Supermarket heavyweight Coles has signed a deal to process livestock at Teys Australia's Beenleigh processing facility in Queensland.
Coles has been looking for a new processing partner for its northern supply business since it fell out with Australian Country Choice several years ago.
That long partnership between Coles and ACC will formally end in the next few months, it was confirmed today.
Teys Australia will now process cattle bought by Coles from hundreds of beef producers at Teys' Beenleigh plant, south of Brisbane.
Coles also announced today it has signed new exclusivity deals with 30 more Australian producers, including 15 from Queensland.
Coles already has direct supply deals with more than 100 Queensland cattle farming families from Capella in the north to Goondiwindi in the south.
With today's announcement the number of suppliers has been boosted to 130.
The new Teys arrangement is the long expected move of Coles from its processing arrangements at ACC's Cannon Hill plant.
After a 40-year relationship, ACC sued Coles in 2017 alleging breaches of a contract relating to the export of surplus product.
That court action was withdrawn a year later.
ACC still has processing arrangements with Woolworths.
"We look forward to supporting Coles' producer network, and Australian consumers with sustainable and quality beef products under the processing arrangement with Coles at our Beenleigh site," Teys Australia's chairman and chief executive Brad Teys said.
Second-generation cattle farmers, Rob and Anne Bridle from Tara, are one of the 15 new Queensland cattle farming families to begin supplying Coles directly with cattle for the Coles butcher range, which includes cuts from scotch fillet to mince.
Mr Bridle said a regular supply contract with Coles gave him the certainty he needs to invest in the future of his business.
"Working with Coles directly gives me the confidence each week and stability in operations by having a consistent cycle of cattle moving through the feedlot, and cash flow to reinvest in the business," he said.
"I like the hands-on approach with Coles visiting the farm regularly and working together on initiatives like the new eNVD app which saves us time on traceability paperwork and gives me fast access to information about price and volumes.
"For customers, it's important they know there's a 100% trust element and traceability with direct supply."
The Bridle family has been breeding and producing cattle since 1961 and take a great deal of care to ensure the end result is a top quality, great-tasting product for customers to enjoy.
"We are so proud of the product we are able to provide for Coles customers. When they pick up a packet of Coles meat from the shelves, they are buying beef from a family like ours," said Rob.
Coles meat general manager Charlotte Gilbert said Coles was investing in the long-term sustainability of its beef suppliers and the Australian meat industry.
Speaking at Beef Australia in Rockhampton today she said the new arrangement with Teys would begin almost immediately.
Ms Gilbert said the arrangement was multi-year but she would not release details on the financial terms of the new deal.
"Our new processing arrangement with Teys Australia Beenleigh, and direct livestock supply arrangements with 30 new farming families demonstrates our passion and long-term commitment to the Australian beef industry," she said.
"In Queensland specifically, we have more than tripled the number of individual farming families we work with from just 37 in 2018 to over 130 farming families today - that's over 130 farming families we are supporting by purchasing cattle directly from the farm.
"Our buyers are regularly visiting our farmers to better understand their business and how we can work together to provide the best quality product for our customers. Over the past week we have visited several farmers in Queensland, and we look forward to engaging with other stakeholders across the industry during Beef Week."
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