CTLX has made huge progress in attracting numbers since opening on a 93 hectare site near Carcoar in early 2008 and is now the second biggest cattle selling centre in NSW behind Dubbo.

Incredibly, CTLX moved from 39th to second place on the list, according to the latest National Livestock Reporting Service figures.

CTLX also made huge inroads into the sheep market coming in from 10th place to fourth.

It’s a far cry from the predictions about the future of CTLX following council’s decision to close the Bathurst Saleyards.

There were howls of protest from local producers, many of whom claimed they would not support the Carcoar venture which they said was doomed to fail.

CTLX Carcoar manager Nathan Morris said yesterday that in the 2008-09 financial year about 138,000 head of cattle went through the facility along with 573,000 sheep and lambs.

“On average that’s more than 10,000 sheep, 1700 fat cattle and 4000 store cattle each week,” he said. “It’s indicative of the good returns producers are getting. Going back a few months we broke the record highest priced pen of lambs ever sold in NSW at $188 per head for some heavy prime lambs.

“The store cattle market has also make a mark and really increased in numbers with buyers from NSW, Queensland and Victoria looking for restockers.”

Mr Morris said producers in the Bathurst region were opposed to the change, but were now accepting CTLX.

“The proof is in the pudding,” he said. “They’ve put the old saleyards issue behind them and moved on. The hardest hurdle was convincing the old timers to embrace change.”

As for the future, Mr Morris said CTLX is now looking to draw from as far a field as Goulburn and Crookwell.

“We anticipate further growth over the next five years,” he said.

The CTLX development includes 3.6 hectares of sheep and cattle pavilions.

Its cattle yards have an undercover capacity of 5,700, including 4,000 in selling pens while the sheep yards have an undercover capacity of 32,500 head, including 26,000 in selling pens.