Home - Beef Central

Environmental groups push for 15-year regrowth limit

AS THE cattle industry aims to make incoming “deforestation-free” supply chains workable for routine land management, a push to protect some regrowth from clearing has been gaining presence from environmental organisations…Read More

Eric Barker, 31/05/2024

News

Qld Premier bans carbon capture and storage in Great Artesian Basin

Queensland Premier Steven Miles today banned carbon capture and storage in the Great Artesian Basin in Queensland…Read More

Beef Central, 31/05/2024

News

Opinion: Driving value for investment at the heart of MLA, says new managing director

Michael Crowley has started his new role as the managing director of MLA this week. In this contributed article he highlights his priorities for the new role…Read More

By Michael Crowley, Managing Director, Meat & and Livestock Australia, 31/05/2024

News

Koala expert urges environmental groups to work with farmers, not against them

A prominent koala ecologist says a recent campaign against the beef industry from an environmental group is not creating constructive dialogue on land clearing…Read More

Eric Barker, 31/05/2024

The Weekly Grill

S4 Ep17: MDH’s Julie McDonald

Carbon, industry advocacy and greater need for education in agriculture came into focus during Weekly Grill podcast host, Kerry’s Lonergan’s lengthy chat this week with large scale Queensland beef producer MDH’s Julie McDonald…Read More

Beef Central, 31/05/2024

Recruitment

Recruitment: Ag science undergraduates tackle meaty problems

Making their presentations during a ‘Pitch-Fest’ as part of a visit to Australian Country Choice’s Brisbane beef processing facility, rural science and agriculture students from UNE shared their visions for ways to generate increased revenue for processors by reducing costs, generating novel products or converting cost centres to income streams. The novel Pitch-Fest provided a great learning experience for the industry professionals of the future..Read More

Beef Central, 31/05/2024

Production

Better pre-calving nutrition boosting health outcomes in northern cattle herds

Improving nutrition a few weeks before calving is successfully boosting health outcomes for both calves and breeders under challenging grazing conditions in Northern Australia. The Calf Alive project is trialling ways to overcome the impacts of poor diet and heat stress on beef properties in North Queensland and the Northern Territory…Read More

Beef Central, 31/05/2024

News

AA Co hosts long lunch and charity auction fundraiser for Dolly’s Dream foundation

The Australian Agricultural Co will host its third annual long lunch and charity auction as part of the company’s ongoing fundraising effort for the Dolly’s Dream foundation in Brisbane next Thursday, 6 June. Last year’s event raised $145,000 for the charity, with nine exceptional auction items up for grabs this year. ..Read More

Beef Central, 28/05/2024

News

China suspensions lifted on five Australian export beef plants

Jon Condon, 30/05/2024

News

What does increased China access mean for Aussie beef?

Jon Condon, 30/05/2024

Lotfeeding

Feedlot numbers hit new record high of 1.35 million

Beef Central, 30/05/2024

Live Export

Watt confirms senate inquiry into live sheep phase legislation

Terry Sim, 30/05/2024

Live Export

What you (probably) don’t know about sheep exports

Byron O'Keefe, 30/05/2024

National Feed Base

National Feedbase Summary 30 May 2024

Al Rayner, Cibo Labs, 30/05/2024

Markets

Wagga sale 27 May 2024: Numbers jump again

A large percentage of the yarding were last year’s autumn and spring drop heifer calves along with a clean out of 2 to 4 tooth heifers and 1345 cows…Read More

Leann Dax, 28/05/2024

National Feed Base

National Feedbase Summary 30 May 2024

The drawn-out wet season and milder conditions in the recent months have allowed growth to continue, which has extended to the southeast of Queensland and along the NSW coast…Read More

