Sale saleyards and the woman who runs them

The Pakenham and Leongatha yards are run by Kim McMahon, while the Gippsland Regional Livestock Exchange (GRLE) at Sale is managed by Bec Shaw, who took the job in January.

Not long afterwards, the coronavirus tested the 26-year-old's mettle as a negotiator when she made the decision to sell cattle through the saleyards' rotunda.

"With COVID-19, we had to modify the normal routine but do it all by the council regulations and keep the agents and the buyers happy," Ms Shaw said.

"I'd had quite a few calls from buyers saying they would be a lot more comfortable in the rotunda.

"Having to call the agents and explain, 'Look, we need to move it to the rotunda because of x, y and z,' and then when you don't have everyone on board, that's probably the toughest part.

"You've got to try and keep everybody happy and do what's right by the yards.

"Agents do need a big say in it because it is their sale, really.

"Everyone does have valid opinions but when everybody has a different opinion, it can be difficult."

Ms Shaw remained upbeat.

Raised "smack bang in the middle of the city", she doesn't have an agricultural pedigree, instead earning her stripes working for a local livestock agency after a stint farming in Gippsland.

I asked if she'd encountered prejudice in the male-dominated yards.

"If I'd come in as an outsider it might have been a little bit different but the fact that I was already in the yards and knew the people here, I think, made a big difference," Ms Shaw said.

"You do clash occasionally because you've got to try and keep everybody happy - buyers vendors, agents and council - but everyone's been very supportive.

"So I haven't actually find it found that difficult being being a woman."

Owned by the Wellington Shire Council, the GRLE holds sales weekly, sometimes twice weekly, hosting prime cattle, calves and sheep.

The drought-hit fat sales have slowed to a trickle of 100 to 350 cattle each week, a far cry from the days when 1500 or so head passed through.

Despite that, the yards are vital to the region, with Wellington Shire estimating it provides $8 million of economic activity each year and supports up to 123 local jobs.

Ms Shaw manages a crew of eight to keep the yards running smoothly.

"There's definitely more happening behind the scenes than I thought when I was on the other side of the fence," she said.

"It's not just about the sale days; it's about getting ready and keeping the facility maintained."

In the hours before the sale, cattle are penned, checked and watered, while data entry work matches cattle with their pens and vendors.

The sale itself starts at 9am but Ms Shaw is on site from 6.30 or 7am.

"I walk through the yards in the morning to make sure everybody's up and well, which is always the case," she said.

Next, the computer system is checked before agents begin arriving at about 7.30 and the real action starts at 9am.

"I do like watching the sale but you don't generally get to follow along and hear how the price is going until you sit down at the end and go through the computer really," Ms Shaw said.

"There's so many people in the yard and you've got a few cattle so you've always always got to be on the ball."

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