Unexpected outcome for farmers after supermarket cuts ties with Tassie beef

A pair of Aussie farmers say they have reported an unexpected sales boost following Woolworths’ decision to stop stocking Tasmanian beef.

In a tongue-in-cheek social media post, the Rebecca and Rod Byfield, owners and operators of Heritage Farms Tasmania, have thanked Woolworths for its recent decision to end its arrangement with JBS Longford which processed the product for the supermarket giant.

They wrote on Facebook: Dear Woolworths, we’d just like to say a very sincere, thank you. Thank you for reminding Tasmanians that there are, in fact, farmers outside the supermarket supply chain. Because amongst all the discussion about Tassie beef disappearing from Woolies, we’ve noticed something rather lovely happening.

“People are looking for their local farmers,” the post continued. “They’re asking where their beef comes from. They’re asking how the cattle are raised.

“They’re asking who actually produced their food. And they’re discovering something farmers like us have known for years: You can buy really good food directly from the people who actually raised or grew it.’”

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Rebecca has told nine.com.au: “For us, it’s got a positive impact which is people that are going, ‘Right, I’m annoyed that Woolworths isn’t going to deal with Tasmanian meat any more, so I’m going to go and find who does sell it.’ So they’re now coming to us.”

She said the ordeal has served as a reminder for shoppers to question where their food is coming from.

“I think there’s always been people that, they want to buy locally,” she said. “I think this just keeps it top-of-mind with people ... there’s been some really good, transparent conversations happening about this.

“We’re only a small farm, and there’s no way that we could actually cater for all of those customers. So it’s been great to turn the spotlight back on the small producers and say, ‘Go and find your local farm!’ So we invited farmers to tag themselves, and we invited people to tag local farmers.”

Elizabeth Mahnken from Summerlea Farm in Tasmania has also reported a recent boost in sales.

“Certainly from our perspective, we’ve had an increase in our orders and there’s we’ve certainly had a swell of interest from community in terms of where their beef is coming from and this sort of commitment to buying local,” she told nine.com.au.

“That’s something that we have found has been the reason why people buy from us. People have been looking more and more about buying food from a farmer that they know where it’s come from, and then they have some assurance about the quality of what they’re getting.”

A Woolworths spokesperson told nine.com.au the retailer is mindful of the impact of any changes on local farmers, and that Woolworths is working directly with those affected to support them through this transition period into 2027.

In Coffs Harbour banana growers Coles recently announced the end of its NSW wholesaler Golden Dawn to supply the supermarket with locally grown bananas, cucumbers and pumpkins. The supermarket’s bananas will instead be supplied by North Queensland growers, even Coffs Harbour stores.

Mayor of Coffs Harbour, Mayor Nikki Williams, has taken to Facebook to urge locals to support local banana farmers.

“Coffs Harbour is the home of the Big Banana and banana farming is part of our history and part of who we are,” she wrote.

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“I’m disappointed to see Coles move away from sourcing bananas and other fresh produce directly from our local growers.

“Our farming families grow our food and contribute to our community and economy. When we have fantastic bananas being grown right here, it’s hard to understand why we would need to bring bananas from more than 1000km away.”

Paul Shoker, a Cavendish banana grower at Shoker Family Farm, previously told nine.com.au he is disappointed by Coles’ decision and know of at least 33 Coffs Harbour businesses impacted by the decision.

“Coles made it very clear there was basically an end date, which is late October 2026. There was never a quality issue, there was never a supply issue, so that’s why it was so disappointing,” he said.

Shoker wasn’t privy to the details of the negotiations, nor were any other growers, he said, with the supermarket giant choosing to deal with the wholesaler directly.

A petition calling on Coles to reverse its decision has so far gained over 17,000 signatures.

A Coles spokesperson told nine.com.au it recognises this is a disappointing decision and understand the impact it may have on Golden Dawn and the Mid North Coast growers it works with.