Page 17 - Australian Pork Newspaper

Award-winning Rhodavale Pork closing as family questions future of free-range pig farming
AUSTRALIA’S pas- tured pork industry has suffered another blow, with the third large producer in months an- nouncing they will close.
Rhodavale Pork was recognised by the inter- national slow food move- ment for its work to pro- duce good, ethical pork on pasture, with room for the popular Large White breed of pigs to roam in grassy paddocks and roll in mud.
In 2015, Rhodavale Pork was awarded state finalists in the Delicious Produce Awards, and sup- plied the G20 summit in Brisbane in 2014.
But faced with a grain bill of $50,000 a month and declining sales, own- ers Melinda and Brad Murnane have considered all their options and made the tough decision to wind up the business they’ve spent 10 years building up at Lower Wonga, near Gympie, Queensland.
“Obviously there’s been a decrease in demand for the product, so at the end of the day it doesn’t mat- ter how well you can do something unless people are willing to pay for it and purchase it,” Ms Mur- nane said.
“Beyond that we had a chat to the feed mill we use and the gentleman who runs that has been in the game for 40 years and he’s never seen it quite like it is now.
“All our grain is being shipped from Western Australia at the moment and they know they’ve got six months’ supply left there but beyond that they don’t really know where it’s going to come from.
“There’s nothing planted in the ground anywhere either, so that was a big concern, so prices really aren’t going to change – they could actually get worse.”
More Australians now buy free range over caged eggs, but when it comes to pork, Australian Pork Limited revealed that
fewer than 15 percent of consumers chose pig meat farmed on pasture, as op- posed to pens in sheds where it was easier to con- trol the environment and lower the cost of produc- tion.
Rhodavale Pork’s deci- sion to exit the industry follows Backfatters Free Range chemical-free pork’s closure and Daw- son Valley Free Range’s move to wind up this year.
Pasture Raised on Open Fields founder Lee Mc- Cosker said it was sad to see another free-range producer stepping down.
“When the butcher shops are practically being giv- en intensive pork, it’s very hard for our smaller farms to compete with that,” Ms McCosker said.
“I’m just heartbroken for the family at Rhodavale Pork.”
Blow to industry
Ms McCosker said while better conditions for laying and meat chick- ens had been firmly in the public focus, demand for pork raised on pasture and provided with shade and shelter was lagging behind.
“I think it makes the rest of the pastured pork industry feel very shaky and insecure,” she said.
“Rhodavale Pork was held up on a pedestal as far as an example of how you run a successful farm, how you meet all the re- quirements of the indus- try, how you farm your pigs ethically and hu- manely, and market your product so well.
“Especially Melinda Murnane – I’ve never seen anybody so dedicated to what she does, and such a good marketer and such a full-on farmer as well, and managing all those little kids at the same time and just putting their heart and soul into this industry.
“So a lot of smaller producers, they’re going to feel quite defeated by this.”
According to APL there are about 2700 pig pro-
ducers in Australia, rang- ing from pig keepers to larger commercial facili- ties.
There is no industry di- rectory detailing the num- ber of free-range and pas- tured pork producers, but blogsite FlavourCrusader lists more than 110 farms.
Starting from scratch, the Murnanes had grown their pastured pork busi- ness to a 1200-strong herd, offering consistency of supply to restaurants and independent super- markets by turning off 50 pigs a week.
Two years ago, there was enough demand for the family to invest $250,000 in an on-farm boning room, but the good times ended with a nationwide pork glut.
APL CEO Andrew Spencer said conditions had improved since prices hit a low of $2.40/kg for dressed carcasses in the middle of last year.
“Now it’s $3.20-$3.25/ kg, so there’s been an enormous improvement in the price of pigs, and that’s because the balance between supply and de- mand has corrected,” Mr Spencer said.
Australians are now eat- ing more pork than beef, but 70 percent of the ham and bacon consumed was imported product.
Pork consumption in- creased from 8.5kg per capita each year seven years ago to 11.5-12kg last year.
Mr Spencer said Queensland’s distance from Western Australia added to the problem for pastured pork farmers, as the drought continued to create uncertainty about sourcing affordable feed.
The loss of Rhodavale Pork was also being felt by the people who relied on it.
Respected chef and Gympie regional food ambassador Matt Golin- ski was a repeat customer.
“I’m really gutted; I’ve seen what those guys have done and to see it all sort
of fall apart is just really, really sad,” Mr Golinski said.
“It’s been such a hard road for them to try to get support from restaurants and from local butchers; their product is so great.” Family disillusioned
Melinda Murnane shared her disappoint- ment on the state of her industry.
“To be really honest with you, I’m not sure what future pastured pork has,” she said.
“In the past three to four months we have seen our two biggest and most direct competitors close their doors.
“We actually thought that should have resulted in an increase in demand for ours.
“It hasn’t.
“When we looked at our kids, it catches you in the back of the throat even now talking about it, but our oldest is 10 and our baby is three and what have we done in the past 10 years?
“We’ve worked our guts out, we really have, we’ve had no holidays, we’ve had
no weekends off and if we continue to do that for another 10 years they’re going to be all grown up and gone and we will have missed all of that.”
She said prioritising her family was the right deci- sion.
“It is really unfortunate because we’re so proud of what we’ve done but them’s the times and this is the reality,” Ms Mur- nane said.
“We would much prefer to walk away with our heads held high, that all our debts were paid, that we weren’t pushing our- selves to the wall, and we could look after ourselves beyond this.”
It will take up to six months to wind up Rhodavale Pork and the couple will continue to run sheep and beef cattle until they have time to consider their future.
Top of their list is fulfill- ing a commitment to their children.
“We have promised them a holiday when the last pig is sold,” Ms Mur- nane said.
“I don’t know how we’ll
go at that – we’re not very skilled at sitting and doing nothing.
“It’sgoingtobeachange of pace for us but the kids are looking forward to it.
“I definitely think they’ll keep us account- able there.”
Originally published by
Jennifer net.au
Nichols
at abc.
Rhodavale pastured pork’s Brad and Melinda Murnane with their children Riley, Charlotte, Travis and Dillon in happier times last year. Photos: ABC Rural; Jennifer Nichols
Rhodavale Pork has prided itself on giving its pigs a life on fresh pasture.
Rhodavale Pork pigs live in open paddocks with access to mud wallows.
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