Stuart Jonas
Jonais Farms & Meatsmiths, Eganstown
Stuart Jonas with one of this happy rare-breed Large Black pigs
Jonai Farms & Meatsmiths is run by a family of ethicurean farmers raising pastured rare-breed Large Black pigs and Lowline cattle on 69 acres of volcanic paddocks just outside Daylesford, Victoria.
They butcher all their own meat on farm (Stuart's wife Tammi is the butcher), and sell their uncommonly delicious ethical pork and beer-fed beef at the farm gate and online, with deliveries to Woodend, Castlemaine, Bendigo, Ballarat & seven hubs in Melbourne.
They were the first farm in Australia to successfully crowdfund major infrastructure in 2013 when they raised $27,570 on Pozible to build a farmstead butchery, which is now a fully licensed boning room and farm gate shop. They then successfully crowdfunded a further $33,650 this year to build their own curing room and commercial kitchen on the farm to make farmstead salami and charcuterie.
The farm is something of a rarity as they achieved an ethically viable no-growth model solely reliant on farm income within just two years of setting up. Supply chain control, direct sales, and monthly butchery, sausage-making and curing workshops are all integral to the Jonais Farm model.