Applications open for new £4 million fund to support smaller abattoirs

The Smaller Abattoir Fund has been launched today to provide grants to smaller red meat and poultry abattoirs in England. The launch of the fund sends a positive message that the Government recognises small abattoirs are an important part of the food supply chain. This fund will be a crucial step in securing the future of the sector and is part of wider efforts to address the many pressures causing small abattoirs to close.

John Mettrick, Chair of the Abattoir Sector Group said: “I am delighted that the Smaller Abattoir Fund has launched. This demonstrates that the government recognises the importance of small abattoirs to farmers, butchers and the whole rural supply chain. This fund has been developed by DEFRA, the FSA, the Abattoir Sector Group and the meat industry working together. I would urge abattoir businesses to take advantage of the fund to help develop their businesses for the future.”

Megan Perry, Head of Policy and Campaigns at the Sustainable Food Trust, said: “Small abattoirs are the cornerstone of local meat supply chains, supporting farmers, local meat businesses and providing the critical infrastructure to make a nationwide transition to sustainable farming systems viable. There has been a catastrophic decline in small abattoirs, with businesses closing at a rate of 10% per year. This has caused havoc for farming and local meat businesses and has resulted in animals travelling increasingly long distances to slaughter. If we are to build a truly sustainable and resilient food system here in the UK then we need the infrastructure to support it. This fund is crucial to achieving this and we thank all those involved with bringing it about.”

Eleanor O’Brien, Managing Director of National Craft Butchers said: “National Craft Butchers fully support the government’s decision to establish a fund for small abattoirs. A robust network of abattoirs is crucial for our industry and plays a vital role in ensuring the high standards of animal welfare, food safety and traceability. As well as providing an essential service to farmers, butchers, and small-scale producers, they are also important employers in rural areas and contribute significantly to local economies. We commend the government for recognising the importance of small abattoirs and taking action to support their continued operation, we hope this is the first step towards ensuring their survival.”

Jimmy Woodrow, Executive Director of Pasture for Life said: “Farmers across the country who are making efforts to farm with nature face mounting challenges when it comes to accessing small to medium-sized abattoirs. While this new fund, announced by the government today, does not provide all the answers, it’s important the farming and processing sector come together to use the money to best effect. By doing this, we will be demonstrating a determination to tackle this problem and unlock future and more impactful solutions from government. Failure to do so risks further government inaction.”

The Abattoir Sector Group will support Government and industry to share the details of this fund as widely as possible and will be available to answer questions or direct people to the relevant support should they need advice about their application.

The Abattoir Sector Group will continue to work with Government to address the other issues affecting small abattoirs, including the need for risk based and proportionate regulation.

Email abattoirsectorgroup@gmail.com for more information or media enquiries.

Read more in this press release from DEFRA:

The government has today (Wednesday 13 December) launched the £4 million Smaller Abattoir Fund to boost the sustainability and efficiency of red meat and poultry smaller abattoirs across England.

The smaller abattoir sector has an important role in maintaining British food security and ensures a competitive route to market is available to farmers, especially those who supply local butchers and farm shops, for a wide range of meat products. They make it easier for farmers to get their products to market, protect animal welfare by maintaining reduced journey times to slaughter, provide a route to market for farmers who rear rare and native breeds, and offer wider social and economic benefits to rural communities.

The Smaller Abattoir Fund will award capital grants from £2,000 up to a maximum of £60,000 to help support smaller abattoirs across England improve productivity, enhance animal health and welfare, add value to primary products, and encourage innovation and investment in new technologies.

It will support the purchase of a diverse range of capital investments, including items such as cold storage units which can expand refrigeration capacity for processing, allowing abattoirs to increase production rates and help remove the waiting times experienced by many farmers for getting stock processed.

The Fund also drives forward the government’s commitment to advancing animal health and welfare standards, including funding to improve facilities for stressed or fatigued animals to recover from loading and transport operations.

The Rural Payments Agency (RPA) will email all eligible smaller abattoirs directly within the coming days, outlining the application process.

Farming Minister Mark Spencer said:

England’s abattoirs are critical to livestock farmers who provide their high-quality products to local butchers and farm shops up and down the country.

This £4 million fund will not only help smaller abattoir and mobile business owners to innovate, invest and improve standards, but it will give farmers, particularly those who produce native and rare breeds, more stability in getting their products to market.

Today’s announcement delivers on key commitments made on Back British Farming Day in September to identify opportunities to remove unnecessary burdens for smaller abattoirs, support farmers in reaching local and international markets, and ensure that farmers are being paid a fair price for their products.

It also builds on government efforts to increase fairness in the supply chain as set out at the Farm to Fork Summit earlier this year, with new regulations for the dairy and pig sectors to be introduced next year, a consultation on the egg sector currently live and a consultation on horticulture supply chains launching shortly.

John Mettrick, Chair of the Abattoir Sector Group said:

I am delighted that the Smaller Abattoir Fund has launched. This demonstrates that the government recognises the importance of small abattoirs to farmers, butchers, and the whole rural supply chain.

This fund has been developed by Defra, the Food Standards Agency, the Abattoir Sector Group and the meat industry working together, and I would urge abattoir businesses to take advantage of the fund to help develop their businesses for the future.

Susan Jebb, Chair of the Food Standards Agency said:

The Food Standards Agency recognises the challenges faced by small abattoirs and has collaborated with Defra on the development of the Smaller Abattoir Fund.

We are keen to support the use of the fund to improve efficiency, productivity, animal welfare and innovation in this greatly valued and important sector.

The application window for the Smaller Abattoir Fund will remain open for nine months and abattoirs will be able to submit up to three applications up to the maximum funding level of £60,000. A diverse list of capital investments has been developed in close consultation with industry stakeholders – recognising the bespoke nature of abattoirs, this list is not definitive and additional investments may be eligible if applicants can evidence that the item demonstrates compliance with at least one of the Fund’s aims.