Australian live exports down in September

Australian live exports decreased across all categories during September, with cattle shipments down 21pc year-on-year, while sheep exports fell 53pc. Live export data for September, reported by MLA, showed that live cattle exports reached 66,531 head for the month, to bring total exports since January to 506,305 head, with a corresponding export value of $474 million FOB. Shipments to Indonesia totalled 27,135 head, while shipments to Turkey, Russia and China reached 16,255 head, 10,981 head and 9,200 head, respectively. Live sheep exports during September fell to 130,660 head, taking exports for the first nine months of the year to 1.8 million head, with an associated export value of $229 million FOB. Qatar was the largest destination for the month, at 65,000 head, while shipments were also registered to Jordan (51,060 head), Turkey (14,500 head) and Malaysia (100 head).

EYCI slips as national yardings rise 14pc

A doubling in the yarding at Roma’s weekly store sale to 7900 head on Tuesday contributed to a 68pc increase in cattle yardings in Queensland this week, and a 14pc increase in national yardings. MLA’s NLRS said numbers in NSW and Tasmania were unchanged, while Victoria recorded a 13pc increase. Throughout was down by 21pc in South Australia and 36pc in WA. The reporting services said quality across most selling centres remains mixed with good quality lines scattered though Inverell, Wagga and Wodonga. Roma store had increased numbers of plainer cattle as the recent patchy rainfall throughout the region enticed producers to offload. At the conclusion of sales on Tuesday the Eastern Young Cattle Indicator (EYCI) stood at 342c/kg, down 3c for the week. The trade steer indicator was back by 4c to 186c, feeder steers settled on 183c, up 1c/kg, medium steers were back 3c on 173c while heavy steers lost 3c to make 180c/kg. Medium Cows were unchanged on the same time last week settling on 131c/kg.   

Qld releases draft plan to double ag production by 2040

The Queensland Government has released a draft strategy to deliver on its commitment to double the state’s food production by 2040. The strategy is built on the four pathways of increasing resource (land, water, labour and capital) availability; driving productivity growth through innovation and biosecurity improvements; focusing on markets by improving demand, access and value and minimising production costs through red tape, inputs, by-products and logistics. The report says Queensland’s agriculture, fisheries and forestry industries face major challenges including an uncertain global economy and high Australian dollar, increasing production costs, competition for resources, biosecurity risks and seasonal variability. However it says there are also opportunities for significant growth based on an expanding global population and the increasing affluence of the growing middle class, particularly in Asia. Industry has just over two weeks to read and provide feedback on the strategy, which can be viewed by clicking here. The closing date for submissions is 7 December. Submissions can be made by emailing agstrategy@daff.qld.gov.au  or by post to Strategy & Coordination Unit, Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, GPO Box 46, Brisbane, Qld 4001. 

Grants for NT industry associations

The newly formed Northern Territory Farmers Association will receive $285,000 and the Northern Territory Livestock Exporters Association will receive $75,000 in grants announced by the Northern Territory Government yesterday. The funds have been allocated through the NT Government’s 2012-13 Industry Development Support Program (IDSP). NT Minister for Primary Industry and Fisheries, Mines and Energy, Willem Westra van Holthe, said industry associations served the community by representing their members’ interests and providing information to the broader public. “Their hard work helps grow our economy, and financial assistance in the form of grants helps industry associations continue their good work,”he said. Around 10 percent of the Northern Territory’s workforce is employed across the primary industry, fisheries, mining and energy sectors. Other grants included $200,000 to the Amateur Fishing Association of the NT; $40,000 to the Welding Technology Institute of Australia; $185,000 to the NT Seafood Council, with another $40,000 expected to finalised in early December for the NT Guided Fishing Industry Association.

Qld Govt cuts red tape on grazing lease renewals

The Queensland Government says Queensland landholders will benefit from simpler grazing lease renewal simpler processes and greater certainty through newly introduced reforms. Minister for Natural Resources and Mines Andrew Cripps said a streamlined State Rural Leasehold Land Strategy (SRLLS) announced today are designed to address landholder concerns and recognise the good work being done by land managers across Queensland in sustainably managing their properties. The strategy includes a revised template for Land Management Agreements that was clearer and easier to understand, and eliminated duplicated approval processes.  “The new template will incorporate the ability to negotiate the inclusion of identified vegetation management activities and remove the requirement for lessees to undertake a separate and time-consuming approval process,” Mr Cripps said. Mr Cripps said the other key reform would remove the link between national park acquisition and the rural leasehold land renewal process.

Vic Govt cuts stamp duty for young farmers

The Victorian Farmers Federation has welcomed a Victorian Government decision to deliver on an election promise by exempting young farmers from stamp duty on the first $300,000 they pay towards their first farm. The VFF said it has campaigned for more than 12 months to get the government to deliver on the commitment. In the lead-up to the 2010 election, the Coalition promised to "exempt stamp duty (of $13,070) on the first $300,000 of agricultural land purchased by farmers under 35". It has also now raised the threshold on the scheme to $600, 000. “We’ve now got a scheme that delivers that $13,070 on land worth up to $600,000, which then phases down zero once it’s worth $750,000 or more,” VFF president Peter Tuohey said. “This is a crucial step in recruiting the next generation of farmers who will deliver on the government’s goal of doubling food and fibre production by 2030.” Young Agribusiness Professional’s (YAPs) chairman Aaron Sanderson said the government’s decision would make it much easier for young farmers to buy their first farm.

NSW avian influenza outbreak controlled

The NSW Department of Primary Industries and the Livestock Health and Pest Authorities yesterday announced they had successfully eradicated an outbreak of H7 Avian Influence at an egg production farm near Maitland. NSW Chief Veterinary Officer Ian Roth said the remaining birds on the property had now been culled and testing to date has confirmed that the virus hasn’t spread. Samples from 12 nearby facilities showed no sign of infection. Australian Egg Corporation Ltd Managing Director, James Kellaway, said NSW DPI’s rapid response to the outbreak was critical in protecting other flocks around NSW and Australia. The virus at the Maitland facility was the H7 Avian Influenza strain –not the highly pathogenic H5N1 strain that has gained worldwide attention.