Al Rayner, Cibo Labs, 30/05/2024

The Weekly Grill

S4 Ep17: MDH’s Julie McDonald

Beef Central, 31/05/2024

Markets

Roma store sale 28 May 2024: Market eases with mixed quality yarding

Light weight yearling steers under 200kg topped 448c to average 410c/kg. Yearling steers 200 to 280kg sold from 310c to 418c/kg…Read More

Beef Central, 29/05/2024

Live Export

What you (probably) don’t know about sheep exports

Victorian cattle producer and export trade consultant Byron O’Keefe has worked in the livestock export industry since 2003, and was named Australia’s Young Livestock Exporter of the Year in 2016. Here he provides unique, personal insights into why many believe the sheep export industry is worth supporting – not only by Australia but for people, livestock and food security in the countries it serves…Read More

Byron O'Keefe, 30/05/2024

News

China suspensions lifted on five Australian export beef plants

Five Australian export beef processing plants suspended for trade into China for lengthy periods have had access restored overnight. The businesses under suspension started receiving advices from China’s General Administration of Customs around 10pm last night that they could resume trade…Read More

Jon Condon, 30/05/2024

News

Anticipation grows that suspended beef plants may soon regain China access

There’s growing anticipation in red meat processing circles that China may be poised to lift suspensions on eight Australian export beef processing plants that have been unable to trade into the market for up to four years…Read More

Jon Condon, 27/05/2024

Markets

Dalby sale 29 May 2024: Prices reflective of plainer quality yarding

Well-bred lines met fair demand however a small slip in quality resulted in a large fall in price. Light weight yearling steers to restockers averaged 40c/kg less in places…Read More

Trevor Hess, 30/05/2024

News

Senior management and board changes at Paraway

Corporate farmer and grazier Paraway Pastoral Co has announced senior operations management and board changes today…Read More

Beef Central, 29/05/2024

News

NSW pig problem escalates

Farmers are reporting a fresh surge in feral pig numbers, prompting a call to escalate funding to fight the state’s feral pig problem…Read More

Beef Central, 29/05/2024

Industry Dashboard

Carbon Trading Market

Aust. Carbon Credit Units (ACCUs) - $/tonne of CO2 equiv.

Today

32.75

Source: Jarden

$A / $US

Updated 7am daily

Today

0.6633

Source: NAB

ASX Market Index

01 Jun 2024 (updated 10am daily)

Company	Price	Trending
Elders	$8.96
Australian Agricultural Co	$1.52
Graincorp	$7.29
Ridley	$2.12
Woolworths	$36.64
Wellard	$0.06

Source: ASX

Beef Kill

Eastern States, weekly

Last Week

138200

Source: MLA's NLRS

EYCI

Eastern Young Cattle Indicator, c/kg

Today

617.2

Source: MLA's NLRS

90CL Cow

Imported 90CL cow beef price. Landed US, Ac/kg CIF

Today

906.8

Source: Steiner Consulting, MLA

Live Export

Live export feeder steer prices ex Darwin (c/kg liveweight)

Today

310

Source: Trade contacts

SOI

Southern Oscillation Index (SOI)

Today

-5.86

Source: Australian Bureau of Meteorology

Feeder Steer

NLRS-reported yards (feedlot buyers only); 0-600kg, 0-2T, c/kg LW

Today

318.3

Source: Feeder Steer

What readers are saying

Is the Government avoiding tough discussion on ag emissions?

Outrageous that grassfed cattle producer's peak body, Cattle Australia was not invited to attend this summit. They are clearly doing the science and have plenty to offer on....

Loretta Carroll

Deforestation: “be alert, not alarmed”

Good article James. You reported that “In Australia a definition has previously been used that defines forest as covering a smaller area 0.2ha (which is 40m by 40m), minimum....

Ian McCamley

Comparison suggests Aussie beef retailed in Japan is cheaper than in Australia

A secondary factor to consider is that Japan imports beef into the country from Australia, the USA and a handful of other countries. The prices negotiated on this trade....

