18 September 2015

The legislation needed to implement the China-Australia Free Trade Agreement (ChAFTA) was introduced into Federal Parliament this week by Trade and Investment Minister Andrew Robb.

The agreement includes the following benefits for Australian red meat:

Lambs

Lamb consignments throughout NSW remained similar, week-on-week, for a total of 112,595 head.

New season trade weight lambs trended $9 to $10 cheaper, making from $80 to $141/head, or an average price from 536¢ to 538¢/kg cwt.

Trade weight older lambs slipped $13 to $14, ranging from $78 to $130/head and attained an average price from 469¢ to 498¢/kg cwt.

Almost all of the country received no rain this week with falls of 1-25mm restricted to the southern extremities of Victoria and Western Australia and most of Tasmania, with only light showers of up to 1mm recorded on the South Australian coastline. The Northern tablelands and south-east corner of Queensland measured similar light rain of mostly 1-5mm with isolated tops of 10-15mm, which extended to scattered showers on the Queensland coastline.

17 September 2015

The Review of MLA process for registering and determining voting entitlements was undertaken by MLA at the request of the peak industry councils to investigate the most effective way to identify levy payers and calculate voting entitlements.

This project looked at the current process for MLA member registration and AGM voting entitlements and made recommendations on how best to achieve an increased level of accuracy in identification of levy payers and transparency around this process. The project also took into account the potential for MLA to move towards an electronic voting system.

 This year Sheep Genetics Regional Forums were recorded to allow for revision and access for breeders unable to attend. There is a series of ten videos, covering all of the topics that were covered. Please feel to view at your leisure.

11 September 2015

September and October generally offer the peak pasture production period for much of southern Australia, but the true benefit of that growth is only realised when matched with the right stocking rates.

Here are some tools to help you plan for and manage that production for optimum productivity:

11 September 2015

North Coast Local Land Services Senior Livestock Officer Nathan Jennings says the four areas to consider when buying bulls are:

“Other people may change the order of importance of these factors, but this is the order I like to consider them in,” Nathan said.

Roma numbers increased 26%, to 828 head. Quality overall was mixed with some good lines of heavy steers and bullocks. The usual exporters were in attendance and operated in a generally dearer market. Heavy grown steers to export slaughter sold to a dearer trend, which also flowed onto cow classes.

Throughput at Dubbo increased 7% week-on-week to 5,500 head. It was a good quality yarding with a strong offering overall. The usual buyers operated and the market was notably competitive for young light weight cattle returning to the paddock.

Numbers were up 6% week-on-week at Bairnsdale, with 591 head offered. It was a mixed quality yarding with finished prime cattle in short supply. The limited selection of lighter weight grown steers and bullocks held steady. The usual buying group was present and operating in a generally firm market.

Consignments eased at Wagga, with 25,000 lambs and 7,600 sheep yarded. Quality remains good across the young lambs. All buyers attended, however not all operated at capacity.

At the conclusion of Thursday’s markets:

Note: All yardings and prices referenced are from MLA’s National Livestock Reporting Service (NLRS) reported saleyards.

11 September 2015

Sheep breeder Matthew Ipsen hates losing a fight, particularly the one between life and death. So much so, Matthew, who is also a pregnancy scanning technician, set himself a goal of lifting his flock weaning rate by 30%. He studied ways to improve lamb survival with a Nuffield Scholarship as the road to help him get there.

What was happening in your enterprise, and with your clients, that drove you to explore this issue?

I was frustrated by the numbers of lambs that don’t survive, particularly in the first three days, even when producers are applying industry best practices. Clients would ask me why they weren’t getting the weaning percentages they might expect. Also, I just hate losing animals. It’s not solely a production-driven issue; it’s an animal welfare issue as well.