30 It’s Farming. And It’s Better. Better Farming | November 2023 Abattoir Update ‘HOW DO YOU SELL WHAT YOU CAN’T GET PROCESSED?’ ABATTOIRS LOOK FOR WAYS TO MEET DEMAND & EXPAND THE INDUSTRY BY COLLEEN HALPENNY & EMILY CROFT Ontario has 114 provincially licensed abattoirs that specialize in the slaughter of food animals and play a key role in the value chain of livestock production. is number, according to Franco Naccarato, executive director of Meat & Poultry Ontario, is just keeping up with the demand from producers. “From 1999 to 2020, our sector lost 54 per cent of the abattoirs which previously were able to process and provide for that local demand. “We see our industry looking to continue to o er their services and products to producers and consumers alike but are unable to have a steady stream of processing opportunities. ese businesses are vital to the province, and we’re actively working on ways to provide them increased support to ensure the food chain is properly supplied,” he says. High costs and limited labour Naccarato explains that one of the most common issues to those in the industry is a lack of generational interest. “For those businesses who have been well-established, a lot of the time we’re encountering a scenario where they have no succession plan in place, as well as a locational boundary. Many businesses are located near, if not on the same property, as their residential home. “In order to transfer the business, it would mean giving up their home, or they haven’t found a way to transfer the operation to allow them to stay. And we see a lot of our smaller abattoirs closing their doors due to this in recent years.” Abattoir owners, including Matthew Heleniak of Norpac Beef in Norwich, say that nances, regulations, and labour are some of the biggest barriers to their businesses. “Our biggest challenge is nding labour and nding people that want to work in a meat plant,” says Heleniak. “Secondly, the cost of inputs and regulations have been challenging. Everything has gone up and hasn’t come back down since the start of COVID.” More recently, high cattle prices have added more challenges for meat sales. “ e high price of cattle is making it hard to sell middle cuts and medium-priced beef. It has slowed out because the economy is just not there for it, and chicken and pork are cheap alternatives too,” says Heleniak. Sarah Hunt, of Corad Farms in Pakenham, says that when looking at starting their meat business to address high demand for abattoir space, entry costs presented big challenges. “It was great when you could sell some beef to coworkers and give them local options to what was in the grocery store,” says Hunt. “ e abattoir we regularly booked through had to cancel some of our processing slots as the butcher got sick. In calling around to other abattoirs in the area, they were booked solid – for months. “We were suddenly le with a question of where do we go? We had orders to ll, cattle to process, but how do you sell what you can’t get processed?” Hunt says that she and her husband mehmet - stock.adobe.com
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