Uralla's Red8 Produce portable abattoir gets federal government grant

Red8 Produce, developed by producers Anita Taylor and Sarah Burrows, was the successful recipient of a $712,500 Accelerating Commercialisation Grant which will aid the development of a modular processing plant.

The innovative pair have spent the last few years focused on customer validation, market research, meeting regulations and building and testing the vital dressing unit part of their four piece processing plant which can be towed behind a ute and interlocked in any configuration.

The adaptable system had even attracted the interest of international game meat producers.

With their new funding, which will be matched by their own resources, the pair will build the remaining three modules of the system, complete the NSW Food Authority certification, partner with potential investors and aim to sell the first Red8 meat.

While the grant period spans two years, Ms Taylor said they hoped to make significant strides this year.

They had already been in discussion with southern producer groups, larger operators or others who had already established their own brand.

"We have had over 70 producers contact us and some just want us to come to their farm locally but we also have some larger producers that want a more regular and longer service and then we have some producer groups that are very keen to license our system and have some autonomy," Ms Taylor said.

"The feedback is really great. We are mindful that at the moment it's a niche market, that there is absolutely a place for our mainstream meat process industry.

"It is very important to food production and consumer choice but there is a growing number of producers and consumers that are a little more interested in the regenerative agriculture, higher animal welfare, provenance and the stories of their farmers and our system lends itself to that market."

Red8 would allow producers to on-sell their own meat or join the Red8 or premium Gold8 brands, highlighting the ethical advantage of the system.

"We understand there is a growing global demand for this," Ms Burrows said.

"Worldwide people just want to know more about there food, where it comes from, that the animals were treated well and they are eating top quality."

The portable abattoir could also decrease wastage and give more value back to producers.

"We started to do it because we understood that farmers are not getting everything out of their animals that they should," Ms Burrows said.

"As soon as they leave the farm things start to happen that either deplete their glycogen, get bruised, lose weight or get stressed.

"We realised it's also fantastic if there are problems with animals rather than digging a hole and killing them we could go on farm and use that meat, even if it was just for pet food, at least it would be some return to the farmer and not a complete waste of a resource."

The Red8 duo were two of the first founders to join UNE's SMART region incubator (UNE SRI) in 2017 and credit it for helping them stay on track.

UNE SRI director Dr Lou Conway said watching them build Red 8 Produce with integrity and determination, had been inspiring for our team and all the founders.

"This funding is a significant outcome for Red8, and it shows what's possible to all those working to build new business," she said.

"The SRI is so proud of their success and their capacity to work with experts and advisors to create a unique system for producing ethically grown meat."

Overcoming regulatory processes has taken the most time but Red8 wanted to establish itself as a leader in food safety.

"When we talked about what we were doing a lot of people thought we were talking about home kill or we were somehow trying to get around the regulations, or less regulatory or less rigour," Ms Taylor said.

"We want to be the highest possible quality and we want to meet and sometimes exceed their food safety requirements so we do have a top quality product."