FAQs and Their Answers
Who is the Murray Plains Meat Cooperative?
The MPMC are farmers and some butchers from the Barham region and surrounds. We are paying members and shareholders. We are passionate about our region having processing services and having control over the supply chain. We formed the MPMC in response to the closing of several local abattoirs and the continuing reduction in access to existing abattoirs, especially for smaller and organic producers.
Who can join?
Anyone can join the MPMC who processes at least 5 animals per year. The only restriction is when the micro-abattoir processing capacity of 720 Tonne per year is reached, which will invoke a review of the facility. For more information please see the shareholder page documents.
Who paid for the abattoir construction?
The MPMC worked with the Murray River Council to secure state grant funding from Government funding streams:
Drought Communities Program $375,000
Murray Darling Basin Economic Development Program $450,000
Growing Local Economies Program $1,384,000
Total funding of $2,209,000 has been allocated to the project.​
The Murray River Council managed the funds and the build on behalf of the MPMC, as required in accordance to the funding guidelines (Cooperatives were not qualified applicants in these funding streams).
The funds above funded all the current infrastructure, roadworks, waste treatment plants, landscaping, power connection and project management. The MPMC members raised the capital through membership fees to pay for the cooperative set up, the purchasing of the land that the abattoir sits on and any ongoing financial costs, administration and consultants during the licensing process.
Who built the micro-abattoir
The funding guidelines for the abattoir required a government body to apply for the funds. The Murray River Council were successful to secure the funds and their internal policy is to tender projects that will cost over a certain threshold. The micro-abattoir fell in that threshold and the project was contracted to Tablelands Meats.
The MRC appointed an internal Project Manager who was in charge of liaising with the contractor and delivering the project on behalf of the MPMC, including managing the contractors, communications, budget, materials and design.
The contractor used several local trades businesses to assist with the electrical, plumbing and steel works.
Where is the water coming from, and where does it go?
The water connection for the abattoir has been diverted from a retired dairy which originally stood near the abattoir site at the same address. The dairy was supplied water via the town water supply after the landholder paid for the water line and the extra volume that was required to run a large dairy, which was ten licenses, part of which has been allocated for the micro-abattoir with it's own connection and meter. This specific line on North Barham Road is a low pressure line designed for the residents along that line to fill tanks and pressurize their local water supply. The micro-abattoir has two water tanks, one which drip fills via the water line and another which treats any waste water with microbial activity so it is safe and clean to use on the vast tree plantings at the site. The finished water in the cycle is cleaner then when it arrives on site and both incoming water and outgoing water are tested regularly as per EPA and Food Act requirements. The MPMC will be paying for the water used.
What animals can get processed at the micro-abattoir?
The micro-abattoir was built to process poultry, goats, lambs, small and large pigs, small and large cattle and small buffalo (live weight limits are 500kgs).
What licensing and rules does the micro-abattoir have to follow?
Abattoirs in New South Wales must pass a rigorous documentation of Food Safety Plans, EPA, Standard Operating procedures and animal welfare standards for every single process that occurs form when animals are dropped off to meat packing, staff training qualifications, waste and water treatment plans. Standards in the Building Code for Abattoirs and the Food Act must also be considered to be of standard to be in adherence to Australian Standards and to satisfy the DPI. This is passed and monitored by NSW DPI who will access and audit the facility and staff before a license is granted. The facility cannot operate without qualified and trained staff including a Meat Inspector and Animal Welfare Officer.
What animal dispatch practices are used?
The micro-abattoir will be a small throughput facility, and will only be able to process roughly 3000kgs of meat per day. Robotics and automated stunning methods will not be used, nor will carbon dioxide gassing. Poultry and pigs will be dispatched individually by the Stun, Stick and Shackle method, beef, goat and lamb will be dispatched by captive bolt stunning and stick. This is the most humane method and requires the most care and skill by the slaughter person. Each process must be approved by animal welfare and the DPI.
I only need a few animals done every now and then for our freezer at home, can I just drop them off?
We want to be able to provide a quality and accessible service for everyone. You won't necessarily need to become a shareholder but being a shareholder gives you priority access. Booking animals in is mandatory. Upon booking in your animal either by phone or email we will need your MLA National Livestock Declaration, Pigpass NVD, or poultry LVD form so that your animal can be tracked through the abattoir and then provided back the right person.
Will the abattoir smell, or be noisy?
Due to strict NSW Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) legislation, waste waster and noise emitted from the facility is required to be within certain limits. To address this, the micro-abattoir houses a state-of-the-art microbe based waste water treatment system in a tank and only permits a small number of live animals on site at one time. The tank treats all the waste water captured on site so that is pure (and tested regularly) when its finished treatment to water the trees and landscape surrounding the site. The number of animals on site is governed by the maximum capacity at the facility of 3000kgs per day (or equivalent to 30 pigs, or 10 cattle), and to pass the processing license, strict animal welfare processes need to be approved for the processing license to be passed. Non-stressed animals are not vocal, and the volume of animals at site is less than surrounding farmland at the site. The number of small animal carrying vehicles expected to visit the site is reflective of how many animals are delivered daily to be processed and are only permitted on site during daylight hours. The site also houses a composting unit which any biological and organic solids will be processed into compost (which does not emit offensive odours) within 24 hours.
Is the abattoir currently operating?
The MPMC has passed a desktop audit as of November 2023, and the physical run through where animals are trial processed is scheduled to take place mid December 2023. If this audit is successfully passed by the NSW DPI, a license will be granted and processing will be able to start immediately. If the audit is not successful, it will be due to work safety, food safety, building or structural problems, animal welfare and processing flow issues, and if so these issues would need to be addressed before trying for the license again.