Key points:
- Saleyard throughput saw a marginal reduction of 1% year-on-year
- 3.7m cattle and 13m sheep were sold via saleyards in the 2022 financial year
- Wagga remains Australia's largest saleyard.
The 2022 results of MLA's annual saleyards survey are now available. Among other insights, this survey shows the total number of cattle and sheep transactions through all Australian saleyards in the 2021–22 financial year.
Some of the key findings from the survey include:
- Saleyard throughput reduced marginally by 1% year-on-year
- 7 million cattle and 13 million sheep were sold via saleyards in the 2022 financial year
- Wagga remains Australia's largest saleyard.
Read on to see more insights from the survey.
Herd and flock retention
The 2022 results show the rebuild has matured and moved towards retention. Producers continue to take advantage of the higher prices, particularly for cattle.
In 2022, there were close to 16.8 million saleyard transactions made across both livestock species, down 1% from the 17 million transactions recorded in the previous financial year.
Cattle transactions were up 7% year on year to 3.7 million head. Increases in cattle supply were recorded in Victoria, Tasmania, NSW, and Queensland, with the most notable shifts in supply being in Charters Towers (up 202%) and Tamworth, which rose to the top of the NSW ranking by recording a supply increase of 23% year-on-year.
Sheep transactions were down 3% year-on-year, at 13 million head. The top five selling centres across all states were Wagga Wagga, Ballarat, Hamilton, Forbes and Bendigo. Wagga remains Australia's largest saleyard.
To view the full results of the 2022 survey, press the button below.
To view the results of past surveys, click here.
