A 4000-head cattle sale set down for Blackall this Thursday was cancelled last week when the Blackall-Tambo Regional Council was unable to have its $1m weighbridge redevelopment signed off in time.
Barron Agencies will instead host a sale on Thursday at the Barcaldine saleyards, following on from a 658-head sale there on January 29.
Weaner steers made 340c/kg and cows went for 207c/kg, and Jeremy Barron expected good interest from a full panel of buyers this week for the 1200-head capacity yarding.
“It shows there is demand for sales out here, from people needing to offload body truckloads and who want to sell closer to home,” he said.
He said the delay in the opening of the yards at Blackall was not hurting just his business but the whole community, with the loss of wages, trucks getting food and fuel, and buyers needing accommodation.
“No doubt it’s only a matter of time before the issue at Blackall is sorted, but time’s something we don’t have a lot of at the moment.
“The period in which people need to decide whether they keep feeding or sell is getting shorter.”
He estimated local agents had missed the opportunity to sell 20,000 head of cattle at Blackall since the start of the year, while the redevelopment was in progress.
Untimely intervention
Blackall-Tambo mayor, Andrew Martin, said a “very untimely intervention from bureaucrats” was to blame for this week’s sale cancellation.
“The law decided the shed was an enclosure and therefore a fire risk,” he said.
While he described it as “a stuff-up not of our doing” and said Queensland Fire and Emergency Service officials had changed their mind on protocols, QFES itself had a different story.
According to a spokeswoman, QFES was approached by a building certifier regarding the premises in Blackall.
“We advised them we were happy to provide advice if the appropriate documentation was provided. To date, QFES is yet to be provided with any documentation,” the spokeswoman said, indicating that the responsibility for the delay lay elsewhere.
“It’s essentially separate from us,” she said.
Cr Martin said a suggestion to have town fire trucks with pumps and hoses in attendance at this week’s proposed sale had been turned down.
He said while the solution was an on-site tank and pump, this had not yet been purchased or installed.
He was unable to give an indication of how long it would be before the situation was resolved and the Blackall saleyards were up and running for 2018.
The extra equipment purchase will contribute to a budget overrun of up to $50,000 for the project, according to Cr Martin.