Page 18 - Demo

Page 18 %u2013 Australian Pork Newspaper, March 2025 www.porknews.com.auPETE and Bec Armstrong are committed to giving their heritage breed pigs the best low stress lives possible.Their animals spend their days roaming in lush pastures on their scenic farm on the Comboyne Plateau, exhibiting their natural behaviours and enjoying a diet of fresh farm fruits, pastured eggs and mash.But until recently, the Armstrongs had a problem.In the early days of their operation, their nearest abattoir at Frederickton closed its doors to pigs, forcing them to make a 420km trip to Booyong in the Northern Rivers to have their animals slaughtered.After putting so much effort into the welfare of their pigs, subjecting them to such a long stressful journey to the abattoir didn%u2019t sit right with them.Not to mention the costs involved.Mr Armstrong said that the very first time they took their pigs to Booyong, they thought: %u201cLook, if we%u2019re going to continue doing this, we need to be able to process our own pigs on our own farm.%u201dIt took them almost four years to make it happen but after working through the necessary approvals, the Armstrongs were able to open an on-farm micro abattoir in December 2023.In a typical week, the Armstrongs now process about six of their own pigs and 10 to 12 pigs for other producers in the area.Mr Armstrong said the micro abattoir has made a huge difference.%u201cIt was a massive effort to take the pigs up once a month to Booyong to the abattoir,%u201d he said.%u201cNow we just walk the pigs up from where they are in the paddock. %u201cIt%u2019s as low stress as you can imagine.%u201cThere%u2019s a big difference in the quality of the pork too, because the animal is not stressed. %u201cThey%u2019re in an environment they%u2019re familiar with. %u201cAnd now we can process fresh pork every week.%u201dSince their initial approval, they%u2019ve been given the green light to process poultry and are now working toward an approval for sheep and goats.Widespread issueAustralia Food Sovereignty Alliance president Tammi Jonas said the difficulties the Armstrongs faced in accessing an abattoir is an issue affecting smallscale producers across the country.Preliminary data from an AFSA national survey has found 81 percent of livestock farmers surveyed have lost access to abattoirs in the past five years and 18 percent have no other option but to travel at least 250km to their nearest facility.Ms Jonas said small abattoirs that once served local communities have disappeared and many of the remaining big abattoirs aren%u2019t interested in doing small %u2018private%u2019 kills, leaving smallscale farmers with few slaughter options.The situation was exacerbated in NSW last year by the closure of private kill accounts at the Cowra abattoir and the loss of the Canowindra micro abattoir.Ms Jonas said micro abattoirs were the only way forward for paddock-to-plate producers.In an ideal world, she said there would be a micro abattoir within half an hour to an hour of every farm.%u201cWhich is quite literally how it used to be,%u201d Ms Jonas said.Reforms neededThe AFSA is currently campaigning for changes to make it easier to build micro abattoirs.Beef and lamb producer Glen Chapman is part of an AFSA working group lobbying for reforms to NSW planning legislation.Mr Chapman and his wife operate two properties in the New England region using regenerative principles, with most of their produce sold into their community.A recent foray into pigs highlighted to Mr Chapman the difficulties with abattoir access and infrastructure in their region.%u201cWe can use Stanthorpe, and we did for a test, but the cold storage freight is not available now,%u201d Mr Chapman said.%u201cWe can%u2019t get cold freight hanging space back to our butcher that we work with in Armidale,%u201d Mr Chapman said.They use Frederickton for their sheep and cattle, about two-anda-half hours away, but struggle with the price of freight.%u201cIt costs us in the order of $4 a kilo of packed meat product to transport our animals down and transport that meat back to our butcher to be processed,%u201d he said.Mr Chapman said NSW legislation currently allows for abattoirs to be built on rural properties with development consent, but there is no accounting for the scale of the operation.%u201cIt assumes any abattoir is like a big commercial abattoir, and it%u2019s going to need a whole stack of waste management and the type of stuff you need when you%u2019re doing 500-1000 head a day, whereas we%u2019re talking probably less than 2000 animals a year.%u201dHe said for a micro Together,Let%u2019s Prove thePower of Partnership.Distributed in Australia by:Something powerful happens when shared expertise, care and nutritional performance come together. Suddenly, obstacles feel more like growth opportunities. That is the transformational power of partnership.Zinpro%u00ae Availa%u00ae Sow helps build more productive sows and gilts with improved reproduction, better efficiency and increased longevity. It has also been shown to reduce lameness and has a positive impact on the cost of production. Experience the power of partnering with Zinpro%u00ae.03 5429 2411www.feedworks.com.auSTA K E HOL DE R engagement is well embedded in the PALM scheme. The Australian Government is committed to listening to stakeholders and strengthening the Pacific Australia Labour Mobility scheme to deliver for employers, workers and their families and communities in the Pacific and Timor-Leste.From 1 July 2024, employers of shortterm workers have been required to offer 120 hours of work over four weeks for all existing and new short-term recruitments. The government has decided to continue the transition period for the minimum hours settings for short-term workers until March 31, 2026, and has accepted industry%u2019s suggestion to add a 120-hour work guarantee.This means employers of short-term workers will be required to offer 120 hours of work over four weeks. If employers cannot do this, they must pay workers%u2019 wages equivalent to 120 hours over four weeks. These measures offer flexibility to agriculture employers, to adapt to weather and market conditions.These changes ensure workers receive regular income and recognise that workers are not eligible for income support or to source alternative work while in Australia due to their visa conditions, and they need to support themselves and often send money home to support their families and communities.An additional compliance mechanism will be implemented that requires a noncompliant PALM scheme approved employer to offer 30 hours per week every week as a condition of remaining in the scheme. The compliance and assurance framework including due process, natural justice and proportionality continues to apply including with respect to the new condition.For more information, visit palmscheme.gov.au PALM Scheme 30-hour week extendedExtension to the current PALM scheme minimum hours obligation.Pete and Bec Anderson with their children Miah and Skye at their Comboyne property on the midnorth coast.Small-scale livestock producers push for more micro abattoirs* continued P19