A Hampshire farmer has said the abattoir crisis is threatening a wide range of small businesses by adding to the pressure on farm shops.
Hampshire farmer David Janaway was responding to the announcement by Newman’s Abattoir in Farnborough that it would be shutting its doors from the end of January.
The closure of Newman’s, an independent family business, is another major blow to livestock farmers across the South East who have seen several small and medium-sized abattoirs close in recent years, meaning they face longer journeys and higher costs as well as potentially adding to the stress of animals heading for slaughter.
The Janaway family runs a mixed arable and livestock farm, near Hook, as well as the award-winning Newlyns Farm Shop, which celebrated its 20th anniversary last year.
David Janaway said: “We currently are a 35-minute drive from the abattoir but, with Newman’s closing, we will now face a journey of about an hour and 50 minutes. We are often taking just a small number of sheep and pigs for slaughter and it makes that less viable.
“With many farm businesses like ours running farm shops, small innovative food producers making cheese, chutneys and jams and other local products rely on us to sell their goods, rather than the big supermarkets.
“The abattoir shortage impacts a wide-ranging sector of small, innovative, food producers, people who are passionate about producing good quality local food and caring for their animals. It’s a big problem in this region and nationwide as well.”
William Newman, who co-owns Newman’s Abattoir with his brother Robert, said: “This is a very sad day for us. Our grandfather started this business in the late 1950s. We felt we gave a very good and much-needed service.
“We will continue our wholesale meat business and send our own animals elsewhere for slaughter. We will support our customers and offer transport where we can to other abattoirs.”
A new NFU survey of livestock farmers in the South East has found many would be forced to cease trading if the closure trend, blamed on a variety of reasons including lack of labour, lack of infrastructure investment due to low margins, increasing costs from waste disposal and red tape, continues.
Around half of respondents to the survey of 545 livestock farmers in South East counties said that if that happened, they would have to reduce their stocking levels, stop keeping livestock or cease trading.
The NFU wants the Government to recognise the importance of small and medium-sized abattoirs as critical livestock infrastructure, support investment into these businesses and work with them to make sure official controls are proportionate and collaborative.
NFU Livestock Board chair for the East of England Hugh Broom, who farms near Dorking in Surrey, said: “This latest closure is another significant blow to livestock farmers in the South East and South of England.
“Small and medium-sized abattoirs are vital to the food supply chain and the Government needs to work with the NFU and help us do all we can to support and seek opportunities to grow this sector.
“Ensuring food is safe and healthy always needs to remain the top priority, but that does not mean over burdening operators in the supply chain with excessive red tape and treating them unfairly.”
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