CATTLE sales are set to resume at Northern Rivers Livestock Exchange (NRLX) after seven months of dispute between the stakeholders, with a new Lessee and Manager launching its five-year tenure on Friday.

Casino-district livestock agents have welcomed the appointment of Outcross Agri-Services as the Lessee and Manager.

Tom Newsome, Outcross Agri-Services managing director is the new operator of NRLX at Casino.

Outcross already operates at key selling centres including Roma and Blackall in Queensland; Dubbo and Forbes in NSW; Yass, Moss Vale, Mortlake, Hamilton and Yea in Victoria; and  Naracoorte and Mt Gambier in South Australia.

Casino Auctioneers Association president Andrew Summerville said negotiations with Outcross were professional, and the company’s deep understanding of the livestock industry helped all parties reach an agreement promptly.

“This is a well-timed outcome as many producers sell lines of calves in the first six months of the year, and it will allow feature sales to progress as normal,” Mr Summerville said.

“The CAAI is looking forward to the future and thanks everyone for their support over the last seven months.”

Richmond Valley Council acting general manager, Angela Jones said the appointment of Outcross would ensure that NRLX continued to grow and retain its reputation as the leading saleyard facility in northern NSW.

Ms Jones said the Council had a vision for the facility to become a modern saleyards for the benefit of all stakeholders and ratepayers, which met industry standards for safety, animal welfare and environmental management and continued to achieve top returns for vendors and quality cattle for buyers.

The appointment of Outcross to support NRLX’s next phase was a win-win for all stakeholders.

“NRLX is the largest cattle selling centre in the Northern Rivers and is a huge contributor to the local economy,” Ms Jones said. “Benefits flow to local growers by having a facility close to their operations, stock and station agents who use the yards to run their businesses, transport operators who move stock and purchase fuel, locals who work there, and the businesses who support the NRLX operations and its users.

Outcross managing director Tom Newsome said the company was pleased to be involved in re-booting NRLX and shoring up the centre’s future as a premier livestock selling centre.

“Casino is an important location, drawing cattle in significant numbers and buyers from all major processors to compete on a throughput of up to 130,000 head per year,” Mr Newsome said.

“Outcross is looking forward to operating at NRLX. It’s a fantastic facility, one of best in the nation, and we believe we can operate efficiently to the benefit of vendors and buyers.”