Warren and Marina Wiggins, Booroobee Dorpers, Bexhill via Lismore, were determined to have a go at paddock to plate prime production and during the past 12 months of smart, hard work they appear to have cracked it.
They now sell their own raised dry-aged Dorper lamb cuts to the finest restaurants in the Northern Rivers.
Five-star executive chef at Elements of Byron, formerly Léscargot of London, Simon Jones, is a confessed ‘massive fan of lamb’ and says the Wiggins’ Dorper product ticked all the right boxes. It even reminded him of the popular prime product he served in his old restaurant.
“It’s got flavour, it’s got texture, it’s got colour and it comes dry when I buy it, aged, so the skin is what I call a ‘bark’.
“It’s a fantastic product, I’ll never change it. The customers love it, the owner loves it,” he said.
Customer service is no small part of the sell, but Mr Wiggins is used to that part of the job, servicing farmers’ markets from Byron Bay to Yamba six times a week over four days. Every Thursday at the Byron market he meets with Mr Jones face to face to discuss custom chops.
“The meat comes cut how I want it,” said Mr Jones. “It comes aged, and dry in the pack. A lot of butchers vacuum pack their meat and they call it ‘wet aging’. I call it lazy.
“Importantly the price is right – competitive with the local butcher.
“I prefer the rump because I love the flavour. We cook it for nine minutes until it is medium rare unless the customer wants it well done … it’s their choice.” Mr Jones implies a respect for meat that presents its punch with a pink middle.
Other nearby chefs that have converted to Booroobee Dorper include Brett Cameron at Harvest Cafe, Newrybar, who is keen on the shoulder racks, while the Brewery at Byron prefers the ribs. Marco Ribechini at the Italian Diner at Bangalow serves leg chops as his signature dish along with loins and shanks, while the Bangalow Bowlo takes the shoulder.
“A year ago we were selling 14 bodies a fortnight. Now it’s 24 a week,” Mr Wiggins said.
Most meat is sold in a pack, fresh until four days old before it is frozen, customers can order in advance special cuts and full or half lambs. “Although, since we moved away from carcases to packs, especially the fresh market, we have never looked back,” Mr Wiggins said.
What doesn’t sell as cuts is minced into preservative-free Rosemary and herb garlic sausages and rissoles. The offal is sold on request otherwise it goes into pet food, of which there is a pet food line, while the marrow of bones are brewed to broth and frozen. These products sell at the markets, as do prime cuts available at prices often competitive with the supermarket duopoly.
Finished lambs, aged eight to nine months and 48 to 52 kilograms liveweight (averaging 23kg each carcase) are processed at Highchester meats, Beaudesert, Queensland – the closest abattoir that takes lamb – and packed in Lismore by Keysies Butchers.
Prime Dorper Lamb as a brand
The Wiggins have signed up with the Dorper Sheep Society of Australia to be licensed ‘Prime Dorper Lamb™’ Co-Branders.
Accreditation ensures that Prime Dorper Lamb is ethically sourced from MSA accredited producers who have a high regard for animal welfare and produce quality lamb with superior carcase and eating quality.
The society has produced promotional materials, such as recipe cards, posters and packaging labels, which are available to Prime Dorper Lamb Licensees to assist with marketing. It also supplied the red-inked carcase stamp used by the abattoir to identify every cut as part of the brand.
Their farm comprises 29 hectares of western-facing flats and slopes at Bexhill, with another 20ha leased next door.
Wild dogs frequent the area, travelling along an abandoned railway line and occupying a disused quarry as a base. So the Wiggins employ Maremma guard dogs and have yet to lose a lamb, but for a good night’s sleep have also invested $30,000 in two kilometres of dog fence, 1.6 metres high, that encircles their farm.
The 300 breeders, plus lambs, are cell-grazed in a dozen fenced paddocks with the Wiggins buying in ewes during the past 12 months to keep up with the demand that has made these two teachers re-think their career path.
Bloodlines in their registered ewes go back to Mrs Wiggins’ childhood at Warialda, where her father dabbled in Dorpers. His rams came from Amarula, Gracesend, which is about 70 per cent infused in the Wiggins’ flock, with the remainder going back to Old Munbilla lines at Grafton, for coastal acclimatisation, although they find that western-bred ewes brought in at a young age can adapt to the washed-out coastal conditions.
“Dorpers are as hardy on the coast as they are in the snow and deserts,” said Mrs Wiggins. “They have a bit of goat mentality. They browse like a goat, but they eat like lamb.”
The self-sloughing of wool with no need for a shearer and a clean crutch, free from fly-strike, with no need for mulesing makes them ideal for the Northern Rivers area, where summer humidity is a threat to other sheep breeds.
Dorpers are prolific producers of twins, which gives the small holding more bang for their buck, and the lambs are able to eat pasture at just 10 days old.
“Improved pasture has been one of our biggest assets when it comes to consistency and quality,” said Mr Wiggins. “All our efforts are about making sure that our brand and product stands above the rest.”