Home-cooked flavour with fast-food convenience
ABOUT THE SALTBUSH MEAT CO.
Our signature Lamb and Gravy rolls are a wholesome, filling product that feels like home. It brings a taste of comfort and nostalgia, crafted with premium Saltbush Lamb, slow-cooked to perfection and served with savoury gravy all nestled in a soft roll. While it feels like home, we deliver it fast at festivals! Our process times are low and our experience is extensive. We’ve been pumping out thousands of our Lamb and Gravy rolls consistently at events near and far since 2017.
The Foundations…
Ben’s Dad, Andrew, built and developed a Saltbush nursery in Narromine to supply seedlings to farmers. During his years of travel, planting Saltbush, he would often hear the comment “You haven’t had good meat until you’ve eaten a sheep that has lived on Saltbush”. After finally sampling such a product Andrew agreed the flavour was amazing and more people had to experience it.
To this end Andrew in conjunction with two other farming families set up The Saltbush Meat Company in 2001. There have been many evolutions of the business to date but we still love supplying Australians far and wide with our unbeatable Saltbush Lamb.
Our Timeline
Start 2006: Supply of Drovers Choice Saltbush Lamb product direct to farmers’ markets networks beginning in Dubbo, then Orange, Bathurst and Mudgee
End 2006: Began serious expansion of farmers’ markets into Sydney, Newcastle and Canberra with a refrigerated truck and two coolroom trailers.
2007: 3 more refrigerated trucks acquired to cover more markets. At its peak in one weekend, Drovers Choice Saltbush lamb attended 11 markets in Sydney, alongside a market in Dubbo, Canberra and Bathurst
2007-2008: Processing over 100 lambs a week.
2008: The Global Financial Crisis affected the business, and a downturn in markets began.
2009: Saltbush Lamb and Gravy rolls began to be sold at farmers’ markets in Newcastle and Sydney.
2008-2013: Markets continued with lots of ebbs and flows.
2011: Ben left to pursue other avenues outside the family business and met Elaine!
2013: Farmers' market operations shut down due to: staff going in other directions, increased meat sellers at markets, increased competition and affected sales, and constant product carry over with buildup of stock.
2016: After persistent customer enquiries, Ben returned to begin selling Full lambs & Half lambs direct to door, mainly in Dubbo, Sydney & Newcastle.
Start 2017: Began selling Lamb and Gravy rolls at small local farmers markets using a marquee set up (trailer 1).
End 2017: Moved into doing bigger full day events and 2-3 day events selling Lamb and Gravy rolls.
2018: Focused on the Lamb and Gravy side of the business while home deliveries took a backseat.
2019: Purchased our first food truck (trailer 2) and continued to do larger events, selling Lamb and Gravy rolls.
2020: COVID caused events to cease and the business to go on hold.
2021: Events resumed, and Lamb and Gravy rolls were back!
2022: Ben's wife, Elaine, left teaching and joined the business full time. Continued travelling to events, selling our increasingly popular Lamb and Gravy rolls. Full and half lambs became available to customers again. Began supplying lamb cuts to restaurants. Ben and Elaine became the directors of The Saltbush Meat Company.
2023: Purchased another food trailer (trailer 3) as business began to expand, and to help us attend more events.
2024: Attended one of our biggest events to date, Bluesfest Byron Bay.
2025: A fourth trailer was purchased as there was an ever-increasing need for our services at events and festivals.
Farm-to-Table
Our dedication to sustainable + ethical production
The farm-to-table process means knowing exactly where your food comes from, starting with how it’s grown or raised on the farm, all the way through to how it ends up on your plate. For us at The Saltbush Meat Company, it’s a hands-on, fully traceable journey. We raise our lambs on Saltbush country using sustainable and ethical practices, working closely with farmers we know and trust. Every animal is cared for with intention, processed responsibly, and nothing goes to waste. Because we’re involved in every step, from the paddock to the final product. We can stand by the quality, freshness, and integrity of what we offer. It’s about transparency, trust, and delivering food that’s better for people, animals, and the land.
