That will clash with the weekly sale at Pakenham held each Thursday and may force agents at that centre, also run by the VLE, to go fortnightly.

That would see the two privately run saleyards operating their store sale week-about each Thursday, effectively pairing with either the Sale (run by the VLE) or Bairnsdale store sales on Fridays.

There is a strong belief that two sales a week on consecutive days, with a wider selection of cattle in greater numbers, can increase competition.

VLE chief Graham Osborne says market forces will probably see Pakenham go fortnightly.

“There are a couple of key drivers behind this change,” Mr Osborne says.

“The sheer logistics of getting the store cattle sold and out of the VLE Leongatha yards on Tuesdays and then backing up with a bullock sale and all that entails the following day is difficult for agents and saleyards staff. There is a crowding of time and yards.

“The second point is that a Tuesday store sale clashes with major prime stock sales at other centres across the state. Because of that clash, agents at Leongatha have been forced to support their own sale to a greater degree than elsewhere. In that they've done a terrific job. The reality is that they have had to carry their own sale.”

A change in sale day to Thursday could see agents from other centres busy on Tuesdays source cattle at Leongatha.

Leongatha holds its first Thursday sale today (April 17) with 1500 head.

Graham says the soft floors at VLE Leongatha and VLE Pakenham are a “good fit” with the sales at Sale and Bairnsdale.

He says the weekly Pakenham sale enjoyed a good run of sales in 2003 and 2004 and still conducts important seasonal sales. He says he understands why Pakenham agents were not keen to go fortnightly but believes the merits of the Thursday/Friday paired sale each week will be good for the industry.

Two sales each week, one at each end of Gippsland, has the potential to attract more buyers. Buyers attract cattle and cattle attract buyers.

“No one is claiming ownership of the idea. If it works everyone will claim it; if it doesn’t ...

“But I think it will work,” Graham says.

He says the whole industry is undergoing change with store cattle sales in Victoria gaining more prominence each year.

“Feedlots are currently doing it tough with high feed grain prices and the strong dollar, but that will change and the feeder industry and backgrounders will get going again,” he says.

* * *

I stocked up on woollen pull-overs at the Aklanda factory outlet in Brunswick last week and was reminded that this company is probably the last knitting mill operating in Australia. In a sign of the times, most knitwear now comes out of China.

Owner Spiros says Aklanda itself can’t source local yarn – it comes in from China, but it is Australian wool. And he says they have great difficulty getting workers, with most candidates declaring they want cash so they won’t affect their welfare cheques.

Attempts to get guest workers has also not worked. The clothing industry is not on the government radar as far as guest workers are concerned.

This is just another example of how our manufacturing base has been eroded by economic forces (low labour costs overseas) and government policy – probably to our eventual detriment.

Anyone wanting top-class woollen knitwear should visit the Aklanda factory outlet. The knitwear might be last season’s stock, but good knitwear never goes out of fashion.

* * *

THE US and South Korea still can’t agree on beef access arrangements, despite two days of technical talks.

The first meeting since October saw South Korean negotiators offer to allow both boneless and bone-in beef from the US, but only from cattle younger than 30 months of age. The US continues to push for no age limit and a fully open market.

While negotiations are set to continue, South Korean farmers are asking the technical talks be halted.

* * *

THE market for store cattle at the first of three sales on the Monaro this week opened strongly at Cooma yesterday (April 16) with the first three lanes totalling 600 head, averaging $615 a head.

These were at the heavier end and sold from $520 to the sale top of $715.

Top price was paid for 10 yearling Angus offered by Jim Barry, Kergunyah, Jindabyne.

Liveweight prices ranged from 170 cents a kilogram to in excess of 200c/kg on estimated weights.

Victorian buying support was very strong.