With Gooch Agencies’s pending expiration of its six month sale permit, council has reviewed the sale arrangements at the saleyards.

Gooch became the sole operator permitted to sell cattle at the regular store sales, held on the second and fourth Thursday of the month in 2013/2014.

“The purpose of reviewing the saleyard facilities was to ensure they are managed in a fair and equitable manner and to maximise the benefit to the community,” council’s acting general manager, Steve Embry explained.

After a briefing note was presented to council at the March 18 strategic committee meeting, council put a call out for expressions of interest (EOI) of obtaining a selling certificate for 2018/2019 to all licensed agents. 

Since the closing date on May 10, the EOIs have been reviewed and council has determined that from October, the fortnightly Thursday sale will be an open store sale, with the sale opened up to all licensed agents holding a valid selling permit.

In the interim, sales will continue to happen on a fortnightly basis run by Gooch, past the expiration of its permit on June 30.

Council has chosen to implement a timeframe past the past the expiration to allow time for all permit holders to prepare for the start of open sale arrangements, including forward bookings and advertising.

“We believe this approach increases competition and diversity of selling approaches, which will lead to a better outcome for sellers and buyers in the area and improve equity and fairness for users, including increased opportunity for local agents to sell from the saleyards,” Mr Embry said.

The open sales will be implemented on a trial basis for a 12 month period.