Chris Howie

June is always a bit light on content as everyone slows down with short days and cold mornings. It is your best time to pause and debrief what you have done and what you are planning. Too many family operations don’t do this and just roll from one job to another. Grab your team and take them off property to do this so that you are not distracted by the flat tyre on the truck.

PCAS

The shutting down of the Pasturefed Cattle Assurance Scheme (PCAS) is an opportunity lost. I have always been perplexed why all the individual Processor programs could not have been captured by a tick box, single entry process that was linked to individual processors via the PCAS system.

It would have made registering producers so much easier and created a greater pool of engagement for processors. Also greatly reducing the administrative workload for producers and their agents who try to create opportunity with the myriad of individual programs.

Alice Springs show sale

Alice Springs show sale has come and gone. One of those unique sales that seems to have its own personality. Buyers from 360 degrees of Australia attending with a cross over of breeds being represented. Sale report Steve Gaff, Red Centre Rural, Alice Spring let me know cattle were well sought with most steers making from $3.50 to top at $4.55 for the Undoolya Poll Hereford Cross steers. It was good to see some excellent runs of Santa & Santa cross steers and cows offered. The Sandover Pastoral cows weighing 605 kg and making $3.20, not a bad result in downtown Alice. I will say the Santa x Hereford bullocks that come out of the centre and Cameron’s Corner do take some beating.

EU Deforestation requirements

EU Deforestation requirements that were deferred last year are now only 6 months away from being activated. Whether feedlot or grass the requirement will be to identify that beef, lamb and other agricultural products supplied into the EU have never been on a deforested property. Speaking to a few EU beef suppliers they are perplexed why the Australian Government cannot put a clear protocol in place like other EU supply countries. Uruguay is a good example of a Government taking the lead and “grading the road” for their primary producers. As a significant agricultural competitor to Australia exports it maybe worth looking at what they are doing. Much like the EID roll out for sheep, it seems it is easier for our State and Federal government departments to provide “guidelines” rather than actual governance.

Transaction levy

Levies, whether federal or state lay dormant on the bottom of an account sale for much of the time. How ever when the “let’s review the amount” conversation lifts its head the dogs start barking every time. Small numbers always create the most noise in the livestock industry. We also need to remember the majority of the producers have had no say in who represents at an industry level or how the allocations are determined. Should producers become more involved? Yes. Do they? No.

A couple of points I think are worth considering before discussing levy amount itself.

• Review how they are being spent and trim out the non-descript, nice to have stuff.
• Create adoption for the research we already, not more research about research already done.
• Articulate the value proposition of the spend to the producers so they can understand, not hide behind “industry decided”.

Season around the traps.

I drove from Adelaide to Tamworth last week. No livestock feed of any substance until north of Forbes.

Nick Brooks Elders Burra SA said plenty of wind but little to no rain in the mid north, crops sown dry are up but stock feed nearly non-existent. Further NW of SA and Norther Eyre Peninsula received between 10 – 15mm.

Chad Mason, Creek Livestock Casterton said its green with a small sheep pick but a long way from cattle feed. Plenty of winter left but surface water is the key for the spring with many dams still very low.

Reg Woodiwiss, Webb and Woodiwiss, Tasmania. Autumn has been very dry & tough. Fortunately, 3-4 inches of rain in the last month which has been handy but really too late as now very cold & frosty.

Ron Rutledge, Nutrien Vic / Riv said most areas have colour but no bulk or cover throughout the Riverina with the mallee and Wimmera still looking dry.

Alex Croker, H Francis & Co Wagga said reasonable feed is still at least 4 weeks off and if sheep are in with the cattle a fair bit longer.

Angus Stuart, Milling Stuart Dunedoo confirmed the Central to Northern NSW brigade are well set even with the large frosts. Good moisture profiles and grazing crops.

Cameron Wilson, Elders Queensland said its looking wintery but season is good across all of Queensland. The Central has continued to catch rain and FNQ with a late break is well positioned for feed and water.

Stud sales. With the reduction of breeder numbers in the South now is the time to seriously look at upgrading your genetics. Lift your buy price, identify what you need to improve, perhaps bring in a new blood line. Irrespective of your sheep or cattle enterprise, with the future demand for red meat, making sure you lift production values is a no brainer to help your bottom line.

Cattle

The run of large weaner sales mid-June was the last hooray in the South. Prices across all centres remained in line with Northern rates less freight differential. We did see the lighter spring calves drop in price at several centres as buyers looked to purchase weight in preference to number of head. Feedlots have gradually been lifting rate on quality angus feeders with $5.00 appearing for Angus and I expect more with a quiet phone call and a reasonable number. As one buyer said “rate doesn’t create additional numbers” so the journey north maybe required to find pen fillers. The cow job is very strong with southern processors operating in the yards and the paddock in Northern NSW and Queensland with rates of $6.50 – $7.00 on hook pretty common on cows with weight.

