mostly Senepol-Brahman-cross cattle and is also processing buffalo from the region.<\/p>\n