Week Ending 17/01/2020
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The notice is a touch short, but sheep and lamb vendors are reminded that Monday, January 27 is a public holiday to celebrate Australia Day, so centres across the country, including Dubbo, who normally hold stock sales on a Monday will be closed.
Last Monday January, 13, we saw some 22,000 sheep and lambs in the draw with all categories enjoying a lift in values this being most noticeable in any sheep and lambs which were attractive to restockers.
Prime stock to the processors also enjoyed good gains.
Back to the bushfires. Last weekend the Australian news paper had many articles relating to the fires but one caught my eye, according to the journalist writing the script, 13 per cent of fires were started by apprehended arsonist.
ALSO MAKING NEWS: NSW Farmers vice president says farmers need to 'ride out' the drought
Thirty-seven per cent were suspicious of being deliberately lit, so if the maths is correct that 50 per cent when you then take into consideration lightning strikes and fire authorities backburns etc. that go away and get out of control there does not appear to the writer to be many fires that can be attributed to climate change.
With the promise of rain prior to our cattle sale on January, 16, Dubbo agents only managed to tally 1325 head at the draw prior to the sale.
With the promise of rain prior to our cattle sale on January, 16, Dubbo agents only managed to tally 1325 head at the draw prior to the sale.
This may be very indicative of what is in store for most centres when we do receive widespread beneficial rain.
The latest hurdle facing our export processors is the emerging claim that some Chinese customers no longer will pay the high prices that they had initially agreed to. The market for lambs, mutton, pork and beef in that country is now in free fall.
This signals the worst market collapse since 2008 when multiple Russian importers 'walked' leaving Australian containers to perish on the wharves. The turmoil that year sent some Aussie exporters to the wall.
ALSO MAKING NEWS: Why we're reading the Bureau of Meteorology forecasts wrong
The Chinese demand for protein escalated at the back end of last year to such an extent that 90CL (hamburger meat) rose 200c/kg in only four weeks.
One report suggests that Brazil may be the country most effected with 100,000 tonnes of beef on the water with most of that not sure of a home.
A smell of rain saw today's cattle soar to unseen levels when compared to recent weeks. Cows could have been 20c to 30c stronger, steers with weight beat 300c/kg and light cattle which have been hard to place were much stronger.