Farmers unable to feed their stock are being forced to send them to abattoirs such as HW Greenham and Sons at Tongala.

Greenham's livestock manager Graeme Pretty said processing numbers had dropped slightly since October, but the plant was still processing about 700 cattle a day.

In October, the processor halted buying in the Goulburn and Murray valleys to ensure it could cope with supply.

Mr Pretty said at present the processor was handling all the cattle coming forward.

"There's a hell of a lot of cattle being sold out of the Goulburn Valley," Mr Pretty said.

"We process 700 cattle a day all year round, but usually we're forced to source them from interstate because we don't get enough from the Goulburn Valley and surrounding areas."

He said at present almost all cattle processed was sourced from the region.

Mr Pretty said cattle currently being processed were of noticeably less weight.

"The drought is taking its toll on cattle; the nights get colder and cattle start to suffer and lose weight," he said.

DPI senior dairy extension officer Jason Leeman said it was difficult to calculate how many cows had left the region.

Source: Country News