About Us

MeatTradeNewsDaily.com is the brain child of William Hayes, a veteran in the meat industry with over 50 years in the trade. His vision is to provide the latest news, views and most of all gossip about the meat trade industry straight from their desktop.

William Hayes started working in the Gut room of his Fathers Slaughterhouse in July 1954. He went on to leg lambs, dress lamb and by the age of 12 he was a capable slaughter-man later graduating to cattle and sheep buying in the markets of Devon and Cornwall and wholesaling the meat.

He was recognized by George Downs the Area Manager of Eastman’s South West England, as a remarkable talented artist with a knife. George Downs would collect him at 5 am on a Saturday morning, take him to kill lambs solo for the Vestey Organization slaughterhouse at Longdown outside Exeter.

George Downs is the former South West of England Area Manager for the Vestey organization. George was a well known and respected Cattle Buyer in the cattle markets of Devon and Cornwall as well as controlling over 150 retail shops, abattoir and meat processing factory for many years, At the age of 81 he runs a suckler herd of 350 cows on his farm just outside Exeter.

It was George Downs who first recognised the abilities of William Hayes as a slaughterman and later cattle buyer and meat wholesaler. Hayes always refers the George as his Mentor in the meat industry.

By the age of 19 William had a staff of 30 slaughtermen and butchers and was one of the leading meat wholesalers in the South West of England, marketing meat on Smithfield meat market and to London wholesalers and retailers.

After the premature death of his young wife and baby daughter in 1969, William moved to Ireland as managing director of Tunney Meats in Enniskillen, slaughtering some 3,000 cattle per week.

He later went on to South Africa working with Cyril Hurvitz at Bull Brand outside Johanesberg where they slaughtered 4,000 cattle per week and value added beef into burgers and corned beef.

Settling in Australia in 1985 he built up a small beef empire specializing in mutton veal and beef. Retiring in 1998 to his farm outside Melbourne in Victoria.

He came out of retirement in 2000 to run and operate a workers co-operative meat plant in Buenos Aires with capacity for slaughtering 15,000 head of cattle per week.

Recognizing the void in the market for news on the web in a similar manner as the Meat and Farming news and prices, that used to be provided by the BBC Home Service he set up this site.

William is today considered by many people in the Trade to be an “Elder Statesman” of the Industry". He aims to make the Meat Trade News Daily website the top meat portal for those seeking up-to-date information about the meat trade.

An old friend of Williams and ex Vestey Organization man, Norman Finnimore works as our West of England correspondent.