August 10, 2020

More Australian pork producers looking to on-farm processing, says producer

Extraordinary Pork, a pork producer in Dubbo, New South Wales, Australia, has seen more enquiries about on-farm processing in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to its owner, Michael Hicks.

Instead of sending stock to an abattoir far away, the company processes its own cuts of meat for market - an option that were preferred by more producers as COVID-19 hampered capacity at abattoirs in the state of Victoria.

"COVID-19 has certainly shown up weaknesses in the value chain, in terms of getting produce to market. Anyone who can simplify that process to get the produce to the customer will certainly be at an advantage for sure," Hicks told ABC News.

In the past weeks, in fact, Hicks has received more enquiries about his set-up and a way to replicate it. He said it was a trend that was growing in the industry with farmers able to market on-farm processing to customers.

"Consumers increasingly are chasing more provenance for their meat, where it's coming from, and they're more interested in how it is produced," he added.

On-farm processing would enable a producer greater control over the proper treatment of animals, according to Hicks.

"From an animal welfare perspective, it's as good as you can get. It's certainly one of our main values that we hold here. It's really critical that we hold the highest animal welfare standards possible," he said.

Furthermore, more pork meat can be prepared for sale while also reducing the logistics of transporting stock to the nearest appropriate abattoir, which was several hours away.

- ABC News