Related: MidCoast Council and Gooch Agencies will upgrade Nabiac's saleyards
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
It was the start of a new beginning for the MidCoast Council operated Nabiac saleyards after it was threatened with closure late last year.
Last Saturday, the first monthly store sale for 2017 was held at the newly revamped saleyards inside the Nabiac Showground complex.
More than 550 head of good quality cattle were yarded, with buyers coming from Forbes, the Hunter Valley, New England, Wauchope and local districts.
It was standing room only as more than 300 buyers and on-lookers crowded into the sale complex to support the monthly sale.
Gloucester-based Gooch Agencies auctioneer Bill Dwyer said everything operated extremely well from the flow of the cattle to the support from locals and visitors.
“The stands were full to overflowing; it was wall to wall people,” he said.
He said the market was very strong with the market up to $200 dearer in parts than recent local sales.
Cows and calves sold to $1800, bullocks topped out at $1490 and yearling steers going to a top of $1170.
Nabiac is now back on track, Bill said.
Stage one of the three stage renovation project being undertaken and financed by Gooch Agencies, was completed last week.
To date the project, expected to cost $100,000, has included 45 new cattle yards, a new race and crush and an increase in the height of the sale ring fence.
In just over a month the Nabiac cattle yards have gone from being destined for closure to become a shining example of what can be achieved when a community rallies together, James de Berg said.
“In a little over a month the team from Gooch Agencies, locals and local businesses have worked, in sometimes sweltering conditions, to complete stage one of the cattle yard rebuild and the new yards couldn’t look better.
The Gooch Agencies Cattle sale is held monthly in conjunction with the Nabiac Markets and the Nabiac Goods and Chattel Sale.
Stage two of the renovations begins on Monday with the construction of additional cattle yards followed by stage three later in the year.
With little warning, council made the decision the close the saleyards just days before Christmas following an independent audit on the conditions of the yards which found the saleyards posed a safety risk for the public.
The first sale for 2017 was planned for January 14, with 250 head already booked in back in December.