Australia - Day 6

May 28, 2012

This morning started out at the Wagga Wagga Livestock Marketing Centre (center). It is a very large place that sells cattle and sheep, but we got see the cattle sale. After cattle are dropped off, they get drafted (processed) and put into sale groups. For example, vealers is the term for cattle just weaned off their mums (dam). We also saw heifers, bulls, and steers sold. Agents sell the cattle and it is their job to know the buyers and who buys what type of cattle. Bidding is very subtle and no names are called out during the auction. One gentleman bid by raising his right index finger while his hands were folded over his desk. Approximately 500 head of cattle are sold during one hour and it was very impressive how the system worked. Out back, many of the people working had horses, either quarter horses or Australian stock horses. This is the first time that we have seen horses working. The second stop not very far away was the Cargill abattoir, a joint partnership between the Teyes family and Cargill. To me, this plant was much more Americanized for lack of a better word, and only beef cattle were processed. We were also able to learn more about the grading system. There are two systems in place the Aus Meat and MSA systems that may work together and separately as well. Not every carcass is MSA graded. A worker on the line let me see the grading cards and they are similar to what we use in the United States, however, the score is assigned a number as opposed to Choice marbling score. The group ate lunch and had time to shop downtown in Temora. The final stop for the day was Jindalee Feedlot. The yard gets in about 1000 head per week to feed and ships the same amount to the abattoir in Wagga weekly. 90-95% of the cattle come directly off the farm and of the 17,000 head feedlot only a small percentage aren't black. This yard doesn't do any custom feeding and gives implants. Feed stuffs are purchased from farmers nearby. Although much smaller, this yard reminded me of the ones back home. Dinner was at the Victorian Hotel (bar). It was a very good meal. In the end, the weather was fabulous and it was a great day. It's hard to believe that a majority of our trip is over already.