The Gunnedah Stock and Station Agents Association is asking locals to stay away from the weekly sales if they're not looking to buy.
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The association is getting ahead of the curve and trying to keep numbers to the essential few, including buyers, agents and other required staff.
July 28 was the first day the association played the caution card again as coronavirus case numbers continue to rise in Sydney and Victoria.
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"We're trying to make sure all the buyers are safe and keep the saleyards open for the benefit of all the vendors and their cattle," association president Tim Walsh told the NVI on Tuesday.
"We thought we'd try to get in front of the restrictions that will probably come anyway."
Those who do attend the sales will need to continue signing in and answering questions about their health and where they have travelled recently. Cattle pens are also being spaced out to help buyers keep a good distance from one another.
"We're trying to limit the amount of people that attend the yards and when they're there, to keep to social distancing rules," Mr Walsh said.
"We have a group of professional buyers, 8 to10, that come every week and do sales around the district ... those are the people we are trying to keep in the saleyards. There's a lot of pressure on those guys from their companies to make sure they're safe in their environment."
We're trying to make sure all the buyers are safe and keep the saleyards open for the benefit of all the vendors and their cattle.
- Tim Walsh, Gunnedah Stock and Station Agents Association
Mr Walsh said about 50 people were at this week's sale but only about a dozen were buyers - the rest were required to run the sale.
"We understand it's a social occasion for people, vendors and the community because it's a community-owned facility - it's owned by the council - but we've just got to be aware at the moment, and unfortunately, for the foreseeable future, that we can't treat it as a community place. It's a work place and is an essential part of the food chain," he said.
"I keep saying to the boys, 'As long as you've got to sign in to get a beer at the pub, you're going to have to sign in at the sales'."
The association shut the sales to the general public when the first lock-down came into place in April, but since restrictions had eased in the last month or two, they had allowed more people to attend. The canteen remains closed.
