UNLOADING cattle at Teys Australia’s Naracoorte abattoir has become much safer and less stressful on truck drivers, abattoir staff and cattle.
Last month, a new two-deck high cattle unloading facility, costing $750,000, became operational.
It is part of a $3 million-plus upgrade to animal welfare and refrigeration on the site in the past year.
The first of its kind in SA, the 20-metre-long fixed platform is designed to handle a wide configuration of stock crates from B-doubles and semi trailers to single axle trucks, accommodating the 4500 to 5000 cattle delivered each week. Heavy vehicles can either be side or rear unloaded.
The cattle quietly walk off the truck onto a 90-degree incline curved ramp with non-slip concrete floor. This leads into a covered round yard filled with 500 millimetres of bark chip soft flooring.
Along the length of the platform and ramp there is a walkway for stock people and drivers to keep the cattle moving without having direct contact with them.
Teys Naracoorte plant general manager Bill Adcock said truck driver safety was their number one priority, but there were many other benefits, including faster turnaround for drivers and good animal welfare.
“We had a truckie have a bad fall off a truck here 2.5 years ago, so it was important we found a way (where) truck drivers were not climbing up their crates,” he said.
“The old ramp has served us well for more than 20 years, but we needed to maintain modern safety standards.”
The investment is also part of Teys' commitment to minimise stress on cattle and maximise their grading for high quality brands underpinned by MSA and the Pasturefed Cattle Assurance System.
“We had some slipping with the old ramp, but the cattle are calm walking off and we will get less dark cutting and better meat quality,” Mr Adcock said.
The 3m-wide ramp will also reduce the instances of bruising, with cattle moving freely through rather than squeezing down the 1.5m-wide old ramp.
“We unloaded a B-double in eight minutes yesterday, rather than the 20 minutes or longer it took on the old one,” Mr Adcock said.
Crane Livestock Transport director Rusty Crane said the modern unloading facility was working well.
“It doesn’t get any better than this,” he said.
“The safety side is bar none and while some drivers were unsure at first, they have adapted to the new system easily.
“One size does not fit all when it comes to trucks, but Teys’ willingness to listen to our input and make some changes has been excellent.”
