With over 85% of chickens in Australia being raised on intensive chicken farms, we are proud to have two local, small, family and certified farms who supply all of our pasture-raised poultry. Bendele Farm at Kilkivan, near Gympie, meet most of our requirements, with Moya Valley Farm at Imbil, also near Gympie, helping meet any shortfall. Both farms carry certification and believe in the ethical raising of their poultry. 

Fred and Sarah Stern’s certified organic farm at Kilkivan, near Gympie, supply us with organic and pasture raised chickens, ducks, spatchcocks and turkeys. With only 1% of chickens in Australia being certified organic, we feel privileged to be a supplier of Bendele products. Having them situated so close to our shop location adds to our fortune.

All poultry is pasture raised without the use of antibiotics and growth promotants, and their supplementary feed contains no GMOs. Chickens on the farm have an area equivalent of 25 square metres of pasture each. This is unlike many other free-range chickens who squash into just ONE square metre between 20 of them (equivalent of one bird per piece of A4 paper). The Sterns grow and hand process the poultry on their farm. This means there is no stress for the poultry in travelling to a slaughter house, and no chlorine bleaches are used during processing. This is evident in the tenderness and flavour of the poultry.

With one important grain in the diet of a chicken being difficult and expensive to source in a certified organic form, Fred & Sarah are unable to feed all of their chickens with a 100% certified organic diet. Therefore, they label their poultry as either free-range or organic, with the only difference being the replacement of just one non-certified ingredient in the bird’s grain diet.