DARYL and Lyn Bein have taken the term 'from paddock to plate' quite literally, slaughtering their own cattle and then selling them at their butcher shop in Miles.
Mr Bein has been a butcher since he was 14 years old, when he hitchhiked from his home town of Chinchilla and found a job at the last shop in Miles.
Since then, he has seen quite a few changes in his profession, particularly in the 21 years since he and Mrs Bein have owned and operated Miles Wholesale Meats.
"When I first came to Miles, there were three butcher shops and three slaughter yards, and now there are no yards - it's a fast dying race," Mr Bein said.
With the added competition from supermarkets, butchers have had to be innovative to stay in the business.
"We have gone from just selling meat to selling oven-ready pies, lasagnes, pre-cooked meals, milk and vegetables.
"I always try to find unique things to put into my shop, which are not found in supermarkets, so it is the little niche things that people don't worry about."
Now they have gone a step further.
The Beins decided to fully integrate their business, and three years ago bought a 526-hectare (1300-acre) property, Briley Hollows, which son Trent and partner Jess run. Before this, they had been buying their beef in directly from an abattoir in Chinchilla.
"I thought we might as well try our farm," Mr Bein said.
"There are plenty of butchers around who are doing this, and I am just sad I didn't try something like this 10 years ago."
Mr Bein and Trent initially bought 20 head of cattle and now they are running an 80-head herd of mainly Herefords - 30 are Mr Bein's and 50 are Trent's.
"I think there is a bit more of a fat coverage on the English breed," Mr Bein explained as his reason for choosing Herefords.
The cattle are bought from store sales, usually Roma, at about 200kg and then killed at 600kg.
"Before we bring them into the shop, they do a very small stint on feed for about 60 days to put the coverage on.
"When we first started, we trialled this at 40, 50 and 60 days, and found that 60 days was the best for fat coverage without the grain taste in the meat."
Not all the cattle are put on grain, with a small number completely grassfed.
"The grainfed ones are just a little bit better with their finish. But the taste is the same because they haven't been on the grain for that long."
Each week, two to three steers are sent to a private abattoir in Chinchilla, Steve's Country Kills, and come back to the shop boxed.
"We find the little, small slaughter houses give you the longest shelf life out of your meat.
"I am very green at farming, but we keep them well looked after so there is no stress on them," Mr Bein said, and the result is, hopefully, a more tender meat.
Mr Bein leaves the running of the farm to son Trent, who had a good experience with agriculture when he went through school and also participated in junior judging.
"I don't have much to do with the farm; Trent and Jess manage it. I just go out and have a look around - it gets me out of the shop."
Although life in Miles has slowed down a little as the construction phase of the coal seam gas industry finishes, the interest in the Beins' beef hasn't.
"We have people come in and say, 'Is this your meat?' They are looking for it now."
Mr Bein said running his enterprise from paddock to plate does keep the prices down, but warned consumers the price of beef will become dear.
"I have always said to the Australian public, get in and eat meat when it's cheap. One day it will get dear, and that day will be soon.
"If you look overseas, meat is dear."
