Gus van Hart, The Koondrook and Barham Bridge Newspaper

The knives are sharp and the butterflies are real as Hayley Pattison counts down to the Australian Meat Industry Council NSW butcher apprenticeship competition in Sydney on 11 September, banking on paddock-to-plate know-how to set her apart.

Pattison and husband Matt run a 4,200-acre mixed operation at Burraboi in southern NSW, mainly beef cattle with a little cropping and some opportunistic sheep trading, while the family’s Deniliquin shop sells the meat they grow themselves.

It wasn’t always the plan to step behind the block; staffing issues forced her hand.

“We have the butchery to vertically integrate the farm business but then I found it very difficult to find and keep qualified staff,” she said.

“In order for me to employ apprentices, I must be qualified.”

Hayley brought plenty of skills from the farm, but quickly realised there was more than meets the eye when it comes to the art of butchery.

“From the farm, we have always done home kills but I quickly realised once I went into butchery that there’s a bit more to presentation than just running a lamb through a bandsaw,” she said.

Now on the home stretch of her butcher’s apprenticeship, Hayley is eyeing completion of it “by the end of the year”.

The immediate test is the Australian Meat Industry Council NSW butcher apprenticeship competition in Sydney on 11 September.

“I’m so nervous,” she said, adding she had a million things running through her mind.

“Finishing on time, making sure I’ve got the presentation nailed; and then there’s going to be a mystery component to it that will be a surprise on the day as to what ingredients we have to incorporate into our display,” she said.

Preparation, Hayley admits, has been practical rather than perfect.

“I haven’t prepared as much as I had hoped but, yeah, just practising on breaking down the lambs, pork, beef and chicken, and getting the basics right and then practising the tying and the presentation.”

As for results, and maybe even a win, she is keeping her feet on the sawdust.

“That would be lovely, but I’m up against some very, very good people … yeah, I’m certainly very nervous and … although I would love to, it’s certainly not guaranteed.”

Beyond any ribbon, she says the networking matters most.

“I’m really excited for the networking opportunities, meeting the others in the industry that are at the top of the game … and also seeing how other apprentices cut their meat … what can I take from that and bring that back to my own shop?”

Hayley said she sensed the craft was swinging back into focus and she wants to be part of a broader shift on the shop floor.

“I feel like butchery is where agriculture was 20 years ago in terms of participation by women … there is a trend in the industry towards, you know, more women, but there’s certainly a long way to go.”

Farm experience shapes her counter work, particularly with lamb: low-stress handling; walk, don’t run; calm yards; no dogs, to lift eating quality.

“It’s really satisfying seeing the decisions that you make on the farm and the difference that that makes to the end product.”

“There’s no noise, very calm and collected … and just taking your time,” she said.

“I think that lamb is a couple of decades behind the beef industry … now I think that the research is starting to show that … it definitely also does affect lamb.”

Between the farm, the shop and being a mum of three, she makes peace with the juggle.

“Sometimes I just don’t (get things done). Sometimes it just doesn’t get done,” she said with a laugh.

“At times it’s probably a bit too much and I do question why I’ve done this to myself … but on the other hand if I was to go back to farming and concentrate on that I think I would get bored and then start another project anyway.”

This article appeared in The Koondrook and Barham Bridge Newspaper, 11 September 2025.