A new record for cattle on feed
FOR the first time, the number of cattle on feed in Australia remained above one million for an entire year.
The latest feedlot survey, released last week, from the Australian Lot Feeders’ Association and Meat and Livestock Australia shows the number of cattle on feed decreased 15,977 in the October-December period last year, yet remained above one million at 1,110,689 nationally.
There were modest decreases in the number on feed in New South Wales and Queensland, but these were offset by gains of 6.8 per cent to 73,173 cattle in Victoria, 17.1 per cent to 40,439 cattle in South Australia and 60.5 per cent to 39,469 in Western Australia. Meat and Livestock Australia’s market intelligence manager, Scott Tolmie, said the country’s feedlots were at approximately 85 per cent to capacity, with a limit of around 90 per cent.
Mr Tolmie said in light of the dry season pushing more cattle through the saleyards in eastern states, it reflected the importance of feedlots in managing drought.
Mr Tolmie said while figures for the start of this year were not yet available, “there’s still plenty of cattle coming through the feedlots”.
He said the large number of cattle on feed was partly due to rising overseas demand for high-end Australian beef.
ALFA president Bryce Camm said grain-fed beef exports surpassed 300,000 tonnes shipped weight last year for the first time in a calendar year, reflecting record production.
“There are no surprises that challenging east coast drought conditions and its impact on cattle turn-off through 2018 have been a dominant driver for feedlot utilisation,” Mr Camm said.