Wide acclaim for Yass’ new selling centre
YASS, AUGUST 18: BUYERS came from as far as Queensland and South Australia for the first sale at the new South Eastern Livestock Exchange .
BUYERS came from as far as Queensland and South Australia for the first sale at the new South Eastern Livestock Exchange in Yass, NSW, last week.
There were 2369 cattle yarded for the opening prime cattle sale at the $15 million, 16ha state-of-the-art, regional livestock selling centre.
After almost a year of construction, vendors weren’t disappointed with prices, as feeder steers made 353-417c/kg.
Duncombe and Co Livestock principal, Jock Duncombe, Crookwell, NSW, said the saleyard was a “game changer” for them and the region.
“We haven’t had a state-of-the-art saleyard facility for 15 to 20 years,” Mr Duncombe said.
Some of the benefits of having the new yards at Yass were cheaper freight for sellers and vendors getting rewarded for their livestock as competition improved at a larger selling centre.
Mr Duncombe said the design of the yards was “outstanding” and the natural lighting was an advantage.
Cattle were all post-sale weighed, which Mr Duncombe said “wasn’t a problem”.
“The cattle are content and not stressed so they aren’t going to lose condition, and there is plenty of time for transport carriers to get stock to where they need to after they are weighed.”
Australian Meat Group livestock manager Ben Davies purchased cattle at last week’s sale and said it was a “well thought out” facility and was happy to see stock on soft floors.
Mr Davies said having regional selling centres was beneficial for efficiency for buyers and transport.
SELX manager Rod Bourlet said they experienced a few technical hiccups at the first sale, but that would be sorted after a thorough review with staff.
“Overall I’m really happy with how everything operated,” Mr Bourlet said.
The annual throughput of the facility is estimated at 100,000 cattle and 1.2 million sheep.
Supply struggle ramps up rates
The wet weather, especially in the southern regions, has impacted supply which in turn has pushed up cattle prices.
What to expect from the sky-high cattle market
Cattle restockers are still driving record rates at saleyards, but this latest analysis by our market expert will gives producers pause for thought — amid sobering export signals and weakened beef demand.