Permit refusal could spell the end for Wagyu beef pioneer David Blackmore

A LEADING Victorian beef producer is contemplating exiting the industry after he was denied an application for "intensive beef production" operation.

David Blackmore's prized Wagyu beef has featured on the menus of some of Australia's top restaurants, winning top food, sustainability and farming awards.

But Murrindindi Shire Council has knocked back an application for an "intensive beef production" permit on the outskirts of the town.

"We are looking at our options – I am 65, my wife is not much younger, and she wants me to sell the whole business," Mr Blackmore, who runs 1350 cattle on the 150ha farm, said.

The council said the application would have a detrimental impact on the amenity of the area and community amenity would be reduced by noise, while there was not enough separation to neighbouring houses.

Mr Blackmore has 30 days to appeal to the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT).

The council's acting chief executive Michael Chesworth said the permit application was a complex matter and had generated both support and opposition from the community.

"A large number of people attended the meeting, reflecting the high level of interest in the issue,” he said.

"The council had to weigh up the need to balance growth and economic development with managing impacts of intensive farming practices on the amenity of the surrounding area."

Mr Blackmore said he had tried to move the cattle into feedlots without success.

Ten staff work at the property, which puts $3 million a year back into the shire.

The owner of the iconic Rockpool restaurant, Neil Perry, also bought in, setting up a petition calling for ministerial intervention.

Mr Perry posted an appeal to Premier Daniel Andrews, Federal Agriculture Minister Barnaby Joyce and his state counterpart Jaala Pulford on social media.

He was surprised the council had "flat-out ignored" advice from its own planning department.

"David's full blood Wagyu has been a fixture in all of my restaurants since Rockpool Bar & Grill Melbourne was born in 2006," he said.

"Their astonishing decision follows complaints from nearby residents and hobby farmers about machinery noise and birds.”

The Victorian Farmers Federation has also thrown its support behind the Blackmores.

“This is a roadblock to one of Australia's most innovative livestock families," president Peter Touhey said.

"It was the Blackmores who imported Japanese Wagyu genetics to build an Australian herd that now feeds Asia's dining boom.”

Source: Bendigo Advertiser, Andrew Miller, July 28^th 2015
Originally published as: Permit refusal could spell the end for Wagyu beef pioneer David Blackmore