Liz O’Grady, Gerogery mum, farmer and pest control contractor, has started a local pet food venture, 5 Star Pet Food, with her good mate and colleague Mic McFarlane, using sustainably harvested wild game. Photo: Supplied.
Liz O’Grady reckons she was probably the son her dad never had.
The middle child of three sisters, her father gave her a slug gun at the age of five and, well, she never really looked back.
“I started shooting at cans and balloons, then I got into shooting ducks and foxes out at Deni, where my mum’s family were rice farmers,” Liz says.
“I spent all the school holidays on the farm and loved every single aspect of it.”
Now 41, Liz is a mum of two daughters, a farmer, and wife of Daniel ‘Blowy’ Moll … oh, and a cracking good shot.
The couple run a 4000-acre mixed farming operation at Gerogery with Blowy’s brother Stirling and his wife Gemma, (their daughters marking the fifth generation of Moll family farmers on the land).
“We’ve been together about 15 years and we’re more on than off nowadays,” Liz laughs of her now-husband Blowy. “He’s my last three boyfriends!”
It’s a fairly hectic schedule for the pair, balancing the farm and family life, with Liz also running her own business Ag & Pest Solutions for the past three years, as well as conducting firearm training workshops for women across the state.
“I’m not very good at sitting still,” Liz admits.
At least one night a week, she heads out with her mate and long-time shooting partner Mic McFarlane, 60, to help local farmers with asset protection.
Both are highly experienced, fully licensed vertebrate pest controllers, having spent 14 years as government biosecurity officers trapping and baiting dogs, pigs, foxes and rabbits. Later when Liz went into business for herself, their work expanded into kangaroo and deer control.
It was during countless late nights managing pests across southern NSW that the seed of an idea was planted.
Liz and Mic kept seeing the same issue: ethically culled wild game going nowhere – good meat just going to waste.
“We might shoot 100 kangaroos in a night but couldn’t do anything with them,” Liz says.
“Because it’s such a highly regulated industry and kangaroos are an Australian native, not a pest, they are protected. We thought it was such a waste of red meat.”
Earlier this year, the pair officially launched 5 Star Pet Food, offering a range of ethically harvested premium wild game proteins including kangaroo, rabbit and venison – all processed from a repurposed 48-foot refrigerated Pantech trailer at Gerogery.
The beauty of their products is they contain only muscle meat and soft tissue – there’s no nasty preservatives, artificial flavours, colours or fillers, according to Liz.
“Kangaroo meat, particularly, is very hypoallergenic so it’s great for dogs with allergies or inflammation,” she says.
“And, unlike large-scale manufacturers, we don’t harvest animals simply to fill freezers. We field harvest only what is required to fill customer orders and maintain a small supply of product.”
Liz O’Grady with her husband Daniel ‘Blowy’ Moll and their daughters Piper and Rory at their Gerogery property. Photo: Supplied.
The vision for turning pests into pet food was no small undertaking.
Liz and Mic spent a gruelling 12 months completing specialist training, obtaining permits and accreditations, and meeting the strict requirements of state and federal government agencies.
Orders can be made online – the range includes packs of bones, kangaroo tails, chunks and mince, as well as rabbit and venison – with free delivery available for orders over $100 (within a 30-kilometre radius) or at collection points across the region and into North East Victoria.
There’s even a blog on the website with a raw feeding guide, nutrition tips, and all the information you need “to feed your dog the way nature intended”.
Despite all the paperwork and painstaking procedures that came with setting up a business of this nature, Liz absolutely believes in the principles behind the products she says benefit pets, support responsible land management, and reduce unnecessary waste.
With a university degree in animal science and an interest in nutrition, Liz originally wanted to focus her career on “how to keep animals alive”.
“In a strange twist, I went for a government animal health role and was offered a biosecurity/pest ranger job,” she explains. “But I actually found that I loved it.
“With animal health, you’re not always welcomed on to farms, particularly if there are issues around compliance, quarantine, or dying stock.
“On the pest management side, farmers ring and say they need help and we work together to take the problem away. I grew up in this farming community, it’s where we play footy and netball, so I’d much rather go out on farm and feel welcome!”
Liz says the old days of wielding a rifle around and hoping you hit something are long gone; the high-tech nature of firearms and thermal optic systems (that link to iPads) ensure a higher degree of accuracy and safety (they also remove the “sporting” element of it too, she adds).
“I don’t like killing for the fun of it,” Liz says.
“I shoot as a professional and, coming from the farming side of things, I’ve seen the damage these animals can do so I see it as a necessity.
“I’d prefer management to be done professionally and humanely rather than by some redneck looking for a weekend hit!”
To find out more or to order online, visit the 5 Star Pet Food website or contact Liz directly via [email protected] or 0400 777 220. Farmers looking for pest management can also reach out to Liz at [email protected]
