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

Sheep Genetics is the national genetic evaluation service for the Australian sheep industry, providing ram breeders and buyers with the tools to improve the genetic merit of their flocks. Managed by Meat and Livestock Australia (MLA), Sheep Genetics provides the services to increase the rate of genetic progress across the industry. The Advisory Committee provides MLA with strategic direction for the continued development of the key Sheep Genetics programs of LAMBPLAN and MERINOSELECT. 

Applications are being sought from industry leaders for two positions on the Sheep Genetics Advisory Committee. Meat & Livestock Australia are currently seeking individuals with the following experience and skills; 

Involvement in the areas of breeding and marketing of seed stock  Knowledge and understanding of genetic evaluations and livestock breeding  Business and communication expertise  Experience in agricultural extension  A track record in contributing to an effective team, committee or board  Involvement in marketing of agricultural products and/or services. 

The Sheep Genetics Advisory Committee will assist the Australian sheep industry and MLA to deliver nationally consistent genetic information to the wool, lamb and sheep meat sectors.

The Australian red meat industry, under the leadership of the EU / UK Red Meat Market Access Taskforce (Taskforce), met with the Ministers for Trade and Agriculture in Canberra yesterday to discuss ambitions for trade reform in both the European Union (EU) and the United Kingdom (UK).

The Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment, Senator Simon Birmingham, and Minister for Agriculture, Senator Bridget McKenzie, discussed market access priorities across the region, including the Australia-EU Free Trade Agreement (A-EU FTA) negotiations, a future Australia-UK Free Trade Agreement (A-UK FTA) and the status of current market access arrangements while those FTAs are explored.

Incoming Taskforce chair Andrew McDonald said while recent events such as the US securing a majority country specific share of the High Quality – Grainfed quota (HQB-GF), were disappointing, the Taskforce and the Australian Government remain united in their commitment to secure long-term access for industry’s future trade with Europe.

The majority of eastern states sheep and lamb saleyard indicators have steadied since early June, after a period of sharp gains.

A declining supply of finished lambs has seen heavy lamb prices (over 22kg cwt) continue to perform exceptionally well, reaching 907/kg cwt (carcase weight) on Tuesday, up 262¢ year-on-year and unchanged since 1 June. Strong export demand has translated into elevated saleyard prices, with processors competing fiercely in the face of declining supply.

With the expectation for supplies to further contract during winter, the modest easing trend for trade lambs (18.1-22kg cwt) is unlikely to be maintained. Last year, trade lamb prices briefly retreated during  August after a sustained rise during June and July, before kicking on to set highs in September. On Tuesday the Eastern States Trade Lamb Indicator (ESTLI) was reported at 866/kg cwt, up 216¢ year-on-year but back 1% since 1 June.