No intention to close saleyards
Suggestions made elsewhere in Gippsland that the Warragul saleyards might close have been strongly refuted by the manager John Cochrane.
“Any such claims are false; we have no intention of going anywhere,” he said.
Latrobe City council has allocated $10,000 to a feasibility study into establishing a livestock exchange in the area, partly based on claims by some farmers and stock agents that saleyards at Warragul and Sale are inadequate and “unconfirmed rumours” about possible closure of the Warragul yards.
Mr Cochrane rejected reasons advanced in Latrobe why Warragul’s future was clouded.
He said claims that there was a problem with the saleyards being close to Warragul’s CBD, a lack of access for B-double trucks, old concrete floors in the yards and increased traffic since the opening of the road underpass between Queen and Alfred Sts were all wrong.
“Of course we can accommodate B-double transports; there were four there on Wednesday,” Mr Cochrane stated.
He said numbers of cattle yarded were also strong.
Owner of the Warragul saleyards, the Dineen Group, issued a statement strongly denying there were any plans to close the yards.
“False rumours are unhelpful to farmers presently facing difficult times and it was important to support farmers by offering a facility in proximity to where a large number of them are located”.
The statement added that improved access since completion of the third railway crossing had improved access to the Warragul selling centre, including for B-double trucks, while alleviating traffic congestion in the CBD.
Criticism of flooring at the yards was also rejected, the Dineen Group pointing out there was a mix of hard and soft floors with the majority being soft floor.
Mr Cochrane said he was unaware of any concerns about the adequacy of the Sale saleyards that has recently undergone a significant upgrade.