Australia’s red meat industry is operating in an increasingly challenging global environment, not only experiencing tough seasonal conditions in many regions, but also facing significant attention around the sustainability of the red meat and livestock sectors and the place of red meat in a healthy diet.

More than ever before, consumers – particularly in developed markets – are interested in the ‘what, how and who’ behind the products, goods and services they consume. Producers can be proud of what they do and how the outcome of the hard work is nourishing the community. However, with so much information available to consumers, and often with contradictory messages, they can be overwhelmed and confused about the credentials of red meat.

Here, MLA Managing Director, Jason Strong, shares how MLA is working to inform consumers about the health, welfare and environmental credentials of red meat and drive continued demand and consumption domestically and overseas.

Slaughter

Eastern states cattle slaughter bounced back this week – albeit as a result of the reduced processor throughput for the previous week ending 11 October due to public holiday - with 151,000 head slaughtered last week, according to the National Livestock Reporting Service (NLRS).

Adult slaughter was reported 12% above the same week in 2018, despite an expectation for supplies to have tightened at this stage. However, with no spring reprieve and sustained dry conditions, cattle have continued to be pulled forward in strong numbers.

Inspiring consumers to diversify their mundane mid-week meal repertoire with lamb is the focus of Meat & Livestock Australia’s (MLA) new Spring Lamb campaign launched today.

The six-week campaign builds on the successful ‘Too Easy’ campaign tagline and creative material, and includes a range of activities to appeal to consumers when they’re looking for ideas for weeknight dinners.

MLA Domestic Market Manager Graeme Yardy said the Spring Lamb campaign is aimed at educating and building confidence for Australians to cook lamb as part of their routine meals.

The latest ABS slaughter data reports national lamb slaughter at 1.5 million head in July, well below year-ago levels and stable with June volumes – the lowest monthly slaughter since January 2012.

The decline was underpinned by the limited availability of old season lambs. As much of the country continues to endure dry conditions, the tighter supply of new season lambs entering the market throughout spring will be a key driver to how national indicators track. 

The national saleyard trade lamb indicator rose to 934¢/kg carcase weight (cwt) in mid-July, as saleyards saw strong demand from processors to maintain supply. It has since dropped more than 100¢ and on Tuesday was recorded at 796¢/kg cwt, falling 17¢ below year-ago levels.

Below is the link to the 2019 calendar of analysis dates. This can also be found on the Resources menu as well.

2019-Calendar.pdf

2019 Dates
15th January 2019		7th January 2019
1st February 2019		21st January 2019
15th February 2019		7th February 2019
1st March 2019		21st February 2019

A series of online workshops delivered by Meat & Livestock Australia (MLA), Integrity Systems Company (ISC) and Agriculture Victoria, have upskilled producers in managing their National Livestock Identification System (NLIS) accounts and livestock transfers on the NLIS database.

The online sessions equipped producers with the skills needed to use the NLIS database dashboard and stepped them through running reports and completing livestock transfers.

NLIS is Australia’s system for the identification and traceability of cattle, sheep and goats, and is managed by Integrity Systems Company (ISC), a wholly owned subsidiary of MLA.

Despite the challenging conditions faced by producers during 2019, New South Wales new season lambs have started to enter the market earlier than they have in the previous two years, albeit still in low volumes.

Last week over 13,000 new season lambs were recorded in NSW saleyards, with Dubbo, Forbes and Wagga Wagga all yarding over 2,000 head.

The lift in new season lamb yardings, combined with fewer processor buyers – due to winter maintenance shutdowns – has underpinned the price decline across all categories in the last week. On Tuesday, the Eastern States Trade Lamb Indicator (ESTLI) eased to 851¢/kg carcase weight (cwt), back 44¢ on last week.

Recently a scanner accreditation workshop was conducted in Armidale. The list of accredited scanners has now been updated to reflect the results.

http://www.sheepgenetics.org.au/Service-providers/Carcase-Scanners

It is important to note that all Carcase measurements are required to be collected by an accredited scanner, to ensure that the information meets the QA guideline. 

Coming to the following locations:

Birchip VIC February 26

Deniliquin NSW February 27