THE hands of about 200 people shot into the air yesterday, to show a unified opposition to post-sale weighing at Barnawartha North saleyards.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
A change of venue to the Barnawartha Soldiers Memorial Hall didn’t prove big enough to cater for the gathering of farmers, agents, livestock transporters and members of the Victorian Farmers’ Federation and NSW Farmers.
People travelled up to five hours to voice their concerns over the future of the meat industry, where they not only rejected post-sale weighing at Barnawartha, but as an industry practise.
The two-hour meeting was put on by the state farming organisations to gain momentum for a Senate enquiry into the red meat industry.
Some farmers became emotional telling of how the changes had affected their livelihood, while others made a passionate stand against the practise, followed by the applause of the hall.
Aside from post-sale weighing, farmers were also concerned about the growing power of meat processors who were diminishing competition.
The meeting came as a reaction to a boycott by up to 10 meat processors at Barnawartha on February 17, which led to a change to post-sale weighing at the yard.
