What is rose veal? The Aussie farmer finding a better way for dairy beef - Produce Awards

Jul 24, 2025

Meet the farming family who, through transparency and ethical practices, are restoring consumer confidence in this misunderstood meat.

Despite the fact that we eat chickens that have been processed at 6-8 weeks of age, pork that’s 5-6 months old and lamb that’s 6-8 months, veal remains the controversial one in the meat-eating world. One Queensland farming family is working to change this attitude.

What is veal?

Veal is the meat from a young calf, most commonly male dairy calves. Traditionally, male calves have been seen as surplus to requirements on a dairy farm. They would either be sold, culled or raised as veal. Ethical concerns surrounding veal arose from the way the calves were raised. They were separated from their mother and raised on a milk diet in sheds or even cruel ‘veal crates’, and then processed at 16-18 weeks. According to the RSPCA, veal crates have never been used in Australia, and are now illegal in the UK and Europe, as well as some US states.

But Tommerup’s Dairy Farm believes there is a better way. They’re raising veal calves in a more ethical way, and producing some remarkable results in the process,

Tommerup’s Dairy Farm is a sixth-generation dairy farm in the Kerry Valley, on Queensland’s Scenic Rim. Dave and Kay Tommerup have long been renowned for their sustainable farming practices and their outstanding Jersey dairy products, which have seen them named as State Winners and National Finalists in the delicious. Harvey Norman Produce Awards multiple times. But this time, they’re being recognised for something entirely different. They’ve been named 2025 National Finalists for their rose veal.

What is rose veal?

Rose veal comes from calves that are raised on more than just milk – a practice that was designed to deprive the animal of iron, and so produce the traditional ‘white’ meat result. Rose veal, with its rose ‘blush’ colour, is sometimes also known as ‘higher welfare veal’. The calves are fed a nutritious diet – some with added grains – and are raised in groups in sheds and on pasture. They’re also processed at a later age – six months or more.

When the Tommerups decided they wanted to value-add to their farming business by producing rose veal, they knew they wanted to do it in the most ethical and responsible way possible.

“Our calves are raised within the milking herd,” Kay says. “So we have our calves with their mum 24-7 within the milking herd. Wherever our milking herd is eating, that’s where the calves are eating. Out on grass paddocks. They don’t have any grain, but they do have free range in terms of milk from their mum. I think there’s a fair bit of stealing that goes on within the herd as well. But the others don’t seem to mind!”

Value judgement

For the Tommerups, the decision to start raising their own veal came from the realisation that it was time farmers saw value in dairy calves.

“If you take a few-weeks-old Jersey calf to the local livestock sales, I would get between $5 and $20 for that calf, because nobody saw value in it,” Kay says.

“We wanted to get that value to be recognised, around those calves. Everything else here is recognised for its value, whether it contributes to the farming systems that we have here, or whether it is a product that we can sell. I didn’t want to have to be selling [the calves] when nobody placed any value on them.”

Tommerup’s Dairy Farm is one of the few rose veal producers currently operating in Australia. And while Kay wishes that more farmers would see the value in dairy calves, she understands that raising rose veal might not be possible for everyone.

“This is not an easy process,” she says. “When you think about how much milk those calves take from our production – it’s an enormous amount. It’s a very challenging way to do it and it’s been a very steep learning curve for us, [but] It’s not one that we’re going to change.”

Starting the conversation

The response from chefs to the Tommerups’ rose veal has been hugely positive from the outset. For consumers, it has taken a little longer, but there has been a definite shift.

“From a consumer point of view, we’ve seen a big change in the way that people think about veal in the last three years,” Kay says. “It was very difficult to get people to buy our veal in the early days, because of that stigma. Now, they’re willing to have a conversation around how they’re raised and why the consumer is part of the solution. If they don’t place a value and don’t enjoy eating veal, then what happens in the supply chain? How do we come up with a solution here; how do we make those calves have a real value for everybody?”

As for our National Judges, chef Matt Stone highlighted the product’s potential during National Judging, saying he’d like to see it served at The Eltham Hotel, which he co-owns with Matt Rabbidge and Luke Sullivan. Meanwhile, fellow judge and chef Karena Armstrong praised the flavour, and the “use of an otherwise wasted animal”.

“It is an innovation that needs support,” Armstrong said at the time.

For Kay and her husband, this is just the kind of encouragement they have been looking for.

“To have our rose veal recognised at this level is absolutely amazing… but also provides that conversation-starter that’s so important for our industry,” Kay says. “I hope that through this, we can shine a light on the quality of dairy veal [and] the ethical ways modern farmers are raising their calves.

“I hope that chefs read this and start thinking, ‘Wow, I could reach out to some farmer in my local community and say, let’s give this a crack’. Because it’s worth it.”