IT has been a long time coming, but Kimberley pastoralist Jack Burton, Yeeda Pastoral Company, has locked in September 9 for the long-awaited official opening of his abattoir between Broome and Derby.
Over the weekend, Mr Burton was busy commissioning the final approvals and told Farm Weekly everything was set for next month.
"Agriculture and Food Minister Dean Nalder will be opening it," Mr Burton said.
"We have been commissioning everything and we are just waiting for our final export licence and discharge licence - which are due this week.
"Once we get them we can pin our ears back and go full noise."
After four years Mr Burton said he had hoped the abattoir would be opened much sooner, but plans had evolved and enhanced during the process.
He said there will be "no more changes".
Mr Burton said initially the facility would process 150 head a day to 700 a week, initially using cattle from his own company and would build towards 1200 to 1300 cattle a week, sourcing cattle from other northern pastoralists.
"We have been buying a few cattle and stockpiling them," Mr Burton said.
"It was a dry season, so there were not many cattle around, so we stockpiled a few.
"The abattoir has the capacity of 70,000 head a year and we are really happy with the plan.
"It looks great and performed really well during its trial run."
Mr Burton said the facility would service the South East Asian and domestic market.
He said after a few months, Yeeda would be able to access the American market, following approvals.
"We are pretty confident that will be a fast process," Mr Burton said.
"But with bureaucracy, fast can be slow."
Mr Burton's original design for the abattoir was for manufacturing beef, but he hoped with larger investment into the North, industry would be enhanced and in time would be killing less manufacturing beef and more higher quality product.
Having an abattoir in the north would save pastoralists a 3000 kilometre haulage and the 50-hour issue of transporting cattle south.
The abattoir will employ 28 staff and once the boning room gets underway Mr Burton said more would be added.
He had planned to work his Gingin facility in conjunction with his proposed beef abattoir in Broome, however the southern facility has been listed for sale for a year.
Mr Burton said he was still focused on the northern operation.
Yeeda still processes beef at the Gingin abattoir, but Mr Burton said once the Broome facility was up and running, all beef will be processed in the north.
"We have had a few offers on it, but we are in no hurry," Mr Burton said.
"We will sit on it, either until something changes in our business or someone comes along with a fair offer, then we will let it go."
