Byrnes Meats 55th Anniversary ‘Meating’ high standards from paddock to plate

BYRNES Quality Meats and Portsmith Quality Meats have been locally owned and operated since 1962 by the Byrnes Family, headed by husband-and-wife D’Arcy and Raylee Byrnes.

Both outlets are well-known for supplying fresh, locallyproduced Queensland beef and other quality meats to the region – a service the Byrnes family has been providing for 55 years.

D’Arcy says the milestone “means a lot”.

“We must be doing the right thing by people to be still here,” he says.

“We try to service our public with quality meat at the best price available and people keep coming back to us for that reason. From paddock to plate, our business is integrated right through.”

D’Arcy still works from 2am2pm most days – the same shift he’s done for 55 years – in a fully hands-on role.

Thinking about the future, he says the continuation of the business is well and truly inhand.

“Our son Victor is coming along behind us now. He’s fully integrated into the business and is taking over a lot of the responsibility,” D’Arcy says.

“He runs the abattoir and attends the weekly cattle sale in Mareeba.

“He purchases cattle and pigs for our properties, purchases all our factory’s feed and machinery, and shares ownership in our station and farms.

D’Arcy says his grandchildren are also getting involved in the business.

“Victor’s kids are also following him along – one’s working with him now and did his time with us as a butcher.”

Byrnes Quality Meats and Portsmith Quality Meats offer a broad spectrum of meat and poultry products, including budget, premium and exotic lines, such as kangaroo and crocodile.

Many of the Byrnes family’s beef cattle come from their property in Cape York, Holroyd River Station.

The station is the largest privately owned nature refuge in Australia.

In 2010, Holroyd River Station took out the rural award at the Premier’s ClimateSmart Sustainability Awards.

The award recognised D’Arcy and Raylee for the use of sustainable practices and environmental leadership within the meat industry.

Cattle from Holroyd River Station are transferred to the family’s farms on the Tableland to fatten, or to a feed lot to produce grain-fed meat.

The Byrnes family covers an extensive array of businesses within the meat industry, from