Warragul saleyards to reopen for dairy and calf sales

The first dairy sale will take place on May 1 with calf sales to resume at Warragul by mid-May, the Victorian Livestock Exchange says.

VLE managing director Wayne Osborne said the Warragul saleyards were temporarily closed in March after the federal government introduced stringent social distancing regulations.

It comes as store sales resumed at Leongatha last week with Pakenham's sale go ahead on Thursday.

The VLE has since introduced a number of rules to adhere to social distancing requirements, including capping store sales at 2000 head for the foreseeable future.

"Our focus has been maintain food supply and that's why we postponed the store sales because while they are part of the food chain, unlike prime sales they don't have the immediate impact the fat sales do," Mr Osborne said.

Non-essential visitors and vendors are also restricted from attending store sales after guards were employed to vet essential staff, agents and professional buyers.

"The message is getting out to people that unless you need to be at the saleyards then we ask you not to come," Mr Osborne said.

"If you're a farmer looking to restock, then you have a need to be there if you're buying 100-200 head but people their for the social aspect best stay away."

The social distancing requirements at VLE saleyards are expected to be in place for several months.

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