Matt Dalgleish

Measure with “forensic integrity” leading Irish farmer urges Aussies

Amongst a plethora of fantastic speakers at BEEF, John Gilliland was a stand out. Great presentation!....

Terry Nolan

Environmental groups push for 15-year regrowth limit

Eric Barker, 31/05/2024

Qld Premier bans carbon capture and storage in Great Artesian Basin

Queensland Premier Steven Miles today banned carbon capture and storage in the Great Artesian Basin in Queensland…Read More

Beef Central, 31/05/2024

Opinion: Driving value for investment at the heart of MLA, says new managing director

Michael Crowley has started his new role as the managing director of MLA this week. In this contributed article he highlights his priorities for the new role…Read More

By Michael Crowley, Managing Director, Meat & and Livestock Australia, 31/05/2024

Koala expert urges environmental groups to work with farmers, not against them

A prominent koala ecologist says a recent campaign against the beef industry from an environmental group is not creating constructive dialogue on land clearing…Read More

Eric Barker, 31/05/2024

Markets

Dalby sale 29 May 2024: Prices reflective of plainer quality yarding

Well-bred lines met fair demand however a small slip in quality resulted in a large fall in price. Light weight yearling steers to restockers averaged 40c/kg less in places…Read More

Trevor Hess, 30/05/2024

Roma store sale 28 May 2024: Market eases with mixed quality yarding

Light weight yearling steers under 200kg topped 448c to average 410c/kg. Yearling steers 200 to 280kg sold from 310c to 418c/kg…Read More

Beef Central, 29/05/2024

Wagga sale 27 May 2024: Numbers jump again

A large percentage of the yarding were last year’s autumn and spring drop heifer calves along with a clean out of 2 to 4 tooth heifers and 1345 cows…Read More

Leann Dax, 28/05/2024

Heifers and some steers sharply down in 17,509 head online offering

Most young cattle categories trended down in c/kg price this week on AuctionsPlus, with the largest falls seen in the heifer offerings. Listings rose by 17pc to 17,509 head, with the clearance dropping 22 percentage points to 53pc…Read More

Beef Central, 26/05/2024

Beef Central, 31/05/2024

Long-forgotten 1970s-80s pasture trial sites delivering new industry legacy

A network of long-forgotten legume pasture trial sites scattered across southern QLD is delivering a tremendous new legacy for the beef industry. Five new stylo varieties have resulted from some clever detective work – firstly in re-discovering long-lost pasture trial sites – and secondly in analysing their performance for valued traits such as persistence and frost tolerance…Read More

Jon Condon, 23/05/2024

“Too many paddocks being lost”: Fall armyworm impacting beef fodder crops

Graziers and dairy farmers are invited to join an online update about fall armyworm, which is affecting forage sorghum and corn as well as grain crops…Read More

Beef Central, 27/04/2024

Q Fever vaccination database migrates to Australian Immunisation Register

A national Q Fever vaccination database previously managed on the meat and livestock industry’s behalf by AusMeat is being transferred to the Australian Immunisation Register…Read More

Beef Central, 24/04/2024

Processing

Weekly kill: Grids show easing trend as supply grows

There’s been an easing trend in direct consignment slaughter rates in parts of Eastern Australia over the past week, partly driven by expanding supply and lower saleyards prices in some areas…Read More

Jon Condon, 28/05/2024

JBS’s Scone bioenergy system will eliminate 23,000t of annual CO2 emissions

JBS Australia has completed the construction of a bioenergy system at its Scone beef processing plant in NSW, eliminating the equivalent of 23,000t of carbon dioxide emissions per year…Read More

Beef Central, 28/05/2024

Bindaree strikes deal with Casino to extend grainfed processing

Northern NSW export beef processor and brand manager Bindaree Food Group has completed a deal to toll-process some of its cattle at nearby Northern Cooperative Meat Co at Casino, as part of the company’s extension into higher quality product ranges…Read More

