Yesterday we received word that the butcher shop we've been working with for the last few years will be closing. This will leave the Grande Prairie region with only one butcher shop that can do inspected slaughter of animals, leaving our farm, as well as many others, with a lack of options and opportunity. The one butcher shop now left is usually operating at max capacity already, meaning that with many more producers now needing their services, getting a timely butcher date will become problematic. Add to that the fact that we have, for various reasons, chosen not to do business with said butcher, leaving us without a viable option to have our animals processed locally. The frustrating part in all this is that the Butcher shop which is closing feels that they (and all smaller butchers) are being squeezed out of the industry by constant tightening and changing regulations which are favouring larger, centralized meat packing and alternative protein plants and making operations for small local businesses very difficult to unviable.
So while we are stubborn, ah, I mean determined, this is a major hurdle, dare I say brick wall which we now need to punch through if we want our farm to be viable going forward. Back to the drawing board we go...