A soft floor can have a huge influence on the condition of saleyard stock.
There is no doubt that having a comfortable footing can ensure cattle stay in good nick, with less weight-loss percentages, and help prevent lameness.
Sometimes it can also mean the difference between attracting buyers or not.
Ensuring that livestock can enter and leave yards in the best condition possible is why soft flooring has become an increasingly popular trend in cattle markets across Australia over the past decade.
Reported benefits include better liveweight yields, with losses between only 2 per cent and 3pc from full weight to curfew weight, compared with 5-7pc on concrete, and less-to-no foot soreness plus better animal welfare.
The Mount Gambier saleyard is the latest in the State to convert to soft flooring.
Soft rubber matting is set to be installed in all the saleyard's Glenburnie pens by "the end of the week", according to saleyard manager Mike Atwell. 
For the past two years Mt Gambier had soft sawdust flooring in its undercover receival and delivery pens.
But it was decided that sawdust would not be a suitable floor covering throughout the rest of the yards, because it would cause drainage problems in the often-wet climate of the Lower South East.
Also, there was only partial roofing throughout the complex.
After trialling several types of rubber matting, RPS Surefoot mats have been installed. This type of matting is already is use at several saleyard complexes in Victoria and New South Wales.
Much of the decision to go with soft flooring came after discussions with meat companies, who had said they would not be buying cattle off cement.
During the weaner sales earlier this year the Naracoorte Livestock Exchange installed temporary soft flooring, putting woodchips in all of the yards.
At that time, Naracoorte saleyard manager Richard James said converting to a soft-floor selling centre from mid-December onwards had helped boost yardings, and the number of buyers.
"We have had really good feedback from buyers, some of whom have said they were only buying here because of the soft flooring," Mr James said.
At the conclusion of the seasonal weaner and female sales, woodchips were removed from the yards, with the exception of receival areas.
Other South Australian cattle sale centres to have soft flooring include the SA Livestock Exchange at Dublin, which is totally under cover, and has a clay base and a natural manure-based soft floor that is cleaned-out twice a year. Manager Andrew Lepley said the cattleyards had been soft-floor since the market opened in 2003. As a result, there was plenty of comment from buyers about better killing-weight percentages.
Source: farmonline.com.au
Back to News Headlines