As I sit in my office at Central Tablelands Livestock Exchange, Carcoar, to pen this column the late winter sun is streaming down across green paddocks with the Central Tablelands primed to go into what is shaping as an absolutely magnificent spring. With the seemingly endless wet weeks of June and July from one end of the state to another, practically the entire eastern seaboard is set for a great growing season...Whooo Whoo you can’t just cut and paste columns from two years ago!
Back to reality!
My turn at the keyboard for the Stock Talk column once again begins with a lament for the poor seasonal offering we are being served up across the Central Tablelands.
The entire district – with perhaps the possible exception of the southern edge towards Cowra – continues to be in the grip of the big dry.
Producers continue to be in full on feeding mode with seemingly little chance of respite in the medium term.
Everybody seems to have set themselves for the slog through until October and to reassess then.
God help us if remains dry at the end of winter.
I have remarked over recent times the biggest difference this current drought has when compared to any other we have experienced is the unbelievable stock prices being enjoyed.
Sheep and lambs continue to break record after record and wool prices are back with a vengeance.
Cattle, while maybe not at the dizzy heights of 18 months ago, continue along at historically high levels with seemingly plenty of upside if things turned around seasonally.
No mistake, things are tough on the land, but they would be a whole lot tougher if like in previous dry times prices were through the floor.
It can only point to good rewards when – and it will – the season turns the corner to better times.
CTLX will clock up its first 10-year anniversary of service last week.
CTLX was the first of a number of new modern facilities that we have seen open since across NSW and Victoria helping to bring the saleyard sector well and truly into the 21st century.
This reinvestment in saleyard infrastructure – long overdue – has seen the sector remain a vibrant and vital part of the livestock supply chain.
Looking back it is hard to believe the arguments that went back and forth for almost 25 years before Carcoar got off the ground.
The amalgamation of small, old and in some cases dilapidated local facilities into larger regional complexes has proven its self-time and again to be a winning strategy for all involved but foremost it has been the producers who have been the winners.
The ability to handle large numbers of livestock through these modern facilities in a safe and efficient manner, with producers having the confidence that they are getting full rate for their stock has seen saleyard throughput maintained and increased.
It’s the continued maintenance of this transparent market place that in its self is the greatest dividend for our primary producers.
A market without a market place can easily become manipulated.
There are plenty of industries in which you can find clear examples of this - ask a dairy farmer how the milk job is going at present!
Saleyards are far from without fault but the continued maintenance of this most transparent of market places is vital for the continued prosperity and growth of the entire livestock producing sector into the future.