Cock a doodle done?
Geelong’s poultry marketers fear for their futures
POULTRY sellers are still waiting to see whether they’ll get the chop from the Geelong Saleyards after a council decision to end sheep and cattle sales at the site from August 31.
Administrators last week decided to close the yards amid concerns over safety and the potential cost of bringing the 148-year-old site up to scratch.
Poultry sales will continue each Monday but council said it would “engage with operators of Geelong’s poultry sales to determine the future of sales at the site”.
Seller Graham Corbett, who has been managing the poultry sales for three years, said he was still waiting to hear from council representatives about his future.
“They’re supposed to communicate with us, but they haven’t done that . . . I don’t know what they’re thinking,” Mr Corbett said.
“We’re committed to this site until we know otherwise.”
Mr Corbett said monthlong confusion over the yards had hurt sales.
“It’s gone downhill because of the uncertainty, and people aren’t coming because they don’t even know if it’s on,” he said.
“I feel for the farmers — the administrators really don’t know what goes on in the country as far as the farmers are concerned.”
Mr Corbett said the poultry sales serviced hundreds of hobby farmers across the western district.
“It’s a shame it has come to this,” he said.
Poultry sales have also been affected by animal rights protesters — 15 activists from the Animal Justice Party and Melbourne Chicken Save regularly attend the yards to highlight what they call “a major problem in health and handling”.
Mr Corbett said he was operating a legitimate business, and had invested money in new cages and followed all compliance measures to work at the site.
The last sheep sale before the saleyards’ closure will be held next Monday week.
The Geelong council has now endorsed a $130,000, five- year sustainable agribusiness strategy for the region, in part to replace the saleyards loss.
It was one of three studies that the administrators had wanted to complete before deciding on the saleyards.
The council has set aside $65,000 in this year’s budget to start implementing priorities set out in the strategy.