Andrew Wilson has been very busy down in Victoria’s southwest setting up scales and purchasing cattle on behalf of HW Greenham & Sons this year.
He now operates five sets of scales across the region with many farmers now making the transition away from the saleyards to the convenience of payment on the day and avoiding costly fees, commissions, yard dues or curfews.
Andrew is emphatic, “On a 650 kg cow you could be losing up to $180 per head – and that’s money out of your pocket!”
This certainly backs up the theory about the curfew and what farmers need to take into account if selling through the saleyards plus the selling fees and transport.
Les Mitchell says, “Saleyards can dress things up but I guarantee selling to Greenham will work out better for our suppliers.”
Live weight scales have also served to be a quick and convenient method for farmers to maintain cash flow and a great meeting place for locals.
“ The model works very well. Farmers come in, we catch up on various things, swapping information and getting a sense of what’s happening in the market or in milk production,”
Andrew says.
