It has been five months since the Esperance Shark Lake abattoir closed its doors without warning and sheep producers still haven't received an update as to when, or if, it will reopen.
Minerva Foods Australia, which operates the plant, has remained tight-lipped, with chief executive officer Iain Mars only releasing a single statement in September to say the company was conducting a review of the facility.
Mr Mars said the site would not be operating while the review was being undertaken to fully analyse what further investment was needed.
No further information has been provided in the months that have passed.
Farm Weekly contacted Minerva Foods this week, which said there was no update on the situation.
News of Shark Lake's indefinite shutdown last year came just 14 months after the mothballed plant was revived, with promise of reducing freight costs, boosting the economy and potentially processing 1500-head per day.
It was the third time the troubled plant closed since 2017, when former owners Shark Lake Food Group went into administration.
Scaddan sheep farmer David Vandenberghe it was difficult to see whether or not the plant's closure had significant ramifications.
Mr Vandenberghe said there were still challenges in getting sheep away to be processed, with producers often waiting several weeks for bookings.
As producers across the Esperance-Goldfields region battle through drier conditions, he said rain in the Eastern States had been the saviour, with a constant stream of both sheep and cattle heading across the border in recent months.
"That demand has been our saviour and has provided a bit of counterbalance," Mr Vandenberghe said.
"I think if it hadn't rained over east, we would really be feeling the impact of (the Shark Lake abattoir) closing now, and that it would be pretty significant."
He said the Federal government's proposed live export ban was not helping the situation, as the trade was ideal for animals that weren't quite ready for slaughter.
"If you haven't got animals ready for slaughter, you play the game with the stores and whether they want them or not," Mr Vandenberghe said.
"Luckily the Eastern States has been in and buying finished, as well as stores.
"We sold really good 21 kilogram lambs to the abattoirs for $110 per head, that is way below what we got for a store two years ago."
As the abattoir was only in business for about 12 months, Mr Vandenberghe said producers weren't really budgeting on them being a big player in the meat processing game.
He said in the short-term its closure had left many in the lurch with bookings, which were reportedly in the tens of thousands from Esperance and surrounding areas, that had already been placed.
When the abattoir announced its abrupt closure during spring flush, Mr Vandenberghe was a week out from having 340-head processed.
While he was able to swap his sucker lamb booking for old-season Merinos in the paddock, he lost $40 per head on each animal by doing so.
The closure came at a time when there was an oversupply of sheep in WA and other processors were under pressure to find kill space.
"If it couldn't work in the climate last year, it was never going to work," Mr Vandenberghe said.
"Last year, people were almost giving their animals away to get them off the books.
"It is the smaller producers, who may have a couple of hundred lambs ready, that will be affected by this.
"Minerva would have suited those orders perfectly, whereas it might be difficult for them to book them into other processors.
"That was my outlet for ram lambs last year, it has been difficult to move ram lambs in recent times, so we will have to see how we go."
Mr Vandenberghe added, "as a social impact, there are businesses that probably supplied them, there's the accommodation for workers, involvement in sporting clubs and sponsorship they had around the district".
"All of that has obviously come to an end with Minerva closing the Shark Lake abattoir," he said.
Mr Vandenberghe said the feeling in the farming community was that it would possibly never open up again.
