Leongatha, Wodonga, Mortlake top list for the most cattle sold

The Western Victorian Livestock Exchange at Mortlake recorded a 40 per cent increase last financial year, according to Meat & Livestock Australia data, with almost 91,00 put through the yards in 2020/21.

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WVLX manager Colin Ryan said the impressive figures were a result of a combination of factors at the Mortlake site, including the large numbers, modern facilities and soft floor.

"I think what Mortlake offers goes a long way to entice vendors from across the region to sell here," he said.

"Following on from that, buyers from around Australia, likewise, are attracted here because of those factors."

The Mortlake saleyard was the only Victorian complex to report an increase in cattle throughput last year, selling 26,000 cattle more compared to the previous financial year.

The Victorian Livestock Exchange's Leongatha complex topped the list for the highest throughput with 142,634 head sold, only a .6 per cent decrease on the 2019/20 financial year.

The Northern Victorian Livestock Exchange at Wodonga/Barnawartha was second with 121,752 cattle passed through the pens, down 33.7 per cent or almost 62,000 head down on the previous financial year.

The VLE's Pakenham facility, surrounded by Melbourne's south-eastern fringe, also topped the list at third place with 103,000 cattle sold, down 15.6pc or 19,000 head on the previous financial year.

Overall cattle throughput in Victoria's 18 saleyards covered by the National Livestock Reporting Service dropped 14pc from 1,005,405 in 2019/20 to 861,479 last financial year.

Mr Ryan said one of the attractions to the WVLX was how the nine agencies worked together to sell cattle at store sales, often starting with the grown steers and heifers, before moving onto weaner cattle and then crossbred cattle to finish the sale.

He said selling cattle in that order provided a free-flowing sale.

"What has been shown by the Mortlake experiment, if we can call it that, is that larger regional saleyards will play a more significant role in the marketing of cattle in the future," Mr Ryan said.

"Australia-wide, not just here, it has been shown that the smaller council-owned yards are struggling.

"That's an Australian-wide issue and I'm not going to say who or what should continue to operate, the market will determine that."

More than 100,000 cattle were sold at the WVLX last calendar year, equating to $189 million in sales.

Wodonga's NVLX business unit manager Tim Keys said the 33pc throughput reduction was not necessarily a bad sign.

"It's driven by years of herd decline with the ongoing drought for the last four or five years," he said.

"Due to the breeding cycle of beef cattle, it will take a number of years for those cattle numbers in the overall female herd of the country to build up."

Mr Keys said vendors were retaining large portions of their female herd to use in breeding programs, whereas in previous years those cattle would have been sent into the yards due to the lack of rain and available feed.

He said the facility remained one of the "premiere" selling facilities along the eastern Australian seaboard because of its modern setup, soft floors and strong support among buyers.