PROPONENTS of a saleyard at Yass say they’ve already signed up Goulburn agents willing to send stock their way.
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If the $16 million plan comes off it will not only compete with the Goulburn facility but aim to recapture trade going to Carcoar and Wagga Wagga saleyards.
Yass men Brendan Abbey and Col Medway are behind the plan, known as the South Eastern Livestock Exchange.
They formally lodged a development application to Yass Valley Council last Tuesday for the yard, pegged for a 20-hectare site near the town’s service centre.
Mr Abbey, a former stock and station agent with grazing interests, owns the site, which is zoned industrial. Mr Medway is a property salesman with Landmark, Yass.
Mr Abbey declined to say who was financially backing the project at this stage. The Goulburn Post understands a superannuation company is interested.
“I have to come up with an approved DA before they will finance it,” he said.
“I have no doubt about the finances but if it fails, I have other options.” In 2012, Yass Valley Shire Council chipped in half the cost of an $80,000 feasibility study on the project, which the proponents had to refund on success, the Yass Tribune reported.
The complex has been in the planning for three years.
The saleyard, on Bellvale Rd, would have a soft floor, undercover section for cattle and a separate set of open sheep yards. Catchment ponds, roads, parking bays and canteens are also proposed for the site, which covers six hectares.
Asked how the saleyard would combat strong regional competition, Mr Abbey said a new state of the art complex would capture stock currently going to Carcoar and Wagga Wagga.
“We have 11 agents signed up from Goulburn, Crookwell, Braidwood, Cooma, Young, Cootamundra, Boorowa, Gundagai and Yass,” he told the Post.
“All have given commitments that they would send stock to Yass.” Likewise, there was strong support from regional graziers, who he believed would save on freight costs over sending stock to other centres, and benefit from strong competition.
The proponents also plan a 24-hour truck wash, a feature currently missing at Goulburn.
Mr Abbey said an extensive water study had been undertaken on the site.
“It is designed to have neutral water runoff,” he said.
“That means catching it, treating and chlorinating water and re-using it in the truck wash. None will be moved offsite.” The Southern Regional Planning Panel will ultimately decide the proposal.
Mr Abbey hoped to have all approvals in place by April and construction started in June/July for an end of year completion.
Goulburn ‘not worried’ The plan is not fazing Goulburn saleyard owner, Bill Vowles, managing director of Kattle Gear Australia Pty Ltd.
“The business case for Yass is based on Goulburn closing and that won’t happen, so I don’t know where it will go,” Mr Vowles said.
“With Goulburn and Wagga saleyards flanking it, I can’t see the business case.” Mr Abbey said this was not the case and “market forces” would determine its success.
Asked whether he was worried about the competition, Mr Vowles said the Yass proposal had been around for a long time and he wasn’t convinced the proponents knew what “they were getting in to.” “It’s a very difficult process getting integrated approval for a saleyard,” he said.
“You only have to look at the problems I’ve had getting approval for the Painters Lane property (to dispose of saleyard effluent). It is very onerous.” Mr Vowles acknowledged Goulburn had lost trade to Carcoar and Wagga Wagga over the past five years but believed there were still significant local numbers.
He argued Carcoar was an expensive place to sell. Mr Vowles maintained that Goulburn was $7 to $8 cheaper for cattle and 30 cents to 40c lower for sheep selling.
Asked how he was addressing competition from other saleyards, Mr Vowles said: “We have approached a number of meatworks and will put in place facilities for them to compete.” He declined to elaborate on these.
Stock numbers through the facility last year were about the same as 2012 and while there were never enough, the Kattle Gear chief said the saleyard was still viable and providing a much needed local facility.
Some 230,000 sheep and 42,000 cattle were sold at Goulburn last year, Mr Vowles said.
“These numbers won’t just disappear and a lot of people have said to me that it’s a great thing to still have the saleyards going despite all the requirements from regulatory bodies. I think we’ve also had poor support from (Goulburn Mulwaree) Council.”
