Karin and Kale Robinson relish thinking outside the box.
The North Queensland goat producers have honed their entrepreneurial spirit over the years through various small businesses, cumulating in opening Townsville's first staffless, self-service retail shop, Butcher2Go, for pasture raised goat and beef.
"You don't really know what curry is until you've had a goat curry," Ms Robinson said.
"It's delicious and we've had amazing feedback from customers on not just the eating quality, but the diversity of cooking options."
The Robinsons are no stranger to livestock production, having grown up on cattle properties and then managing and owning their own enterprises around Ravenswood and Charters Towers for the best part of 15 years.
They've eventually settled in Charters Towers with their five sons, but recently purchased the 10,117 hectare Eastfield, 80 kilometres northeast of Muttaburra, with an unexpected change in direction.
With cattle and land prices at record highs, they started looking at more economical livestock options and the reproductive rates and eating quality of goats made them an attractive option.
"We're the first in our family to breed goats," Ms Robinson said.
"We originally bought the Rangelands breed to get started, but after testing the domestic market and getting a lot of feedback of wanting a leaner carcase, now we're moving towards the Boer cross."
Goat meat is one of the most consumed proteins in the world and despite Australian farmers producing 1.2 million head to slaughter annually, around 98 per cent is exported.
The Robinsons want to change that.
They quickly realised that with only one abattoir in Queensland equipped for goat processing, they needed to think outside the box and help to raise the domestic consumption of goat meat.
The concept of the staffless shop was inspired by a TikTok video produced by New South Wales farmer Jacob Wolki- a pioneer of the staffless retail concept and an advocate for innovative food systems.
The couple made contact, and they've enjoyed a tremendous mentorship ever since.
"Jacob has been fantastic- so helpful," Ms Robinson said.
"People really wanted our whole goats, but not everyone can fit it in their freezer, so we wanted to offer smaller quantities too. We love being in the paddock and we love sharing the goat meat with everybody, but we didn't want to be stuck to a shop."
Customers are given a pin code to access the shop; Ms Robinson is alerted electronically when they enter and can remotely monitor what meat is bought through the system and taken out.
While on the outside it looks like a leap of faith, she is adamant that it's secure and customers relish the experience.
"At the end of the day, there is an element of trust but so far everyone has wanted to do the right thing. They just want quality meat, straight from the paddock with the convenience of a shopfront," she said.
The Robinson's Boer herd has grown to 6000 head and while they're bred and raised at Eastfield, they're taken to Charters Towers for slaughter and processing at Dan's Country Meats.
The shop has recently launched a line of beef products as well, Wild Rivers Beef by Diamantina River Pty Ltd, supplied by Luke and Nicola Britton family at Winton.
While the majority of Butcher2Go customers are from the African, Nepalese and Indian communities, Ms Robinson is surprised at how quickly their customer base is diversifying.
They have contracts with a number of Townsville restaurants and hope to eventually expand the meat range to pork and lamb products.
She also loves her own education in the different styles of cooking by her customers.
"I love chatting to them because they're so passionate about goat meat," she said.
"We've found people want leaner cuts, which obviously translates to a lighter goat and we're turning them off at between a 15 and 20 kilogram carcaseweight.
"The ethnic community go towards the curry pieces, whereas the locals are more inclined to try a cutlet or something like that. However there's a real push for slow cooking and smoking at the moment, so we see a lot of photos from customers trying those options."