Jon Condon, 24/05/2024

Weekly kill: Slaughter numbers continue to lift, but 140k looks like the new threshold

National weekly cattle slaughter continues to rise heading into winter, but it’s looking increasingly like the processing sector’s natural capacity given current staffing levels is close to being filled. Direct consignment grid prices are mostly unchanged this week, despite growing supply pressure in the north…Read More

Jon Condon, 21/05/2024

Lotfeeding

Feedlot numbers hit new record high of 1.35 million

Numbers on feed across the Australian grainfed industry hit a new record high during the March quarter, totalling 1.354 million head. The new milestone adds a further 60,000 head on top of the previous December quarter record…Read More

Beef Central, 30/05/2024

Feedgrain Focus: Volume, values lift in patchy season

In a mostly dry week for growers, wheat, barley and sorghum prices have rallied, despite an uptick in selling from growers who are mostly in the last week or two of sowing…Read More

Liz Wells, 27/05/2024

ALFA opens applications for annual lot feeder awards

Feedlot businesses and their staff are encouraged to showcase their talent and be positioned as industry leaders by applying for a variety of awards run by Australian Lot Feeders’ Association…Read More

Beef Central, 22/05/2024

Feedgrain Focus: Dry south lifts prices

Slow selling from growers and solid export demand has seen prices ratchet up in the past week, with growers flat out planting, and niggling concerns about dry in the south…Read More

Liz Wells, 17/05/2024

Live Export

Watt confirms senate inquiry into live sheep phase legislation

A senate inquiry will be held into the Federal Government’s planned phaseout of live sheep exports by sea by 2028, Minister for Agriculture Murray Watt conceded today…Read More

Terry Sim, 30/05/2024

What you (probably) don’t know about sheep exports

Byron O'Keefe, 30/05/2024

Ag minister says live cattle exports are here to stay

Federal agriculture minister Murray Watt says the cattle industry should not be worried about losing its live export trade, almost two weeks after the Government announced a plan to phase out live sheep exports…Read More

Eric Barker, 23/05/2024

First State of the Industry report highlights live export growth

The report, developed by livestock export levy-funded industry research body LiveCorp and to be updated annually, provides an update on the number of sheep, cattle and goats exported, their destinations, delivery rates and average voyage lengths…Read More

Beef Central, 23/05/2024

Trade

Meat freshness labels could replace use-by dates

Patches that change colour as raw meat freshness deteriorates in sealed refrigerated products could soon become a reality on supermarket shelves, making it easier for shoppers to know if it’s still good to eat and reducing food waste…Read More

Beef Central, 29/05/2024

JBS/Andrews Meats claims Brisbane branded beef crown with Wagyu entry

JBS Australia’s Andrews meats division celebrated its biggest win in beef taste test competitions last week, earning the Brisbane Show branded beef competition’s grand championship with a Wagyu entry representing the company’s new W Black program. In its first-ever competitive outing, Andrews Meats’ W Black brand topped 50 entries across five grain and grassfed competition classes..Read More

Jon Condon, 22/05/2024

Australia’s US beef opportunity a ‘slow-moving storm,’ not a ‘tsunami’

Australia’s beef export opportunity to the United States in coming years would be more like a ‘slow-moving storm,’ rather than a ‘tsunami,’ a leading US beef industry analyst told a Beef 2024 breakfast audience last week. Rabobank’s Kansas-based US beef and cattle analyst Lance Zimmermann told a packed room in Rockhampton that the weather analogy might suggest that to a ‘slow moving storm’ might be kinder, and less impactful…Read More

Jon Condon, 14/05/2024

Australia’s April beef exports continue to surge

Australia’s beef exports during April continued to surge, despite the impact of holiday-shortened working weeks and weather disruptions to processing during the month…Read More

Jon Condon, 02/05/2024

Genetics

Repronomics – Making selection more accurate for northern Australia

Genomic data collected through intensive and detailed recording, has helped increase EBV accuracy in some lowly heritable and hard-to-measure traits by as much as 50pc a Beef 2024 seminar audience was told this month.
..Read More

