Lamb Processing

Q Lamb founder Polly Trefort inducted into WA Agricultural Hall of Fame

Sheep Central, May 11, 2017

Q Lamb founder Polly Trefort.

Q LAMB founder Peter Trefort has been inducted into the WA Royal Agricultural Society’s Hall of Fame.

Mr Trefort received the honour at a ceremony in Perth in recognition of his contributions to the sheep industry and agricultural education.

Nominees are inducted into the Agricultural Hall of Fame based on their agricultural achievements, their leadership, vision, skill and their impact on Western Australian agriculture.

Mr Trefort has been successful in developing and commercialising an innovative new range of lamb cuts to for domestic and international markets, and served for 20 years on WA’s Combined Advisory Council of Agricultural Colleges, including three years as chairman.

He also served for 14 years on the board of Meat & Livestock Australia and in 2007 received an honorary doctorate from Murdoch University for his contribution to industry innovation and participation in meat quality and lamb supply chain research projects. He now manages his family’s property at Narrogin in Western Australia.

Mr Trefort said receiving the honour was a great surprise.

“I never thought I would be in line for receiving anything like this.”

Mr Trefort is well-known for helping to establish the Q Lamb brand with Alan Jarman and Graham Sutherland. He said Q Lamb changed the concept of lamb from being a bi-product of the wool industry to being a product in its own right.

“Lamb went from being available for just three months a year in spring time to something that was prepared and available 12 months of the year.

“It started off when I secured a contract to supply lamb to the Bi-Lo supermarket in Mandurah and I took that contract on the one condition that they labelled the product ‘Fresh from Narrogin farmers’, Mr Trefort said.

“We then went from working with 11 farmers around Narrogin to 250 producers from across WA and from processing 250 lambs a week to processing 1500 lambs a day.”

Trefort kick-started industry attention on carcase specifications

Leader of the Sheep CRC Meat Value Chain Program, Professor David Pethick of Murdoch University, said Mr Trefort and the Q Lamb program had kick-started the industry’s closer attention to lamb carcase specifications.

“Peter really was one of the early visionaries of interconnected supply chains with advanced feedback and a focus on carcase specifications for meeting customer needs,” Prof. Pethick said.

“He tackled the problem from a number of directions, developing seasonal finishing systems for our Mediterranean climate to improve the consistency of lamb supply; he was a great believer in LAMBPLAN and the use of appropriate genetics; he pioneered best practice processing and was the first domestic focused processor to use electrical stimulation; plus Q Lamb offered a whole range of cuts, not just chops and roasts.”

Mr Trefort also worked extensively developing on-farm and processing R&D strategy with the Department of Agriculture and Food (WA), University of Western Australia and Murdoch University.

Sheep CRC chief executive James Rowe said Mr Trefort’s career had changed the landscape of the lamb industry through his roles with Q Lamb, and the boards of the Sheep CRC and MLA.

“I can think of none more deserving of this honour than Peter – he has been an outstanding board member for the Sheep CRC and his knowledge and insights have played a major role in our success,” Prof. Rowe said.

Source: Sheep CRC.

HAVE YOUR SAY

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Your comment will not appear until it has been moderated.
Contributions that contravene our Comments Policy will not be published.

Comments

Get Sheep Central's news headlines emailed to you -
FREE!