Micro producers consider early retirement in wake of Hardwicks abattoir decision

While some small scale producers are considering stepping away from industry, others are determined to fight to the end in the wake of a shrinking pool of abattoirs.

Micro producers are considering early retirement in the face of an ever-shrinking pool of abattoirs processing small numbers of beef cattle and sheep.

It comes as producers continue to call on the state government to better protect access to on-farm and mobile abattoirs as a measure to protect food security.

Warialda Belted Galloways owner Lizette Snaith, based at Clonbinane near Seymour, said she has been in conversations with a number of abattoirs since Hardwicks Meatworks Kyneton announced plans to cease small scale service kills in the new year.

“We’ve been breeding for 40-plus years, selling for 20 years at farmers markets … we’ve been doing it a long time and used Hardwicks pretty much all though that,” Ms Snaith said.

“We process three head every three weeks.”

Ms Snaith said she has no interest in establishing an on-farm abattoir to remedy the Hardwicks decision, but would consider stepping away from the business should it become too difficult to find a processor willing to take her smaller numbers of larger-framed cattle.

“Our cattle are slow growing, they’re about three years old when we slaughter, and it’s amazing meat. We’re not prepared to change that,” Ms Snaith said.

“The on-farm thing is not something that will work for us. Also, the abattoirs do a really good job, they know what they’re doing.”

Warialda Belted Galloway Beef’s Lizette Snaith said she is looking for other options to slaughter her small numbers of Belted Galloway cattle. Picture: Zoe Phillips

She said better protections should be implemented to protect small and micro producers.

“It’s depressing to be honest, after 20 years selling at markets, that our business could just disappear. It’s a real option. We’re not going to retire, but potentially this might be a push in another direction.”

The state government recently published an e-guide for producers seeking information on developing on-farm and mobile abattoirs.

A petition by the Australian Food Sovereignty Alliance, has called on the Victorian Government to apply standards for production of wild game meat to domestic livestock, to enable on-farm slaughter before transport to a licensed butcher for processing.

Australian Food Sovereignty Alliance member and small scale producer Tammi Jonas said the e-Guide published by the State Government worked in tandem with advocacy work by the alliance, but many farmers were still scrambling for a solution for their livestock in the coming weeks.

“There are farmers in theirs 60s who are just seeing this as possibly the call for an earlier retirement, and that’s a real loss,” Ms Jonas said.

“Others, who are in their first five years (of farming) and still learning all the parts of farming, losing your abattoir is a huge blow as you don’t know the system as well. We’re going to lose those unless the government does something quickly.”