Revealed: Australia’s biggest cattle saleyards ranked

At any given time, day or night, thousands of head of cattle are at the country’s largest saleyards, with more than 244,778 beasts sold last financial year. Take a look inside the Roma saleyards, a staple of the Maranoa economy.

On Tuesday mornings, the Roma saleyards become a hub of action, with sellers, buyers, agents facilitating the sale of cattle, and tourists invited to watch the spectacle.

To an outsider, the experience is nothing short of bedlam.

Auctioneers sell cattle pen by pen at the saleyards. Photo: Jacklyn O’Brien.

Auctioneers sell cattle pen by pen at incomprehensible speeds, before the beasts are herded onto weighbridges by people on horseback and then to pens and onto trucks, soundtracked by bellows and flatulence.

The Roma saleyards span 123 acres, just outside of the township in rural Queensland.

Sales take place in Roma every Tuesday. Photo: Jacklyn O'Brien.

General manager of the Roma saleyards Daniel Halsop said it is the largest cattle selling centre in Australia, with 244,778 head of cattle sold through the yards in the 2022/23 financial year, with a total value of $342,630,870.

The saleyards are open 24/7, so animals can be transported at any time of the day or night. As well as being a trading facility, there are paddocks where animals can be rested while travelling long distances.

Roma Saleyards facilitated the sale of 244,778 head of cattle in the 2022/23 financial year. Photo: Jacklyn O'Brien.

The saleyards were crowned the industry champion of 2023, an acknowledgment of the facility’s excellence in animal care, care for people in the industry, the economic contribution and their social contribution.

Sales take place every Tuesday at 8am, and tourists are invited to watch and learn with tours kicking off at 8.30am. In the 2022/23 tourist season, the saleyards welcomed more than 7000 tourists.

Roma Saleyards were acknowledged as the industry champion of 2023. Photo: Jacklyn O’Brien.

The Maranoa regional council has been running tours of the saleyards for some time, but opened an interpretative centre in 2019 which allows tourists to learn about the cattle industry any day.

Maranoa councillor Cameron O’Neil said the interpretative centre is part of a plan to strengthen the agricultural and tourism sectors in the Maranoa through diversification.

Tours of the saleyards take place on Tuesday mornings, led by local graziers. Photo: Jacklyn O'Brien.

“When I was the portfolio chair for the centre for economic development, we worked to diversify the agriculture and tourism sectors. The interpretative centre was one of those initiatives,” Mr O’Neil said.

The tours are hosted by local graziers, who have a wealth of knowledge about the cattle industry in Australia.

Australia’s biggest cattle saleyards

1. Roma, Qld 244,778 head sold in 2022/2023

2. Dalby, Qld 189,396 head sold in 2022/2023

3. Dubbo, NSW 153,164 head sold in 2022/2023

4. Tamworth, NSW 133,485 head sold in 2022/2023

5. Leongatha, Vic 127,241 head sold in 2022/2023

6. Casino, NSW 117,131 head sold in 2022/2023

7. Charters Towers, Qld 115,906 head sold in 2022/2023

8. Wagga Wagga, NSW 115,509 head sold in 2022/2023

9. Gracemere, Qld 112,536 head sold in 2022/2023

10. Wodonga, Vic 111,367 head sold in 2022/2023

Originally published as Revealed: Australia’s biggest cattle saleyards ranked