Abbatoir plan facing sink or swim moment as costs soar.

Jeff Green | Jun 23, 2021

Cory and Shanna Priest run Thorpe Farms, an organic farm on Simmons Road in Loyalist Township, not far from Harrowsmith. They raise lamb, chicken and turkeys and sell eggs and honey. As small scale meat producers they have run into a major roadblock that has slowed any potential growth in their local meat producing operation, a difficulty in accessing time-slots in local abattoirs.

There is an abattoir close to their farm, Quinn's Meats in Yarker. When it was up for sale, Cory made an offer for it, hoping to secure kill, cut and wrap services for himself and the community of meat farmers in Lennox and Addington and Frontenac County.

Quinn's Meats did end up selling, not to Cory but to another farm family, Enright Cattle from Tweed, who have continued to operate it for Enright cattle and other producers.

“Quinn's was too small to handle local production 10 years ago,” Cory Priest said in a phone interview this week, “it is booked up 18 months in advance. You have to book times for animals that may still be 2 generations away from being born. I realised a while ago that this region needs a new abattoir, one that is large enough to handle all the red meat and poultry that is being produced now, and the increase that is coming over the next ten years.”

So, about a year ago, he began the major process of formulating a plan to build and open an abattoir that is designed to “serve the community for the next 15 years.”

“We looked at everything, from the ethical handling of animals on down. We put a lot of thought into every aspect, and narrowed it down to a 6300 square foot building with 2500 square devoted to red meat, (lamb goat, pigs, cattle), 1500 square feet for poultry, space for value added production of curing meats, dehydrating sausage, and it goes on and on.”

The plan also includes 600 feet of retail space, and the capacity for customised packaging and labelling, with a major focus of the entire operation being on transparency and the traceability of all products.

“We are looking at a premium product, locally produced top quality meat. It needs to be presented to the market that way,” he said.

His plan has been well received by Loyalist Township, but there are extensive requirements that must be satisfied.

“There are 12 requirements for zoning, 10 of which require an engineering stamp, and the cost for all that is $180,000, more than I had projected at first but still within the financial ballpark.

Given the timing of the project, cost of construction has soared due to material and labour cost increases in the building industry, and what had originally been a $2 million project became a $3 million plus project, as the cost per square foot went up over 50% to $380.

But what has really caused Cory to reconsider his plans is that the hydro cost to bring 3-phase power to his Simmons Road location, will be close to $1 million.

“When I was looking at a $3 million project, the payback was 7-9 years, which was doable for us, but now at $5 million, when all costs are included, we are looking at 12-15 years, which puts me to retirement age. I don't want to still be paying off a building at that point."
“So, Cory Priest is taking his plans, and all of the information that he has gathered, and preparing to bring them to a meeting of farmers, looking for community support and investment.”

There are a couple of options for different sites, to locate the abattoir, that Dave Perry of Perry-Anjou farms has identified with Cory, one in Tamworth and one in Verona. Both are located on township property. The Verona one is the abandoned South Frontenac works facility on Road 3.

“The advantage of both properties is that they are zoned commercial and each one has 3-phase power already in place or very close by. The disadvantage is there are land purchase costs, which I don’t have on Simmons Road,” Cory said.

He is hoping that there are people in the community who are willing to invest, either farmers looking to use the facility or other community members looking to invest locally.

“This is a good business that can employ 20 or 22 people, bring back skills, and grow very quickly. But I can't finance the entire thing myself, not at this price.”