MLA: Sheep and cattle saleyard survey

The biggest sheep and cattle saleyards of 2020-21 have been named. See the full stats here.

The number of sheep and cattle sold through saleyards was down 10.2 per cent last year.

Released last week Meat and Livestock Australia’s saleyard survey’s results show the total number of cattle and sheep transactions through all Australian saleyards in the 2020–21 financial year.

In 2020-21, there were 17 million saleyard transactions across sheep and cattle, down from 18.9m transactions recorded in the previous financial year.

“The results reinforce that industry is in both a sheep flock and cattle herd rebuild, with less transactions taking place as producers retain livestock,” an MLA spokesman said.

Sheep make up 79 per cent of all saleyard transactions at 13.4m head, while cattle account for 3.5m head.

NSW saleyards sold 6.3m sheep, down 11.6 per cent on the previous year, while Victoria had 4.58m sheep transactions, up 1.4 per cent.

Queensland saleyards sold 1.13m cattle, down 15.2 per cent, NSW sold 1.03m cattle, a fall of 29.2 per cent and Victoria sold 861,479 cattle, down 14.3 per cent.

While most saleyards had a decline in throughput, Guyra and Deniliquin in NSW, Gracemere and Mareeba in Queensland, Mortlake, Casterton, Ballarat and Warracknabeal in Victoria and Naracoorte in South Australia all recorded increases of more than 10 per cent.

Wagga Wagga in NSW remains the largest saleyard in Australia, transacting 1.8 million sheep and 113,000 cattle in the 12 months to June 30 last year.

The MLA spokesman said 11 per cent of all national sheep transactions occur through Wagga Wagga. Collectively, the top five saleyards of Ballarat, Hamilton, Bendigo, Wagga Wagga and Forbes contribute 37 per cent of all sheep yardings.

In movements from the previous year, Hamilton overtook Bendigo as Victoria’s second largest sheep selling centre, while Leongatha overtook Wodonga as the state’s biggest cattle market.

In Victoria, Leongatha sold the largest number of cattle, with 142,634 cattle transacted, followed by Wodonga with 121,752 cattle and Ballarat sold the most sheep with 1.64m through the yards, up 10.2 per cent on the previous year.

In NSW, Dubbo sold the most number of cattle, with 115,836 transacted, a fall of 25.6 per cent on the previous year, while Wagga Wagga had the most sheep at 1.8m, down 10.4 per cent for the year.