December 12th, 2024Abattoir changes impact local producers

The axing of service kills for smaller numbers of stock at a central Victorian abattoir has  left many local farmers struggling to find alternative abattoirs.

Kyneton’s Hardwicks Meatworks late last month told producers of its revised kill arrangements in 2025, announcing a new minimum number of 15 for beef service kills and 50 for lamb and other small stock.

The changes are earmarked to come into effect from early in the new year.

The announcement is understood to have left multiple local producers of high quality meats, including some at Kingston, Woodend, and Eganstown, concerned about the impacts.

Hardwick’s decision comes as the state’s Legislative Assembly Environment and Planning Committee report, Securing the Victorian food supply tabled in recent days, makes wide-ranging

recommendations to protect the state’s productive land.

These include measures for long-term reform to reduce smaller producer reliance on larger commercial  abattoirs.