‘We’re a business that doesn’t sit still’: Mort & Co’s insatiable appetite to innovate
From Australian-first advances in granulated, organic fertiliser through to methane-inhibiting feed additives, Mort & Co is no stranger to innovation. Mort & Co Sustainability Manager, Brad Robinson shares how the Queensland-based company has gone from a $1.7 million annual turnover in 1998 to in excess of $400 million in recent years – all while keeping sustainability at the forefront.
Known as an innovator right from the start, Mort & Co Founder Charlie Mort established the business in 1997 to supply abattoirs with cattle. He used graziers’ livestock and bought cattle for investors – an industry first at the time.
Charlie could see the promising potential for lot feeding, at a time when feedlots were small and unsophisticated, and knew he needed to own feedlots to optimise returns.
Fast forward to today, and Mort & Co is a vertically integrated beef business that has grown from an annual managed turnover of approximately $1.7 million in 1998, to more than $400 million 26 years later.
Mort & Co is Australia’s largest privately-owned feedlotter, with feedlots that turn over up to 230,000 head of cattle each year and employ more than 300 people.
Mort & Co’s feedlots are Queensland-based, and include Australia’s largest feedlot, Grassdale at Dalby, along with Pinegrove at Millmerran, and the latest addition to the portfolio, Yarranbrook near Inglewood. There are plans to add a fourth feedlot – the proposed Gogango Feedlot near Rockhampton, set to hold 35,000 head of cattle.
RELATED: Are we all suffering panel fatigue? The revolution defining the evokeAG. 2025 program
Underpinned by four key pillars – people, environment, animals and quality, its sustainability vision is steeped in purpose and concrete action. It’s part of Mort & Co’s wider efforts to keep an ear to the ground and a finger on the pulse of what community, government, and global players expect, all while generating profits.
Innovation is where it started, and that remains the focus today, Mort & Co Sustainability Manager, Brad Robinson, explains.
“We are a business that doesn’t sit still. We’re always looking to do things more efficiently and create a better return for our shareholders,” Brad says.
“We fall into sustainability naturally, because we want to drive a more productive and financially motivated business.”
Repurposing manure to disrupt tradition and reduce waste
Using feedlot manure surplus to its farming needs, Mort & Co has developed a line of organic, granulated fertiliser products. Its fertiliser plant, located at the company’s Grassdale Feedlot, started commercial manufacturing in April 2022 and has capacity to utilise all manure produced on site.
The granules – which are the first of their kind in Australia – can be applied through air seeders, moved through augers and stored in silos. Traditionally seen as a waste product, feedlot manure is stockpiled, and in dry times is notoriously difficult to get rid of.
RELATED: ‘I don’t believe that experience is a very good teacher’: Lessons from three decades in agrifood
The Grassdale site alone generates approximately 80,000 tonnes of manure annually.
In addition to repurposing waste, Charlie wanted to address the inefficiency of empty trucks leaving their feedlots after arriving fully loaded, and vice versa.
Mort & Co also operates a fleet of 45 trucks to transport cattle, liquid feed and commodities.
Now, Mort & Co is giving feedlot manure a second life as a valuable, carbon-rich regenerative resource. They report additional yields and reduced synthetic fertiliser usage at the company’s own farms.
“We knew there was an opportunity there for a value-added product,” Brad explains.
A lengthy, expensive and often-difficult process of trial and error, creating the final, granulated product hasn’t been without its challenges. But with a focused, solutions-based approach, Mort & Co has prevailed.
RELATED: Breaking down the barriers to agtech adoption with Jenn Honnery and Ben Martin
“That’s the great thing about this company – we are willing to take a leap on something we have faith in, and invest to make it happen,” Brad says.
“This business is never afraid to take a risk and invest in something that might provide opportunity.”
The granulated fertiliser products are distributed to the company’s site at Gurley in northern NSW and to customers across eastern Australia.
Driving down methane emissions with ‘Bovaer’ trial
Mort & Co trialled a product called ‘Bovaer’ at its Grassdale Feedlot in 2022 – a feed ration additive that reduces methane production in the rumen.
“We know where our emissions sit. Based on the current reporting, our biggest contributor is our livestock and the methane they produce,” Brad says.
“Our trial focus was to understand the potential reduction in methane emissions we could get from Bovaer, while also understanding its potential impacts on our cattle.”
Mort & Co partnered with Coles, and DSM, the company responsible for developing the additive.
Bovaer acts as an enzyme inhibitor, blocking the last step in the methane production chain in an animal, before breaking it down into two natural compounds.
RELATED: Eight agrifood tech deals this quarter in Australia
The company learned they could achieve a 52% reduction in methane emissions, and noted there was no negative impact on cattle carcass quality or health performance.
“The challenge is that there isn’t currently enough of a financial incentive to use the product on an ongoing basis,” Brad explains.
“One of the possible avenues is a customer acceptable and payback model, but we haven’t been able to source a customer who is willing to pay a premium to cover the product cost.”
Brad says because there’s no impact on feedlot performance, there is no payback there either.
“Part of looking at any sustainability piece is the economic piece,” Brad says.
“We know we can use Bovaer, we know it will reduce our emissions, and we have a good understanding of its application. Mort & Co is very keen to use a methane inhibiting feed additive.”
Poised and at the ready, the company is ready for the right opportunity to use a methane inhibiting feed additive again when a financial return can be achieved.
RELATED: The power of a question in agriculture
Furthering their work on methane-reducing initiatives, Mort & Co’s grazing management tool, Predictor Plus, provides graziers with access to digital technology and manure analysis to forecast herd performance and methane emissions.
More recently, Mort & Co received a $2 million grant from the Australian Government’s Methane Emissions Reduction in Livestock (MERiL) research and development program, to continue its work in developing solutions to reduce methane emissions.
With this funding, Mort & Co intends to develop a commercial solution for delivering methane-inhibiting feed additives to cattle in lick blocks.
Innovation is where it started and that’s exactly where the story continues for this burgeoning beef business.
Tickets are now on sale for evokeAG. 2025 to be held on 18-19 February 2025 in Brisbane, Queensland. Following a sell-out event in 2024 we are encouraging delegates to secure their tickets, flights and accommodation early.
We look forward to seeing you in Brisbane for evokeAG. 2025. In the meantime, catch up on the other conversations about sustainability, climate resilience and the role of agtech in meeting those challenges from here.