The ongoing stand-off between Casino livestock agents and the owner of the Northern Rivers Livestock Exchange, Richmond Valley Council, went to the next level on Wednesday morning with the first combined agencies prime cattle sale under the rotunda at Lismore.
Subscribe now for unlimited access to all our agricultural news
across the nation
or signup to continue reading
The 1150 head on offer were sold and weighed by 1pm with everyone working together.
The usual prime sale at Casino was cancelled last week - and is off at this stage for next week - with no agents signing a new contentious contract, due to increased fees to the agents - not the vendor - and a fractious move to handle all cattle from the fall of the hammer.
Producers who agreed to be interviewed backed their agents, saying it was those with a lifetime's experience with cattle that provided the right service to customers.
Any suggestion of the council handling cattle after the fall of the hammer was dismissed as "not right".
Coraki cattle trader Noel Thompson blamed the council for messing with producers' livelihood.
"The agents stand up for us; they come out for a half day and help with cattle work for no money," he said. "They know how to look after their own customers. To me this is just a money grab from the council. They don't know what the agents do for us. What frustrates me is the council has not met with the producers to hear their view.
"Agents do a lot of work outside the saleyards for no pay. In the floods they gathered cattle at no cost to us. You could almost call it charity, but it comes out in the commission at the end of the day. The council won't come out and do that."
Tony Lamont, Tomki, said he was happy to travel to Lismore for a sale but rued the fact NRLX was a state of the art facility and would handle numbers much better than Lismore.
Lismore City mayor Steve Krieg welcomed the move to the rotunda.
"It's good to see our saleyards full on a Wednesday," Mr Krieg said. "The more business that comes into Lismore the better."
Australian Livestock and Property Agents Association chief executive Peter Baldwin, Sydney, was relieved to see a sale being held. "From a peak industry body perspective it's great to see what agents do best - servicing the vendor," Mr Baldwin said.
Former agent and past state member for Lismore Thomas George said the saleyards were an "essential service" that was supported in its construction by state and federal money along with local ratepayers funds.
"I call on the council to sit down and try and work out a solution that suits both parties," he said.
Meanwhile, the Casino All-Breeds bull sale will go ahead at the NRLX on July 29 as previously planned.
Council's general manager Vaughan Macdonald said the sale was "essential" for stud vendors and the council would again absorb the NRLX's running costs for the day, estimated at $4500, which "contributes to the committee's generous donations to local charities".
