The extension of the Shepparton Regional Saleyards is all but complete.
The facility’s co-manager Ian McDermott said the extension would increase the number of cattle that could be penned by about 25 per cent, or 700 to 800 head per sale.
He said it would improve the facility to make it better for the users of the yards and the cattle they were trading.
It all worked out very well.
- Ian McDermott, co-manager of Shepparton Regional Saleyards
The expansion started in 2015, with the demolition of the site’s pig pens. Then the new roofed area was constructed, which Mr McDermott said covered 70 metres by 35m. He said the expansion increased the total area under rood at the saleyards, including cattle and sheep pens, to 2.8 hectares.
Mr McDermott said the team at the saleyards were keen for the extension to have the same roof pitch that had worked well over the rest of the cattle pens.
Separate raised public or buyers’ walkways and auctioneers’ walkways; cattle holding pens, rotary force yard and a two-deck loading ramp were installed.
The pens in the extension have crushed concrete base covered with saw dust to allow the absorption of waste matter, including from dairy cows that often populate the yards.
“We are now proceeding with the installation of 10 water tanks to facilitate the collection of rainwater from the new roofed area for use within the saleyards,” Mr McDermott said.
He said to date, the expansion had cost $1.3 million which was fully funded by the saleyards.
Greater Shepparton City Council coordinator property Karen Dexter, who managed the contract for the saleyard upgrade, said the upgrade was part of a 10-year master plan for the council-owned facility to make it safer.
For the latest upgrade, the council awarded the contract to Pro-Way and Mr McDermott said its representatives had come out to speak to his team members and had incorporated their feedback into the design, including to ensure the new laneways matched up with the existing ones to facilitate stock movement.
The extension plans were also displayed in the office building so users of the yards could also contribute.
“It all worked out very well,” Mr McDermott said.
The extension will be officially opened next Tuesday, August 30.
