Author: Thomas McCoy
Publication: Yass Tribune
Date: June 3, 2016
It’s been under construction since September last year, and won’t officially open until mid-August, but on Sunday, July 3, people will be able to get a sneak preview of the state-of-the-art South Eastern Livestock Exchange facility being built on Bellevale Road in Yass.
Visitors will be able to tour the complex, attend information sessions, have questions answered, and enjoy a sausage sizzle and other delights from the canteen.
The massive $15 million project is the brainchild of two local men, Brendan Abbey and Colin Medway, who were concerned about the decline of sheep and cattle saleyards in the region.
With the Yass saleyards shutting down more than a year ago, the men decided to do something about it and formed a consortium of six local families willing to invest in the project.
“People had been transporting their stock to Goulburn, Wagga Wagga, and other places, which was inconvenient, expensive, and losing money for the local economy,” Brendan said.
“The saleyards in surrounding towns, which are all council-owned, were in a state of decline and we wanted to reinvigorate sheep and cattle sales by providing a local option that would surpass anything being offered in the region.”
Extensive research has gone into the design of the new facility, which brings together the best features of saleyards in Eastern Australia and has a strong focus on being environmentally friendly, animal friendly, and exceeding occupational health and safety standards.
The facility includes offices for all agents, a full canteen area, and extensive undercover selling and holding yards.
Sheep and lamb sales are planned for every Wednesday, cattle sales for every Thursday, and once a month on Fridays there will be a store cattle sale.
“People will save money by not having to ship their animals out of town and we’ll become the major stock selling hub in the region. In a couple of years we could be selling more than one million sheep and 120,000 head of cattle annually,” Brendan said.
“We’ve already got 11 agents signed up and expect to be selling stock coming from towns including: Boorowa, Braidwood, Cooma, Cootamundra, Crookwell, Goulburn, Gundagai, Harden, Moss Vale, and Young.”
Local man Rohan Arnold has taken responsibility for the construction of the facility, as well as being an investor, while newly appointed manager Rod Bourlet will be looking after day-to-day operations.
“I’m really excited about this project, I think it ticks all the boxes and has everything in place to go ahead with lots of momentum,” said Rod.
“With completion being close, we’ve started to advertise for four permanent and around 20 casual positions and have had quite a lot of interest, and I’m looking forward to meeting people from near and far at Open Day.”
Everybody is welcome to attend Open Day, which will run from 10am to 2pm on Sunday, July 3.
For further information, or directions on how to get to the South Eastern Livestock Exchange on Bellevale Road (near Black Range Road and McDonald’s/KFC on the Yass bypass), phone Rod on: 0499 611 222, email: manager@selxnsw.com.au, or visit: www.facebook.com/selxnsw.
Original article: http://www.yasstribune.com.au/story/3945115/saleyards-open-to-public/