Paddock-to-plate producers have won a temporary reprieve from the closure of a key abattoir’s custom kill service, as owner Westpork considers a new niche operation.
Paddock-to-plate producers have won a temporary reprieve from the closure of a key abattoir’s custom kill service, as owner Westpork considers a new niche operation.
Westpork-backed Dardanup Butchering Company has moved to extend its custom kill service until February- previously due to end next week- after it gave small farmers just four weeks’ notice.
It also flagged plans to potentially build a new multispecies processing facility at DBC's Picton Site, being the location of its main operations.
The South West abattoir was understood to be the last large-scale operation accessible to small producers, who are preparing for the busy Christmas period amid state-wide abattoir capacity issues.
It’s understood the DBC abattoir was grappling with capacity constraints that affected the processing of its own products, ahead of making the service closure call more than two weeks ago.
Today, Westpork chairman Andrew Young said the group would continue the DBC custom kill service to its current smaller-producer customers until February 28.
The move to temporarily extend the custom kill service is to accommodate the upcoming busy Spring and Christmas seasons, Westpork said.
Mr Young said the board acknowledged the significant impact of the decision to cease offering the service to a small number of customers at four weeks’ notice.
Westpork said given DBC was operating at full capacity, continuing the small custom service kills meant it would have to scale down its operation at a “considerable cost to the business”.
Its understood the operator is cutting its own production to continue to offer the custom service kills, and is now buying stock to meet its own contracts.
Westpork said it would work with other processors, the WA Meat Industry Authority and the Department of Primary Industries to develop a solution to the long-running abattoir processing capacity shortage issue impacting the industry.
Mr Young said new capacity was urgently needed to meet growing demand across the state, pointing to WA’s population growth.
He said a new greenfield plant hadn’t been built in the South West for more than 25 years, as other facilities have scaled back or shut their doors.
Custom kill services are commonly used by smaller producers, whereby farmers pay an abattoir to process their livestock and return it while retaining ownership of the meat, enabling them to sell products under their brands with strong traceability.
The process is popular among regenerative and organic farmers, with DBC's service closure from February likely to impact butchers and restaurants who sell paddock-to-plate products.
The normal practice is for abattoirs to process livestock and on-sell it to buyers such as supermarkets and overseas clients.
WA’s major abattoir owners are Western Meat Packers Group, Harvest Road and Craig Mostyn Group, the latter of which reduced its small custom kill service at its V&V Walsh abattoir in Bunbury earlier this year.
Down south, Fletcher International, Livestock Shipping Services, and WAMMCO operate facilities, alongside smaller local player Southern Brook Abattoir.
The next closest abattoirs would be those in Corrigin, Keysbrook and Gingin, although capacity and logistics costs would be issues for South West farmers.
Agriculture and Food Minister Jackie Jarvis said the government was "working hard" to find alternative abattoirs with capacity.
