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.

AAABG Breeders Program

31 October - 1 November 2019

Venue: UNE, ARMIDALE NSW AUSTRALIA

Cost: $130 for 1.5 days (Tours Additional)

Download the flyer here.

On the 40th anniversary of the Association for the Advancement of Animal Breeding and Genetics (AAABG), we are celebrating the collaboration between research and industry by having an extended program with talks and events of specific interest for breeders.

Please join us for an exciting mix of presenters to discuss top of the range applied research in the livestock industries on both Thursday October 31 and Friday November 1. There will be a Breeders BBQ on Thursday night.

17 May 2019

A new leucaena variety specifically developed to tolerate psyllid insects while remaining palatable to cattle will be commercially launched this month in north Queensland, marking a significant milestone for beef production in northern Australian.

The commercial release of Redlands leucaena is the culmination of almost 15 years of research and development by researchers at the University of Queensland, funded by Meat & Livestock Australia (MLA).

02 May 2019

Combined, Australia and New Zealand pushed a record volume of lamb onto the export market in the first quarter. Despite the increase in supply pressure and poor seasonal conditions, prices in both countries have remained robust thanks to strong global demand.

Lamb exports from Australia’s principal competitor, New Zealand, recorded a strong start to the year. However, Beef + Lamb NZ estimated the 2018-19 lamb crop to decline slightly, to 23.7 million head, so high export levels may reflect dryer-than-normal conditions in New Zealand and fewer lambs being held back as replacements.

04 April 2019

A desire to ease the effects of poor climatic conditions and improve total soil health is what drove beef producer Alexander Nixon’s Nuffield Scholarship research.

Alexander runs an 8,500ha cattle and cropping operation at Drillham, near Roma, Queensland. As the third generation on the farm, and with a young family of his own, he was motivated to find solutions to maximise the health of his soil and rebuild it for future generations.

28 March 2019

Despite elevated supply, mutton prices managed to reach a 2019 high this week.

For the week ending 26 March, the eastern states saleyard mutton indicator averaged 435¢/kg carcase weight (cwt), an increase of 9% on the previous week, but down 1% year-on-year.

01 March 2019

You may have heard the word ‘sustainability’ used in the news, general media or day-to-day conversation. As a red meat producer, you would be aware that retailers, restaurants and other customers are increasingly requesting information on the Australian beef industry’s sustainability credentials.

Here Friday Feedback talks to MLA’s Chief Marketing and Communications Officer, Lisa Sharp, about how industry plans to tackle this challenge and how producers can get involved.

14 February 2019

2018 was a year of records, with Australian sheepmeat export values reaching new highs and beef export values to Japan surpassing $2 billion for the first time since 2008. Here we look at all the key figures.

Cattle

25 January 2019

Following the launch of the Aussie Farms online interactive map earlier this week, Meat & Livestock Australia (MLA), in partnership with the red meat industry and National Farmers Federation (NFF), is providing information and advice to red meat producers.

This includes background information about the website, what actions they should consider taking now and what to do if they encounter trespassers on their property.

12 December 2018

Live cattle exports made up ground throughout 2018, underpinned by a reasonable 2017–18 northern wet season (followed by dry conditions over swathes of the rest of the country) and a more favourable price point supporting an uptick in shipments to Indonesia and Vietnam.

The emergence of China as an importer of slaughter cattle, three large shipments of feeder cattle to Russia and strong numbers shipped to Israel also buoyed the live cattle trade in 2018. For the calendar year-to-November, exports totalled 1,008,000 head, up 27% year-on-year.