A new Coles campaign partnering with Tasmanian lamb farmers has been seen as a vote of confidence in the quality of the state's lamb industry, according to producers.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Coles has partnered with a number of lamb farms across the state to release a Tasmanian-exclusive range of lamb products as part of its GRAZE meats line.
Richard and Bec Johnston own Highbray farm at Westwood.
IN OTHER NEWS:
Mr Johnston said it was the clean and green environment in Tasmania that made for a premium product the state can be proud of.
"It's a quality product so Coles has recognised that and is running with it," he said.
"All the lambs have got to be born in Tassie and have a lifetime traceability ... it's quite good for Tassie farmers."
Mr Johnston said the campaign would help consumers understand the quality and humane manner in which Tasmanian lambs are kept.
"[The] Lamb's nil-grain, nil-antibiotics so there's a few things that make it standalone. They've never been confined fed ... it's all been open-paddock grazing," he said.
It's a demand for our product and it's going to take about 100,000 lambs this year ... that could increase so it's a good thing for our industry as a whole.
- Richard Johnston
According to Mr Johnston, the new deal with Coles will aid Tasmania's lamb industry greatly, especially given the many closures of abattoirs in the state.
He added the deal would likely result in increased lamb numbers for each farm to keep up with demand.
"It's a demand for our product and it's going to take about 100,000 lambs this year ... that could increase so it's a good thing for our industry as a whole," Mr Johnston said.
Mr Johnston said the drier weather of 2019 has put a strain on the farm and its ability to hydrate the paddocks and lambs.
"A lot of the lamb finishing relies on irrigation and water resources are getting stretched so we can't water as much as much lamb finishing feed," he said.
"We're hoping to try and increase our water capacity but it's out of the box dry for us really ... if we want to get more lambs we'll need to get more water."