A NEW cattle feedlot and live export holding facility will be built south of Townsville in what is seen as a vote of confidence for the industry in the north.
The purpose-built facility will be constructed at Lansdown Station, Calcium, about 40km south of the Port of Townsville, and have the capacity to hold up to 25,000 head on completion. The proponent, Ron Dixon, Woodstock Pastoral Services, has been involved in the live export industry in North Queensland for the past 25 years and identified a gap in the market.
Mr Dixon said he was pleased his development application had been approved by Townsville City Council and hoped early works would commence soon.
"The growth in the live export industry was a factor, with over 300,000 head of cattle going out of Townsville in the last year, obviously demand is increasing for a purpose-built facility in the Townsville and North Queensland region," he said.
"There's really only one other in the area, being Reid River, so this will be the second purpose-built yard.
"The way the red meat industry is going, it is something the general exporters have been wanting for quite a while, and the opportunity was there with the right parcel of land."
The facility will be developed in four stages over a 10-year period, with each stage having a capacity of 5000 standard cattle units.
It will consist of sheltered cattle receiving and handling yards, holding pens, a workshop and hardstand area, feed shed, offices and a weighbridge.
The yards would have an average holding period of two to eight days.
At maximum capacity, the facility would be limited to 150,000 SCU throughput a year due to shipping restrictions at the Port of Townsville.
The short-term feedlot will have a maximum capacity of about 500 SCU.
Townsville City Council planning and development committee chair Les Walker said the development was another vote of confidence in North Queensland.
He said the facility was expected to generate up to 10 full-time jobs once fully operational, and indirectly support many more in the beef farming and related industries.