We are serious about serving the best saltbush lamb and gravy rolls to your guests as speedy as possible - but don’t get it wrong we love to smile and share our passion for sustainable farming while we go.
Meat the Team…
-
![Saltbush Lamb owner in a dark green polo shirt and apron holding a large package of Saltbush lamb and gravy, at an outdoor agricultural show or festival]()
Ben Sippel
Current co-owner and director of The Saltbush Meat Company. Ben talks to the farmers to organise supply, the butcher to arrange cut up and is the main chef in the kitchen when it comes to manufacturing our signature Lamb and Gravy product. He then travels far and wide to events in the food trailers with his crew to serve up to hungry festival and event-goers.
-
![Elaine, A smiling woman with curly hair wearing a bright blue jacket standing outside on grass, with a pavilion and trees in the background under a clear blue sky.]()
Elaine Sippel
Current co-owner and director of the Saltbush Meat Company. Elaine organises all the event applications and council approvals. She takes care of all the finances, orders the stock, cleans and prepares the trailers, organises staff and ensures Ben knows where he’s going and when! She has also been known to serve up rolls at events when needed.
-
![A woman wearing a black vest and matching cap standing against a brick wall, with a slight smile and hands clasped in front.]()
Kim
Operates our second trailer. She goes in the opposite direction to Ben most weekends to serve rolls. She also helps tirelessly in the kitchen, assisting to manufacture of our Lamb and Gravy product.
-
![Di]()
Di
Our helping hand who has been with us since the start. She originally began in the Saltbush nursery and has now transitioned into the kitchen, helping us in the production of our signature Lamb and Gravy.
-
![Smiling man wearing cowboy hat and white shirt standing next to smiling woman with red hair wearing a floral dress outside with trees and cloudy sky in background.]()
Colin & Tamara
Our dynamic duo, Colin and Tamara, make up our trailer crew that travels around serving you your rolls.
Alongside our own farm there are three main producers. All the farms are run in conjunction with Holistic Land Management practices and have a strong focus on land regeneration whilst remaining economically sustainable both financially and ecologically. Saltbush plays a key role in this process - helping to provide a year round food supply for the animals, despite varying weather conditions, and providing a world-class product for people to love and enjoy.
Meet the Farmers
The Strong Family
“Arcadia”, Narrandera, NSW
Graham first planted Saltbush from our nursery in 1996. An early adopter of Holistic Management, he worked with nature to regenerate land and improve livelihoods in his area. Graham supplied his Saltbush Lamb to a local butcher in Wagga Wagga and now is a producer for The Saltbush Meat Company. Graham and his family are the recipients of the 2021 Landcare Farming Champion award due to their farming journey and efforts to improve the land in a sustainable way over the last 25 years. We love knowing our lambs come from a farm that places so much emphasis on regenerating the Australian landscape.
The Robertson Family
“Tara” Tooroweenah, NSW
A happy, family-run operation at the foothills of the majestic Warrumbungle Ranges, Doug and Jan Robertson first planted Saltbush in the late 1990’s. Their son, Stuart was once a Farmers Market Sales Champion for the Saltbush Meat Company in the early days in Sydney and surrounds. Their daughter Joanna and her husband Joseph are now taking the baton to operate the farm and continuing the supply of their tasty lambs for The Saltbush Meat Company. We love supporting this family. Their strong farming ethics, values and dedication to regenerative practices are mutually shared and upheld.
Bruce and Liam Maynard “Willidah” Narromine, NSW
A father and son duo - it’s probably more Liam, than Bruce these days that does the hard yards - but don’t tell Bruce that! Bruce began planting Saltbush in the late 1990’s to help establish a solid food supply for their farm, stabilise their soil and build a diverse plant population to create a fantastic grazing base of food for their livestock. Liam even did a stint in our food trailers in the early days. In 2022, Bruce was the winner of the Bob Hawke 2022 National Landcare Farmer of the Year Award. We work and live in the same community as the Maynards and it’s great to have our local businesses supporting one other.
