Send an email: Timaru councillor criticised for asking about future of meatworks at meeting
Thursday, 11 September 2025
The future of Timaru’s last remaining meatworks was discussed at a council meeting this week following rumours of its possible closure circulating in the community.
However, Silver Fern Farms said it was planning for the upcoming season.
Timaru councillor Stu Piddington was criticised for raising questions over the future of the operation at Pareora, just south of Timaru, during Tuesday’s meeting, with the district’s mayor Nigel Bowen suggesting it would have been better raised in a private setting.
After Venture Timaru board chairperson Logan Hanifin and chief executive Nigel Davenport delivered the quarterly report for the organisation, with both acknowledging it had been a tough time for businesses across the country, Piddington asked about rumours around the future of Silver Fern Farms’ operation at Pareora.
“Do you know anything about that and whether it is going to survive? And, have you been in contact with them to offer any assistance to keep them open,” Piddington asked.
Davenport responded that he had reached out and been in touch with the chief executive, before councillor Stacey Scott interrupted.
“I just think that this is not the environment to be talking about this. I think you can answer ‘yes’, but that is unacceptable questioning,” Scott said, telling Piddington “you need to be incredibly careful with your questioning”.
Bowen said he agreed with Scott. “I think there’s appropriate channels for that.”
Piddington said he had people coming to him concerned that “sometimes the council, we don’t react and something closes”.
“So, I’m just asking whether we have had any interaction with them.”
Bowen said he had “heard the same things” as Piddington, but thought his first appropriate action should have been to send “an internal email”.
Hanifin said livestock numbers in the country were a concern for the meat processing industry.
“That’s certainly not news to us and we are reaching out to local meat processors to see what support can be given to them, if any is needed at all.”
Following the meeting, The Timaru Herald put a number of questions to Silver Fern Farms including whether it was considering closure of the plant or parts of it, and whether it was concerned by discussions in the public domain.
On Thursday, Silver Fern Farms chief executive Dan Boulton responded.
“Our Pareora site has performed really well over the last season, and our team at Pareora are well under way with planning for the season ahead,” Boulton said.
He did not give a direct answer regarding any potential closure, but gave an overview of what the industry was dealing with.
'The broader industry challenges around livestock flows are well understood, and we continue to optimise and balance capacity across our network of 14 processing sites every day. This is not unique to Silver Fern Farms nor our Pareora Site.
“The broader industry continues to flex capacity up and down to respond to evolving market and livestock supply dynamics.”
In December, Alliance closed its Timaru-based Smithfield plant after almost 140 years in operation. The sale of the 32-hectare site was confirmed in May, with Rooney Holdings Ltd confirmed as the new owner of the property in August.
Piddington and Bowen are both running for mayor in the upcoming local body elections, with Piddington also standing for council in the Timaru ward.