THE Victorian Livestock Exchange (VLE) has announced a major change in its operations, starting from July 2024.

All sales conducted by the VLE, to be held at their Leongatha Saleyards, a state-of-the-art facility that offers the best conditions for buyers and sellers alike, will now take place on Tuesdays and Thursdays with the first prime sale scheduled for July 2 and the first store sale on July 4.

“It is a huge boost for Leongatha with a significant increase in throughput,” Managing Director Brian Paynter stated.

“It will be the biggest and busiest sale yards in Victoria.”

The decision on the sale days and times was the outcome of an extensive consultation process involving stakeholders and broader industry participants.

“It will be all systems go with the last sale in Pakenham at the end of June,” Brian added noting that the VLE listened to the feedback and opinions of everyone involved and reached the consensus.

“The change in market days is a hybrid of Pakenham and Leongatha – we have done our best to fit in lots of agents and throughput.”

A staged transition with gradual developments, the infrastructure is already in place with additional extensions underway.

The new weekly sale days and times at the Leongatha VLE are:

Prime (fat) Sales: Every Tuesday at 8.30am

Store Sales: Every Thursday at 9am

Other sale days, including dairy and sheep sales, will be held as needed and announced soon.

The VLE thanks everyone for their support and cooperation during this transition and looks forward to seeing you at the Leongatha Saleyards soon.