The Dalby Regional Saleyards is now an accredited European Union cattle selling facility.
Western Downs Regional Council’s facilities spokesman Ray Brown said the European Union Cattle Accreditation Scheme (EUCAS) is set to see greater selling opportunities and export markets open up for vendors selling cattle at the Dalby saleyards.
“The facility is now fully accredited under EUCAS and able to trade cattle for export to countries such as the United Kingdom, France, Germany and Italy,” Councillor Brown said.
In the last financial year, the Dalby Saleyards saw 208,409 head of cattle sold through the facility and this number is expected to increase with the greater trading opportunities available through the EU market, according to Cr Brown.
All six livestock agents who operate at the Dalby saleyards are now EUCAS accredited with the first EU-accredited cattle sale held last Wednesday after the facility became fully accredited on July 1.
“Continuing to lead the way in animal welfare, the Dalby saleyards were also recently accredited under the National Saleyards Quality Assurance program,” Cr Brown said.
He also added that taking the final step in making the Dalby saleyards fully EUCAS accredited was an easy decision to make.
"Despite some constraints on marketing access there's no arguing with the numbers, especially since the EU is Australia's highest value export market on a per tonne basis when it comes to beef," he said.
"By getting the final tick of approval from the Federal Department of Agriculture we're ensuring the vendors can take advantage of the high-value opportunities available to them through the European Union beef market.
"Not only are we keeping up with our competitors, we're also ensuring we're delivering better outcomes for our buyers and sellers as well as opening up more reasons for producers to use our state-of-the-art saleyards."
Cr Brown said by becoming EUCAS accredited the local council are making sure the Dalby saleyards are continuing to lead the way when it comes to animal welfare.
"EUCAS means accredited cattle sold through the saleyards are fully traceable through the national livestock identification network and allows for us to meet the European Union market requirements for separating beef that has been treated with hormonal growth promotants," he said.
"As recognised industry leaders in animal welfare, we're committed to maintaining national standards when it comes to quality assurance that's why we've also made the final step to become fully accredited under the National Saleyards Quality Assurance Program."