News - Beef Articles

THERE has been a further narrowing in feeder premiums for Wagyu, Wagyu cross and Angus cattle over the past month, Elders has noted in its latest December monthly livestock bulletin released yesterday. The trend is associated with a contraction in demand for higher-priced beef items owing to a slowing in the Chinese market, contraction in the food service sector, a shift in buying habits in Japan and cost of living pressures the world over, analyst Richard Koch said in the report.

A NON-PROFIT science and conservation group in the United States has piqued the interest of the livestock industry across the world by performing one of the most comprehensive studies on livestock emissions. The work on Florida’s Buck Island Ranch looked a range of factors that make up the emissions profile of its cattle operation, with one of its most significant findings being that its grazed land had a lower footprint than ungrazed land.

TWO very different influences have driven a 10-20c/kg lift in slaughter grid offers in some parts of the country this week – ‘Mexicans’, and the ‘Beef 2024 effect.’

As the Australian beef industry returns to some sort of ‘normal’ following the post-drought years and the marked price drop which followed, industry news is dominated by high slaughter rates, a large number of cattle in saleyards and feedlots, and prices which sit far off the highs of a few years ago. Given the widely held view that a return to an Eastern Young Cattle Indicator (EYCI) of 1,200c/ kg is unlikely in the short-term, farm business profits are increasingly focused on margins – what age and weight to sell from farm to achieve the greatest return, what channels to sell through, and what portion of the final retail price is being delivered back to the producer.

Since the improvement in seasonal conditions over the summer, cattle prices have recovered from last year’s lows. The Eastern Young Cattle Indicator (EYCI) fell to a nine-year low in October 2023, reaching 349c/kg, as last year’s El Nino event saw much of the country experience heat wave conditions. While prices remained depressed for the month of October, an improvement in seasonal conditions and well above-median rainfall saw prices recover in December, closing out the year at 534c/kg.

Long-term genetic focus helps weather variable seasons

Australian cattle prices forecast to remain elevated

Progress towards emissions reduction goals detailed in beef industry sustainability update

China deep dive: On beef’s bumpy road, is there a way back?

Does limited slaughter capacity risk undermining cattle prices this year?