Why?
OPINION: A mate of yours truly wants to know why the beef schedule differential is now more than 45-50 cents a kilo between North and South Island producers – if you look at February 2024 steer prices.
Australian beef farmers are bracing for a market contraction.
MLA’s 2015 cattle industry projections are that, after two years of record slaughter and live export, the market is now likely to shrink.
Better cattle prices and competition between the domestic and export markets for reduced cattle supplies are forecast, says MLA’s manager market information Ben Thomas.
“High turn-off has had a dramatic impact on the national herd: in three years [it will have declined] from a 35-year high of 29.3 million to a two-decade low of 26.5 million by the end of 2016.
“We’ve seen an enormous turnoff of cattle and the flow-on effects are likely to last for the rest of the decade. Whether there is a widespread break in the drought or not, the high slaughter of the past two years will take a toll on supplies while seasonal weather will continue to influence farmgate returns.”
Beef exports are forecast to reach 1.05 million tonnes in 2015, down 19% and driven by the expected tightening of the domestic market. However in historical terms this figure will remain high.
The US looks to remain the biggest buyer of Australian beef in volume and value terms; the EU is likely to remain Australia’s most valuable market on a per kg basis. All other beef export markets are expected to decline.
Federated Farmers president Wayne Langford is claiming “some real success” on the 12 policy priorities it placed before the Coalition Government.
Federated Farmers is throwing its support behind the Fast-track Approvals Bill introduced by the Coalition Government to enable a fast-track decision-making process for infrastructure and development projects.
The latest report from ANZ isn’t good news for sheep farmers: lamb returns are forecast to remain low.
Divine table grapes that herald the start of a brand-new industry in Hawke’s Bay have been coming off vines in Maraekakaho.
In what appears to be a casualty of the downturn in the agricultural sector, a well-known machinery brand is now in the hands of liquidators and owing creditors $6.6 million.
One of New Zealand’s deepest breeder Jersey herds – known for its enduring connection through cattle with the UK’s longest reigning monarch, Queen Elizabeth II – will host its 75th anniversary celebration sale on-farm on April 22.