Oakey Beef Exports have confirmed it will buy cattle weighted at the proposed Morven live-weight livestock facility potentially reducing transport costs for cattle producers.
Based on individual cattle purchase agreements, Oakey said its livestock buyers will purchase cattle after delivery and weighting at the planned Morven Rail Hub.
This means western Queensland cattle producers, particularly those situated along the Landborough Highway, will only pay freight costs and weighting fees to the Moven facility with Oakey Beef Exports taking delivery of the sale cattle after they’re weighed. Plus, paying further freighting costs to the Oakey abattoir or Darling Downs Whyalla feedlot and backgrounding properties.
Oakey Beef Exports general manager Pat Gleeson said the strategic location of Morven’s freight hub enables cattle to travel within transport guidelines in a day providing an efficient flow of cattle through the supply chain.
“There are a lot of producers around the Landborough Highway who have to wait to fill a triple road train truck due to it not being profitable to truck a smaller load of feeder or prime cattle to the Darling Downs region,” Mr Gleeson said.
“We plan to buy backgrounder and feeder cattle out of the western region, plus possibly prime cattle, by utilising the Morven Rail Hub.”
Oakey Beef Exports will back-load feeder and backgrounder cattle delivered at the abattoir by western rail on existing trucks currently transporting prime, finished cattle to its Oakey processing facility from Whyalla Feedlot.
The proposed Morven Rail Hub project took a significant step closer to becoming a reality after an announcement the Federal government will contribute $4.18 million in funding towards building the facility.
Mr Gleeson said the future insulation of Morven’s livestock weighing facility will give western Queensland cattle producers more marketing opportunities for their cattle.
But, the increased options won’t just benefit western livestock producers with Oakey Beef also gaining an increased ability to secure cattle supply. Oakey processors are only currently operating at 80 per cent capacity and processing around 950 head of cattle per week.
Oakey Beef Exports livestock manager Kurt Wockner said the biggest advantage of Morven’s facility is for central and northern Queensland cattle producers who traditionally face high freight costs when transporting livestock to Darling Downs feedlots.
“A cattleman at Winton or Boulia, with many of those cattle finding their way into Darling Downs feedlots, can truck cattle directly to the proposed Moven Rail Hub in a day and Oakey Beef Exports can take delivery after they are weighted at the facility with individually negotiated cattle purchase agreements,” Mr Wockner said.
“It provides access for the west to get to Morven in a day’s travel, which is within trucking guidelines and cattle can travel the next day onto where they need to get to by road or rail.
“We continue to aim at filling 20 cattle train wagons a week, which is about 400 head of cattle.”
Mr Wockner said Oakey Beef Exports will use the Morven weigh scales for purchasing feeder cattle, plus prime cattle if it can put a regular rail service together.
Government rail cattle subsidy angers trucking association
Government subsidies for freighting cattle by rail and funding for the planned Morven Rail Hub has angered Livestock and Rural Transporters Association of Queensland.
The organisation's south west delegate David Scott said all primary producers were taxpayers and would indirectly pay for any rail hub funding and subsidies.
“Our issue is the government subsidising the rail hub and transporting of cattle on trains,” Mr Scott said.
“I support rail transport of cattle, but it has to be on a level playing field as truck transport without a government subsidy.
“The Western Australian government has stopped every rail hub and livestock (rail) wagon in the State because they're the most unviable and unprofitable things operating on their freight network.
“I feel it’s going to negatively impact saleyards in central west and south west Queensland as well.”
Oakey Beef Exports livestock manager Kurt Wockner said he expect 50 to 70 per cent of all cattle passing through the Morven Rail Hub to be spelling, individual sale transactions with cattle returning to the paddock on trucks, plus trucking companies sorting out cattle loads to travel further east.
“It’s a benefit for the trucking industry because they won’t have to cross load somewhere along the road and climb-up on trucks to transfer cattle,” Mr Wockner said.
“I believe the freight hub will increase safety for truck drivers and also enable the efficient transfer and spelling of cattle from western Queensland.”
