Yabby said

Eventually an innovative meat player might turn up, who uses large scale
automation and innovative marketing, to provide cheaper meat to the
ME public, without screwing the producer. They would then win over the farmers
and the consumers and the live trade would drop significantly, as that could be
done far cheaper then live shipping.
Pale Comments
Yes Yabby, and thats what that we are working on bit by bit state by state.

However its abit rich to say the Gov does not favour live shipping agents.

Lets face it the Gov have a duty to spear head this.

So your comments about no favours certainly dont fit.

Its just plain cruel and they have a duty to get out there and find investors - not block them.

You know the Government have made it impossible to get staff.
Nothing fair about that.

They do favour live because of their fat donations.

Hi all

Yabby, I'm not sure how your comment about the industrial relations system fits, but I'll assume it has to do with abattoir operations. If that's the case, then how is it that they operate in the Eastern states, where the same IR systems and AMIEU involvement is in place also?

We KNOW that the Federal government throws dollars at the live export industry, as well as providing certain legislative and other protection, so how can that be diverted to local processing in WA? I would suggest that, if there is any foundation to PALE's claims of "working on it State by State" that perhaps it should be concentrating on WA first, without getting into any arguments here with PALE (I'm tired of having to abandon thread after thread because of the insults, threats and delusions that are levelled at me by PALE, so I'm choosing not to respond to it any more).

If processing is working in the East successfully, it must be able to work in the West as well. And you could be right, cost is going to become a factor (with oil prices) and world-wide environmental concerns over issues like "food miles" (there must be damage to marine eco-systems by dumping 40,000+ dead animals off ships too - that "collateral damage" mentioned here before).

Cheers
Nicky

Nicky, the industrial relations system in the East has similar
problems in times of drought, although at those times large
volumes of livestock are moved around, to less drought affected
areas. What you land up with because of it however, is your
tv pictures of starving stock and paddocks blowing away, then
farmers wanting subsidies. Its a ridiculous situation, when
a few planeloads of Chinese meatworkers could work extra
shifts at present meatworks and avoid those situations for
stock, Govt and farmers. But the unions would never accept that.

How much money does the Govt "throw" at the live export industry?
Most dollar for dollar research funding in fact goes to the
meat industry.

With suitably talented operators and enough staff, wonders could
be worked in the WA meat industry. At the moment we have neither.
The new minister for immigrations seems to have a much better
understanding of the problem, then those of the past, like
Andrews. So we will see. Once T&R crank later this year, we
might get a better picture of things. Meantime the great sheep
sell off is still happening here, as farmers quit their livestock
en masse and switch to more cropping.

Where I see a future, or would like to experiment with, is the
so called "lamb in a box" concept. People in the ME are used to
buying a whole sheep, for family and social affairs etc. So set
up a simple, highly automated chain, (all the labour is in the
boning rooms) where you then cut the carcass in half, cryovac
each side and put the two sides in a box with a handle. You then
draw a nice picture of a sheep on the side of the box :)

People could then buy their sheep, pick up the handle and take it
home. Simple, easy, straightforward, low cost. But in the ME,
if you tread on the wrong toes, you won't sell a single thing.

So best to have it set up that the buyers and distributors of
the products are also the investors, so that the market is guaranteed.