Cows and heifers processed rise 21% during first five months of 2018.

Krissa Welshans 1, Feedstuffs Editor

August 8, 2018

2 Min Read
drought ground

The impact of extreme drought on Australian cattle producers stole the spotlight this week after a video showing hundreds of cattle swarming troughs went viral on social media.

According to CNN, the video footage was shot in late May by Jason Wright, co-owner of Burrabogie Livestock & Contracting.

The region where the operation’s 1,200 cows are located still hasn’t received any precipitation, CNN reported.

Source:Burrabogie Livestock and Contracting

Ongoing drought conditions, combined with a decrease in heifers retained for breeding, have sent Australian cattle slaughter forecasts for 2018 upward to 7.8 million head, a 9% increase from the 2017 total, according to Meat & Livestock Australia’s (MLA) "Cattle Industry Projections" midyear update.

For the first five months of 2018, Australia's adult cattle slaughter totaled 3.1 million head, an increase of 11%, or 300,000 head, from the same period last year. However, MLA said this is still 7% below the five-year average.

Scott Tolmie, MLA market intelligence manager, said females have largely driven the year-over-year increase, with a 21% rise in the number of cows and heifers processed and a modest 2% lift in male cattle slaughter.

“Female cattle slaughter in May almost reached 403,200 head – the highest monthly volume since July 2015,” Tolmie said.

He added that persistent dry conditions have reduced carcass weights. However, the upward revision to slaughter forecasts more than outweighs the expected drop in carcass weights, with beef production for 2018 now projected to increase 7% to 2.3 million metric tons.

Further, Tolmie said while slaughter levels are expected to remain elevated and a modest contraction in the national herd is expected, the same supply inundation and subsequent price reaction that the industry experienced in 2013-15 is not anticipated to repeat itself.

“The weight of supply placed some pressure on prices throughout autumn, particularly for young cattle. However, falls could have been much more pronounced if not for strong growth in some key Asian export markets,” Tolmie said.

Australian beef exports were up 13% for the year to date (January-June), with double-digit growth recorded in key markets such as Japan, Korea and China. Australia's beef exports are now projected to increase 10% in 2018 to 1.11 million metric tons.

Tolmie said seasonal conditions during spring will obviously play a critical role in how the cattle market tracks, with any improvement to pasture conditions likely to increase demand for young cattle and females.

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