SINCE purchasing Schmidt’s Livestock Haulage in 2016 and changing the name to Stockyard Transport, Natasha Johnson and David Elmes have taken the business through a period of significant growth.

Schmidt’s was well-known to both the livestock industry and the wider North Queensland community, as it was owned by current Charters Towers mayor and former Australian Livestock & Rural Transporters Association president Liz Schmidt and her husband Owen.

Ms Johnson is also no stranger to the livestock transport industry, having grown up in Tambo with her family running the now split up Johnson Brothers Transport, which came in at number 14 in the 2013 top 25 livestock transporters list.

“David and I ran a few other businesses but we really wanted to get back into the rural industry at some point,” she said.

“We knew the Schmidts through family connections and that they were thinking about selling the business, which is how it all came about. We traded as Schmidt’s for the first 12 months then changed the name.”

Stockyard Transport then purchased the livestock component of the Emerald-based Duggan Livestock and Bulk Haulage business in 2018 and Shaw’s Livestock Transport from the Caves, near Rockhampton, last year – the two purchases added about 21 decks in capacity.

Through the acquisition of the other companies and purchase of new equipment, Stockyard Transport now runs a fleet of 12 Kenworth (mainly C509) prime movers and four Mack Titans. It has 51 trailers as mix of Haulmark, Brazier and Rhino trailers and a total uplift capacity of 90 decks.

Using depots in Townsville and Emerald, the company does a wide array of work servicing producers, feedlots, processors, saleyards and the Townsville live export facility. Stockyard has also purchased land in Charters Towers, which it plans to develop for another depot.

Operating in both the remote parts of Western Qld and more populated centres on the east coast, Stockyard runs everything from b-triple road trains to b-doubles and 4.5 deck “crocodile units”.

Access and roads important to the industry

Alongside growing the Stockyard business, Ms Johnson is an active member of the Livestock & Rural Transporters Association of Queensland as the Far North delegate. She said access to areas without having to break down trailer configurations and improving infrastructure were two of the industry’s biggest priorities.

“We have a lot of terrible roads in Qld, it is raining at the moment and it doesn’t take much to put roads underwater.  Whilst the Bruce Highway is receiving attention, money is needed in western corridors, for example there is only 10kms left to seal on the The Lynd highway north of Hughenden to make an all-weather road through to the Atherton Tablelands tablelands.

“There are still a lot of permits and red tape we are going through with access.

“We just had a win with the Rockhampton meatworks. We were getting a permit each year to allow road trains into there, now it is non-permitted. There are other routes we use a lot that we are trying to get gazetted.”

While Stockyard and the LRTAQ have been working with Governments and councils to improve access and infrastructure like roads and cross-loading facilities, Ms Johnson said she would also like to see the livestock industry play more of a role in helping the transporters.

“Feedlots with curfews are an issue for us as a business, because trucks often have to load in the late afternoon. They then have to travel overnight to unload in the morning as they are unable to reach the feedlots before they close in the early-mid afternoon.

“Washdown facilities are also an issue because there is not enough of them and or they just don’t work. If we were to have a disease outbreak (lumpy skin, FMD), then we are going to need to be washing our crates regularly.

“As an industry, between feedlots, abattoirs and saleyards, everyone needs to get on board with getting those facilities upgraded and functional. These are the facilities where we are delivering to and we need to be able to give our trailers a quick washdown before proceeding to the next property to load.”

Booking inquiries: natasha@stockyardtpt.com.au or phone 07 4778 4488

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