Dardanup Butchering Company’s backflip on plan to end custom-kill service sparks joy among small farmers

Dardanup Butchering Company has backflipped on a controversial plan to its end custom-kill service, instead closing its books to new farmers and putting new rules in place for existing clients. The South West-based business last week announced it would continue its custom-kill service “indefinitely” after late last year announcing plans to end the service in October, before extending that date to February 28. At the time, the company blamed capacity constraints and a need to prioritise long-term service customers as demand grew amid a squeeze in abattoir capacity across the State. It has instead overhauled its service, including releasing an updated price list and rules for those using the service. In a letter to customers, Dardanup Butchering Company general manager Brian Pittendreigh said the company would continue to serve “existing (custom-kill) customers only” and DBC retained the right to review and adjust the prices “when needed”. “There will be some changes to how we operate this service going forward, which includes a price adjustment and some basic rules regarding minimum kill and one delivery point only,” he said. DBC spokeswoman Anne Burnes said the company was prioritising its relationship with customers and was “notifying them one by one”. The new rules include a minimum kill number of 10 sheep or goats, or five pigs, and all must be from the same vendor. Service kills must be delivered to one delivery point, and service beef is not to weigh more than 600kg liveweight, among other rules. Only a handful of WA abattoirs can handle small commercial production orders, with the DBC plan to end the service sparking concern among smaller, independent producers and local butchers. Small Farms WA chief executive Patrick O’Neill said the news was a boost to farmers whose confidence was at an “all time low”. “Small farmers offer customers the importance of knowing where their food comes from,” he said. “We appreciate the prices that DBC have quoted to maintain our efforts to provide an option to butchers and consumers. “Without this service, small farms will continue to lose confidence.” Only a handful of WA abattoirs can handle small commercial production orders, with the DBC plan to end the service sparking concern among smaller, independent producers and local butchers. The WA Meat Industry Association held the meeting for those affected by the closure of the Dardanup Butchering Company in October, with a working group formed and led by Mr O’Neill trying to come up with long-term solutions. Manjimup farmer and Nationals WA candidate Bevan Eatts said many farm-to-plate business had been seriously affected by the planned DBC closure and industry needed to look at the medium to long-term future of custom kills. “From an industry point of view, we need to come together and look at where does the future look for livestock in the South West going forward,” he said. The news has come too late for some farmers who had already made business decisions on the back of the closure, and at a time when WA’s abattoir sector is hurting with Minerva Foods closing its Tammin abattoir without notice in January. Dardanup Butchering Company was founded by WA businessman Frank Panizza, before Westpork bought a 50 per cent stake in 2022.