Genetics editor Alastair Rayner, 20/05/2024

BreedPlan Select launched for commercial cattle herds

In what is being described as the biggest addition to BreedPlan in over 50 years, a new DNA-Only genetic evaluation product is being launched for commercial cattle herds…Read More

James Nason, 14/05/2024

CPC’s Troy Setter provides a checklist for bull breeders looking to sell bulls into the north

Throughout Beef 2024, there was a consistent theme based on capturing and growing the opportunities to improve beef production, often using well established practices and technologies. While there were many new developments presented in genetics seminar sessions, more frequently the information presented was demonstrations of how existing technology continues to underpin efficient and productive beef enterprises. CPC’s Troy Setter provided some examples in a discussion around bulls suited to the north..Read More

Beef Central, 13/05/2024

Big production cost savings to be had in breeding more feed-efficient cattle

The role of breeding and genetic improvement within the context of sustainable beef production was a focus of today’s breeding technologies seminar hosted by international breeding company Vytelle. ..Read More

Genetics editor, Alastair Rayner, 08/05/2024

Ag Tech

Study takes sky-high approach to animal welfare in WA

Researches learned that drones could be very effective and efficient, increase biosecurity, reduce work health and safety risks, and reduce stress to the animals…Read More

Guest Author, 12/04/2024

50pc rebates for smart farming tech available through $30 million On Farm Connectivity Program

Applications are open for Round 1 of the Albanese Government’s new On Farm Connectivity Program (OFCP) to increase the uptake of agtech to boost productivity, growth and sustainability of Australia’s primary producers…Read More

Beef Central, 11/12/2023

Sunshine Coast business wins Ag category award at Innovate with nbn 2023

A company helping butchers to monitor the cooking and cooling temperatures of all cooked/dried products was named as the Agriculture category winner of the 2023 Innovate with nbn Grants Program awards announced last night in Sydney…Read More

Beef Central, 27/11/2023

Drone survey a positive step towards better regulations for ag

The Civil Aviation Safety Authority is calling on producers using or intending to use drones for activities like mustering and spraying to help improve the regulatory framework…Read More

Beef Central, 01/11/2023

AgProperty Central

Weekly property review: Supply and demand pendulum shifts – what impact is it having on vendor expectations?

Several years ago, demand for rural property was outstripping supply. Today it is the reverse, with a flood of properties on the market. Are the buyers out there to absorb them? In this week’s property review, industry stakeholders share their thoughts on the current state of play…Read More

Property editor Linda Rowley, 29/05/2024

Weekly property review: Recently completed sales

Pickersgills add Rockland Spring to their CQ portfolio | Historic Glen Innes property sells after 123 years | SA’s Koomooloo makes $8.5m | Neighbour expands with Victoria’s Mellool Station..Read More

Property editor Linda Rowley, 22/05/2024

Movement at the station: Recent property listings

Pickersgills list CQ’s Maryvale | NSW property offers three cash flows | NSW’s Rivendell offers finishing & farming | NSW Western Division country lists after 77 years | Jim Gordon sells the family farm after 120 years | Qld block offers water and grass | CQ riverfront cattle & irrigation block | Northern NSW grazing & irrigation opportunity relists | RFM offloads FNQ aggregation..Read More

Property editor Linda Rowley, 22/05/2024

RFM Gulf aggregation with carbon potential likely to make circa $50m

A large Queensland Gulf Country grazing aggregation has been put to market by its institutional investor owner, with a strong emphasis placed on carbon opportunities. ASX-listed Rural Funds Group is offering its Mutton Hole and Oakland Park aggregation, a 225,000ha breeding holding with conditionally registered Carbon Sequestration Projects, in the heart of the Gulf near Normanton…Read More

Beef Central, 20/05/2024