Beef trade site holders count the costs, but say it's all worth it

While there's been plenty of people vocalising their concern at price hikes, those on the ground in Rocky today described it as a valuable social and marketing event.

Beef Australia CEO Simon Irwin said overall costs had risen by about 30 per cent since the 2021 event.

Earlier this year, producers noticed stud cattle registration fees had risen by 25 per cent.

Dale Humphries of Wattle Grove Speckle Park, Oberon NSW, chose to pay for a cattle trade site to display 16 bulls and 14 heifers before putting them to auction on Wednesday night.

He said his costs had risen by at least 40pc since the previous event.

The three sites cost him $10,000 each, but with hire equipment and additional elements like sawdust and power, he was looking at around $120,000 in total to display cattle.

That was not including two weeks at a hotel at $15,000, camping accommodation and wages for 10 staff members, transport expenses, and stud cattle costs.

He hoped the sale would bring in $100,000 to help cover expenses, but considered Beef more an opportunity to network and advertise.

"It's only on every three years and we use it as a marketing tool, so we justify it by spreading the cost out over three years," he said.

To cut costs, Mr Humphries chose to reduce his stud entries to one bull this year.

While he said he would have to re-evaluate his budget and attendance in 2027 as he was at expenditure limit, he was forgiving about the price hikes.

"Everything in the world has gone up, it's not just Beef, I don't want to sound like I am against them [Beef] because I know what it costs to run an event and it's one of the biggest events in the country," he said.

"Everyone can have a whinge and create issues but it is what it is, they're limited for space and limited for where they can fit people and they're trying to fit in as many cattle as they can."

JJ Fitting owner Jason Jeynes and his partner and managing assistant Julie Sheehan, Kraken Brangus stud, Dalma have also chosen to present cattle at a trade site despite the costs.

In total they'd trucked in 58 head of cattle between their trade site and stud cattle show team, made up of their own and stud animals from around the country.

They also had 13 staff members joining them at the event.

Ms Sheehan was of the same opinion in that higher costs were just a reality in 2024.

"We are of the opinion that everything else has gone up so you've got to expect things to go up," she said.

"The other side of it is this is the biggest target market audience in the Australian beef industry and it only happens once every three years, so in the big scheme of things if you average your advertising spend out over the three years, it probably doesn't work out all that bad.

"We are quite happy to invest in it and we see the benefits that it brings to the CQ area. We know the amount of money we spend locally for Beef is considerable."

The only other event they committed to having a trade site was AgGrow, which she said was cheaper but a different atmosphere since a marquee set-up wasn't required.

She acknowledged that prices had risen on extras like sawdust, but did not want the Beef committee to be blamed for reduced access to the product and higher prices.

"We can't expect Beef to absorb all the cost, if they've got to pay more, of course we have to pay more."

Something she did take issue with was not being able to have tea and coffee facilities at the trade sites.

She understood wanting to look after stall holders, but said it would be really challenging for them as food stalls were a fair distance and it would also be costly to be get everyone fed.

She was also concerned about not being able to provide beverages or snacks for a diabetic employee.

The other side of it was mental health.

"The has been a major industry and networking event since 1988 and a big part of that is being able to say, 'Do you want a cuppa? Let's sit down and have a yarn'," she said.

"This is the opportunity for people to get off properties that may only come to one big event of the year, if they can't sit down and have a cuppa with someone that they haven't seen in years, what is it all about?

"I think sometimes the rules are made and it's all good on paper but it can be missing the focus, the genuine intent of where it was started from.

"You're not going to say, 'I'll meet you at 10am over at this cafe and we'll sit down and have a coffee and talk about genetics'. It just won't happen," she said.

The other challenge raised was the distance of the camping area from their site for staff shift changeovers.

"It takes a longer and you've got to give them a vehicle to do it and allocate a lot more time for swap overs. And we can't just let a 16 year old girl walk over to camp alone," she said.

"But we really want to reiterate that it's not a complaint, it's just an observation.

"The committee cop a fair bit of flack, but not many people want to put their hand up for the job," she said.

"They're doing a great job with the choices that they have."