Sally Walker is one of the owners of Windridge and said her sympathy is firstly with the workers who have been laid off.

“Even though we had a contingency plan, we were surprised by the closure,” said Ms Walker.

“It is a very sad thing for Young, the impact on our own costs is significant; but that’s not near as bad as being one of those 300 workers who won’t know how to pay their grocery bill this week.

“The ripple effect from this will be felt through the whole community and we shouldn’t underestimate the indirect affect this will have on the town’s businesses.

“There is a lot of reason for the town, the council and the NSW government to assist the receiver and any potential purchaser to get it up and running again as soon as possible,” said Ms Walker.

As other abattoirs in the district do not have export licensing for pigs and are unable to handle all of the pigs that went to Burrangong, Windridge is now sending 1420 head of stock per week interstate to be processed, something that is a less than ideal situation for one of this region’s biggest producers.