Many operators within the feed-lotting side of our industry complain about the difficulties of breaking even with cattle prices at historical strong levels and grain prices escalating at a rapid rate.
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Nevertheless this has not stopped numbers on feed breaking through the one million head mark and for the March quarter industry surveys showed that with an increase of 72,000 plus in this quarter the figure now stood at 1.1 million head.
Western Australia was the only state to show a decline in numbers.
Queensland dominated feedlot activities lifting by 12%. There, overall capacity stands at almost 700,000 head.
NSW with 390,000 cattle on feed saw its numbers decline marginally.
Victoria and South Australia, where seasonal conditions were much better, only saw modest gains in numbers.
Dubbo Troy Stock Market went against the trend on Thursday, October 12, when agents submitted a draw of 4040 head, up some 1500 head on the previous week.
Early indications are that these numbers will stand-up at the time of scanning with many agents reporting numbers higher than their drawn figures. Most saleyard observers thought numbers would be substantially reduced with the very welcome rain across many regions.
The offering showed outstanding finish and quality across the bulk of the yarding.
The rain has been tremendous through many parts of NSW and Southern Queensland, with places like Inverell at the top end of New England having received 100mm up until the time of writing and it is still raining.
Parts of the interior, particularly around the Hunter Valley, have seen very little moisture, thus compelling graziers in those areas to continue the unloading process.
These graziers will at least now have the option to sell into a rising market created by the good rains enjoyed by other areas.
With the changing weather patterns, the Eastern Young Cattle Indicator (EYCI) has reversed its recent trends with a dramatic rally of 9.75c/kg. Prior to this the EYCI looked like crashing below 500c/kg for the first time since 2015.
WA live sheep exporters feel there are encouraging signs the live sheep trade with Saudi Arabia may be able to re-commence.
This trade has been closed since 2012.
The memorandum of understanding (MOU) which has not been amended since 2009 would, I imagine, still be a stumbling block.
This relates to the assurances that all sheep, cattle and goats would be treated and handled in line with the rules and regulations laid down by the World Organisation for Animal Health and Welfare Standards.
At the trade peak the Saudis sourced 1.2 million live sheep a year from Australia.
Finally, a statement attributed to one of the doyens of the agency industry, Mr Peter Milling, “the only good thing about old age is that it doesn’t last very long”. That tickled my fancy.
