Goat and sheep processing in western New South Wales and Queensland is set to boom when Bourke’s $60 million abattoir opens in two weeks.
Key points:
- Bourke’s abattoir is set to open on September 13
- The $60 million facility was completed in 2018
- Up to 3,000 animals a day will be processed at the site
The Bourke abattoir was completed in 2018 but had been plagued by controversy and disruptions.
It sat empty for almost three years and only operated for less than four months, but now had a new owner, Australian company Thomas Foods International, and an opening date.
“It’s been a long journey,” national livestock manager Paul Leonard said.
“But we intend to have our first kill on September 13, and we’re pretty excited about that.”
The company expected it would take up to eight weeks of trial kills to get its US license and roll into full production.
Once that happened, it was hoped 3,000 stock units a day could be completed.
“As we get more skill, more work [will be] going on from that, particularly coming in the new year,” Mr Leonard said.
“We would open to be up to 3,000 [small animals] a day, and we can kill both light sheep and goats, but it will be goat-centric.”
Big boost for Bourke
Mr Leonard said there were already been 30 to 40 people employed locally in Bourke, with more to come.
“We probably need about [the same] amount of employees on top of that once we reach full capacity,” he said.
The abattoir was constructed by previous owners, CAPRA development, who faced legal proceedings from contractors.
Thomas Foods International purchased the facility last year for an undisclosed amount.
Mr Leonard said despite the abattoir’s troubled beginnings, it had a bright future ahead.
“Bourke’s been fantastic trying to get us started,” he said.
“Obviously, with all these things there is always a little bit of red tape you’ve got to jump through. There have been a few of those logistical challenges, but we’ve overcome the majority of them now.”
Plenty of stock
The goat meat would be exported out of Sydney and head to Thomas Foods International’s USA base at Swedesboro, New Jersey, where the meat would be sold to restaurants.
Charleville’s abattoir, about 450 kilometres to the north, processed about 22,000 animals a week but was at capacity.
“Kill space has been difficult,” Mr Leonard said.
“That’s really been driven through the whole COVID issue over the last two years with everyone having labour issues and people sick and people away.”
Rangeland goats were a key source of farm income for parts of Western NSW.
The industry had been recovering following the drought, but the population was expected to increase as weather conditions improved.