A group of Cornish livestock farmers has visited a Bodmin abattoir to mark five years of its ownership.

Kepak Bodmin bought the St Merryn facility in 2018 and has invested some £3.2 million since.

To mark the anniversary, Kepak Group hosted a summit-style event at the end of April attended by more than 40 Cornish farmers, of which many are members of the South Devon Cattle Breeding Society based in Truro.

Neil Knight, site manager at Kepak Bodmin, said: “We were delighted to welcome members from the South Devon Cattle Breeding Society to the site.

"With over £90 million invested by Kepak in livestock purchases each year through our Bodmin site, the evening was a celebration of our investment in the local economy to date and an opportunity to further develop and strengthen our relationships with local suppliers towards a prosperous future in the region.

“Agriculture is at the core of our business within Kepak and our flagship site at Kepak Bodmin is at the heart of it. We’re looking forward to continue to invest further across the next five years.”

The Bodmin site supplies prime cuts of meat across the UK and internationally.

The abattoir currently processes around 4,000 South Devon and South Devon Cross cattle each year with ambitions for further expansion, leading to further job opportunities beyond its existing 273-strong local workforce.

On attending the evening of celebration, Elizabeth Bunkem, South Devon Cattle Breeding Society club secretary, said, “The evening was very engaging and has been a great opportunity for members of our society to continue to work closely with Kepak.

"We will encourage more societies in the agricultural sector to take advantage of evenings like these because it has been very interesting and informative, thank you to all involved for a wonderful night.”

Through the processing plant, the Irish food company contributes more than £98 million annually to the local economy in Bodmin and surrounding counties.