Mortlake saleyards booming after closure of Warrnambool facility

Business manager Colin Ryan said Warrnambool stock agents were now working from out of the site and the number of cattle being sold at sales had increased.

"Our numbers are certainly up," Mr Ryan said.

"We had 1100 for the first fat sale and we were up to 1500 for our second sale, which was on Monday."

Mr Ryan said this was triple the numbers at some sales at the facility last year.

"We've got all of the Warrnambool agents operating at our yards - they've been made very welcome," he said.

Mr Ryan said works to build bigger holding yards at the site were under way.

"We're in the process of expanding and we will continue to do so to meet demand," he said.

Mr Ryan said the closure of the Warrnambool saleyards had positive spin-on effects for other facilities.

"The closure has cemented Mortlake as the regional saleyards this side of the state," he said.

"Our yards are regarded by the users here and all around the country as the most modern and efficient in Australia."

Mr Ryan said about 4000 cattle would be sold at a sale at the Mortlake facility on Thursday.

The Standard reported last week an expansion of the Hamilton saleyards was on the cards.

Southern Grampians Shire Council mayor David Robertson said the increase in business after the closure of the saleyards was good news for Hamilton.

"We've got a fantastic sheep yarding, and we'll continue to improve the cattle-selling facilities and expand those," he said.

"We're there for the long haul."

Cr Robertson said the shire had just completed a strategic review of the facility focusing on what it needed to do to accommodate the future of marketing livestock.

"We will make further investments in our selling systems," he said.

"Whether the future is electronic selling, what we've got to do we will make that investment."

The final sale at the Warrnambool saleyards was held on December 28.

It came after a 4-3 vote of councillors in November to close the site.

Association secretary Peter Finnigan said at the time it had been a hard day.

"It's a tough day for Warrnambool - for the agents, the farmers, the buyers and everybody involved in the industry," Mr Finnigan said.

"You just move on. People have made a decision that's out of our control."

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