Gunnedah Saleyards redesign opens up opportunities

Following the announcement of $14 million in state funding on Tuesday, Peter McArthur told the NVI that new technology was vital for producers and the saleyards.

"These yards are very old now and ... we need to look at interfacing the individual pens with things like Auctions Plus and Farm Gate so we can not only sell these cattle to the buyers we've got here on the day but also buyers all over the country," he said.

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Mr McArthur runs more than 2000 sheep and more than 100 cattle at Emerald Hill, Mullaley and Manilla but had many more before the drought hit and he was forced to sell.

The producer sold small numbers through the Gunnedah Saleyards but used Auctions Plus for larger consignments, saying "the majority of producers are going that way".

Mr McArthur will also be glad to see the old set of scales replaced to speed up processing.

"That's been a source of frustration for producers ... we need to be able to process those cattle on those scales as quickly as possible. The longer that we have to wait, the more the stock are losing weight," he said.

Gunnedah Stock and Station Agent Association president Tim Walsh said the overhaul was critical to keep up with the competition.

"What's there works perfectly but time moves on a bit and we're in a competitive environment and we have some opposition saleyards close by that are privately owned and new and big, flash and shiny, and we've got to keep up," he said.

"The future of the saleyards is really dependent on how saleyards operate and how saleyard users interact with animal welfare and biosecurity and all those things are constantly changing and we have to keep up with them to continue to be a viable point of sale."

Mr Walsh said the association was "over the moon" that discussions starting two years ago had resulted in "very positive thing for the Gunnedah Saleyards and the Gunnedah community"

"I do think it's a great result that rather than being privatised, the saleyards will remain in community ownership ... vendors will get the long-term advantage of competitive cost structure rather than be at the whims of a super company or a private investor," he said.

One of the big wins for the association in the redevelopment is simple logistics - the office spaces and the canteen will finally be on the same side of the road as the yards.

"I know it's been a bugbear of council's as well ... having part of the facility on one side of a major highway and the yards on the other is not ideal," Mr Walsh said.

In the master plan, the existing canteen and office will be replaced by a "state-of -the-art" cafe, office and education centre.

Gunnedah Chamber of Commerce president Juliana McArthur believes the new spaces will encourage networking and export opportunities because "they can be a meeting place between the bar and the seller".

"[The redevelopment] is only going to encourage business in this town and keep us innovative and competitive," she said.

"Agriculture is a big employer in this region - it's one of the biggest - so having a more efficient and updated saleyards is going to encourage producers to keep pushing through Gunnedah ... we can't be the fourth largest saleyards in NSW and have antiquated saleyards."