Season heading in the right direction

AT THE end of winter 2024 we are seeing many positives if you are a sheep or cattle farmer with prices going in the right direction and in general throughout the state the season is shaping up pretty well with more rain forecast late in this week. 

I did a bit of a detour after the Powranna sale on Tuesday and did a short tour through some of the Cressy/Longford back roads and was pleasantly surprised at the amount of feed and the deep colour of the grass. 

I would have thought for this time of the year – the last week of winter – that the country side looks terrific. 

Now I understand that unless there are follow up rains through the rest of the spring that that the season can change pretty quickly but it is certainly a great start. 

Right through the Eastern states cattle prices are humming along pretty well led by the cow market which is in turn is driven by the US grinding beef market that is at record levels. 

At Powranna on Tuesday the best heavy beef cows made 306c to 330c/kg liveweight which means they topped at $2,260 and averaged $1,913/ head. Leaner cows made 236c to 296c and very lean D1 cows 140c to 216c/kg. 

Interstate cow markets have been very strong and this week was no different with heavy cows at Wagga on Monday the main run of 192 heavy beef cows averaged 349c to a top of $2,710 to average $2,260 on a weight of 647 kg. 

Further south at Mortlake it wasn’t quite as strong but in general terms there are way less cows coming into the saleyards which will obviously continue to put pressure on prices. 

Interesting to read the latest ABS figures which show that the female slaughter rate for the Australian herd has lifted to 53.1% which they say places the industry in a destock phase. 

This is probably not surprising when you find that the female kill lifted 17% for the June quarter which is the highest since 2019. The other cattle news revolves around strong feedlot competition on suitable cattle. 

As an example at Wagga on Monday there were 700 feeder steers that averaged 393c/kg which obviously means there are plenty over 400c/kg. 

The grown steers and bullocks are also selling well with many in the 370c to 410c/kg range and at Leongatha this week their bullocks averaged 390c/kg liveweight. 

Back to the ABS figures and they also showed that lamb slaughter over the June quarter lifted to 7.2 million head which is the largest on record and the first time over 7 million. 

For the financial year 27.5 million lambs were processed making the 12 month the highest on record and 25% above the five year average. 

For the financial year the mutton kill was 10.2 million which is the highest since 2008 The beef production figures showed that the June quarter figures are the highest since 2015 and the fourth highest ever. 

Depending on the various seasons throughout the Eastern states, it will be interesting to see where the current year final figures sit.