Australia is still split in 2 with the South weeks away from cattle feed and the North, although wintery, very well positioned. Much like the sheep position the south will need to focus on a rebuild if we can land a spring. Quality joined heifers will shine once the days lengthen. Cow and calf units are a great option for those with some feed although travelling long distance does create its own issues so be careful.

Warren Clarke, Lanyons Stock and Station Agents at Hamilton, let me know it is properly cold with some areas still missing recent rains. Calves are light and fluffy and even though carrying some frame won’t weigh. Considering the potential carrying them to spring seems to be a better option if able.

Next generation trading.

I follow Nigel Kerrin, Kerrin Agriculture on LinkedIn and his program of utilising Opti weigh, feed mapping and understanding real time nutritional based weight gain mirrors what I believe is the future. This is the next generation livestock system we should all look at. Lock in your target market and reduce time on property by feeding well, so simple really.

Bloody foxes. My little place is only 80 acres and in 2 years I have shot 94 foxes without stepping over the fence. Thermal scopes do make it easy to get them, but it is unbelievable how many you see walking through a mob of lambing ewes. I know we are surrounded by pines, but these numbers indicate how many foxes there are nationally. Its time state governments really get serious about overpopulation and ferals with assistance for farmers to manage what is now out of hand. I cannot remember ever seeing so many roos, pigs, deer, foxes, dogs, donkeys and camels in Australia. It seems we have dropped the ball on ethical control because the woke agenda might become upset. All we must learn from the WA Emu war years ago that big plans don’t always work. Again common sense bounty systems.

Sheep and Lambs

Speaking to Matt Dalgliesh EP3, Clint Wardle, West Coast Livestock and market reports from Geoff Shipp, Elders Livestock, the liquidation of the WA flock will have much wider ramifications than we realise at a national level. After the drought in 2019 well over a million sheep travelled across the flat and helped us rebuild the depleted breeding numbers in record time.

For nearly the first time ever the shortage of sheep and lambs in WA have seen prices running comparative to the Eastern states. Good merino ewe lambs are being sold to slaughter in Katanning for $180 that would normally be joined. The issue now forming is the ability for the Eastern states to breed back into numbers without the WA volume and creating this elevated price bubble for breeding stock come spring.

As we saw in 2023, SIL ewes purchased for $150 – $180 collapsed in price to sub $50. This in turn put considerable financial and emotional pressure on farmers. The knock on was an exit from sheep in many instances with a debt still remaining. Quality breeding stock prices follow normal demand trend, this spring maybe a dangerous time for some. If spreading the purchase over an existing flock that is not too bad. Although SIL trades, store lambs purchased too late or fully restocking a property has the potential to cause some serious financial pain to the unwary.

Quick sheep market summary. Lambs if you have them. Bloody good $10 – $11 per kilo and I think you still have 4 – 6 weeks to make them heavy without much risk and forward contracts available. Mutton, Exceptional with rates between $6 – $7.50 per kilo. Agricultural shearings are just starting in SA so the mutton job may soften a little in 3 – 4 weeks. Hoggets, clean out the ration paddock and sell, heavy hoggets are giving a great return. Speaking to Isaac Hill, Wagga Regional Livestock weight in the Wagga lamb offering is very quickly falling away. One processor this week secured the 2000 required with an average of over $350 per head. I remember buying heifers for less than that in the early 90’s.

Grading the sheep meat price road. For too long we have seen massive fluctuations in values driven by numbers, season or both. As an example, 10 months ago mutton in WA were $1.80 per kg and Eastern states were $2.50 – $3.00. The cattle industry through feedlots has started to create some forward price discovery but sheep meat still remains spot price transactional. i.e. Todays Wagga sale dictates tomorrows hooks price.  Auctions Plus and Agora have both come out with new products for agents that will help develop tools to purchase, sell and target market. These are not futures contracts but simple forward offering platforms that hopefully provide processors with supply surety and farmers with a line of sight on value to create confidence and margin. From my point of view the ability to create a forward-looking base value brings lamb feedlots into play all year round and builds a trust, confidence and price stability which will underpin the overall sheep industry. It really is time to make this happen so we can get on with creating a secure supply chain for all involved.

Goats. The natural back fill for a mutton shortage. Supply is good and demand has improved with $4.90 on 25kg plus goats floating around last week. As we all know with these little critters, take the money when you have got them because they might not be there tomorrow.

Opportunities.

• Take a breath and reset – remove the emotion and analyse your business.
• Cows and calves
• Polish up your PTIC heifers for the spring demand
• Make lambs heavy.
• Don’t get greedy on selling your mutton. The price is good.
• If you have spare feed plenty are still looking for agistment.
• Training – make sure you invest in your staff.
• Teach the kids how to shoot foxes.
• Try something different – Southwark Stout is very good.

Chris Howie is a regular Beef Central and Sheep Central market columnist and the CEO of RMA.