Big beefy boom leads to butchered budgets
IN HIS 23 years with Elders Rural Services, Toowoomba branch manager Darren Hartwig says he’s never seen the price of beef this high.
According to ANZ’s latest Agri Commodity Report, while cattle prices will likely fall from current record highs in coming months, a perfect storm of factors means that they are likely to stay well above the long-term average for the foreseeable future.
With individual herds, as well as the national herd, having fallen so low in the drought, many cattle producers are enthusiastically taking the opportunity to buy as many cattle as they can to rebuild.
This will likely mean fewer cattle on the market while herds rebuild, and when coupled with the slow herd growth rate, caused by the high female slaughter during the drought, this could be an ongoing cycle for some time.
“Like just about everything, it all just comes down to supply and demand,” Mr Hartwig said.
“We’d normally be yarding about 800-1200 cattle a week here at the saleyards and we’re currently struggling to find 400-500.
“A lot of our local producers have destocked during the drought of 2017-2019 and now they’re going through a big rebuild phase to get their cattle numbers back up with the recent rainfall we’ve had.”
Mr Hartwig said the prices hadnever been higher, with the female portion of the livestock selling particularly well.
“Cows and calves and female breeders that are preg tested in calf are in very strong in demand as locals look to build their herdback up but lightweight steers under 200 kilograms are fetching up to seven dollars a kilo which are prices we haven’t anything close to since back in 2015 and 2016.”
Manager of Grays Modern Meat Mart Mick Needham said in his 12 years with the butchery he had never seen the cost of beef get this high.
“Our top quality rib fillet is going for $54.99 a kilo right now,” he said.
“While some people are still willing to spend top dollar for the best, other customers just aren’t able to afford top cuts right now.
“We suspect prices have hit their peak, but we really don’t know when they will go back down again.”