Our Journey to reinstating a farmer led abattoir & meat processing facilities.
Across Ireland, farmers are facing a familiar challenge; the lack of local, small-scale meat processing facilities that can support short supply chains, reduce food miles, and keep more value on the farm.
For our group of farmers in Waterford, Cork, Tipperary, Wexford, and beyond, this challenge became the spark for something ambitious: a farmer-led, multi-species abattoir and meat processing facility in the South East, designed to help us feed Ireland with local food.
The project grew out of necessity. Our abattoir was closed down abruptly, leaving many of us completely stuck. As pig farmers, we struggled with the distance and cost of processing animals, as well as the lack of flexibility for smaller farms. In conversations with other pig farmers and quite a few neighbouring sheep and poultry farmers we quickly realised we weren’t alone.
With shared goals and a strong sense of collaboration, we came together to create a co-operative model to serve both organic and conventional producers in our region. The vision is simple but powerful: to create a local, farmer driven processing facility that supports small and medium-scale producers, strengthens short supply chains, and ensures that high-quality, locally produced food reaches Irish tables.
Progress to Date – driven by farmers – June 2024
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Secured funding through Department of Agriculture schemes to support planning and consultation. ( Short Food Chain Supply)
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Sought professional advice and linked with other small processors across the country to learn from their experience.
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Trained in HACCP and best practices for meat processing.
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Conducted surveys across small abattoirs and meat processors to understand common challenges.
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Launched a national survey, receiving 53 responses many from farmers who have since come on board, bringing new skills and ideas that have strengthened our collective vision.
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Built partnerships with farmers, local businesses, and community development organisations.
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Carried out site planning and operational designs in collaboration with existing abattoir owners to develop a multi-species processing facility (pigs, sheep, poultry, and cattle).
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Continued to build farm-to-fork connections through farmers’ markets, local retailers, and direct-to-consumer sales.
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Continuous connections with local communities, Talamh Beo, Bio-regioning networks, LEADER, LEO, OT, IOA, FSAI & DAFM for continued support across the project.
Looking Ahead
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Completing facilities design and regulatory approval by collaborating with existing structures & looking to DAFM for support
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Expanding our farmer network and formalising the co-operative structure, in collaboration with UCC CO-OP STUDIES DEPT..
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Building a public platform for us all to share our stories, to highlight our needs as food producers in order to sustain momentum. Continue to link with local & national papers to carry our stories
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Talking with every local butcher / shop owners that is willing to share a space in their shop to promote local Irish foods. & continue to grow this.
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Work collaboratively with abattoirs to create a plan for intake of animals & what species / numbers they can take
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Rolling out training and workshops on sustainable farming and meat processing, in partnership with organisations such as Ballymaloe Cookery School, SICAP, ETB, and HSE.
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Linking with initiatives like social prescribing and Jigsaw, and working with the Sustainable Food Trust to pilot beacon farms in Ireland.
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Revive traditional skills and methods by connecting younger and older generations, fostering community wellbeing and positive mental health.
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Promoting food education and “food as medicine” programmes in schools to help children understand where their food comes from.
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Integrating traceability and transparency tools to support quality control and build trust among consumers, farmers, and local communities.
By December 2026, OUR HOPE is to have the initial facility operational giving farmers more control over their products and ensuring that communities across the region can access fresh, local meat.
Talamh Beo & the Bioregioning SE Ireland Movement:
Grounding Change in Community
We’ve been fortunate to receive guidance and encouragement from Talamh Beo, Ireland’s Land Workers Alliance, and the Bioregioning SE Ireland movement. Their support has grounded our work in the belief that truly sustainable food systems are built on community, ecology, and fairness.
Talamh Beo continues to champion the rights of small farmers, growers, and food producers, promoting regenerative, localised systems that work with nature. Through their network, we’ve connected with others who share our goal of keeping value on farms and strengthening local food resilience.
The Bioregioning SE Ireland approach seeing the land as a living system shaped by soil, water, and community has guided our vision. It reminds us that farming is about belonging to a place and caring for it and while 1 farmer working alone might find it overwhelming, by joining together we can create change for all.
We’ve made links & begun working with the EU Animal Welfare Programme through the Eurogroup for Animals, whose values align closely with ours. Their guidance supports our aim to reduce stress through local processing, humane handling, and shorter transport distances.
Next year, we plan to deepen this partnership, sharing our cooperative model as an example of how small-scale, farmer-led systems can deliver both high welfare and high-quality local food.
By working collaboratively with these movements, we’re not just rebuilding a processing system we’re helping to regenerate a food culture rooted in collaboration, care, and connection to place
The support we’ve received highlights just how essential local processing is to farming communities and how powerful collaboration can be.
