Many
areas of Australia are currently experiencing a one in one hundred year
drought. Most of WA, SA, NSW and Victoria have had virtually no Spring
rainfall. Very little hay and silage has been made and very few crops will be
harvested. It cannot get any worse than that.
But
all droughts are broken sooner or later and the challenge is to retain as much
of our breeding herd as is possible with the least amount of financial
distress. Seedstock animals are more valuable so it is logical that more can be
expended to retain them or at least the nucleus of them. There are numerous
Department of Agriculture publications and websites which provide advice on how
best to feed and manage stock in a drought and available financial assistance
Websites with excellent information are:
If
you don't have access to the web then ask your local Department of Agriculture
office for printed material.
There
are some basic rules:
The
inevitable crash in cattle prices has hit home this week with the Eastern Young
Cattle Indicator down 29.5 c/kg to 267.2 c/kg which is 78c/kg lower than last
month and 131 c/kg lower than this time last year. On a saleyard basis the EYCI
fell by as much as 72 cents in Camperdown, Vic, with Shepparton, Vic down by 48
cents and Wodonga by 38 cents. However towards the end of the week the
situation has stabilized somewhat with Armidale, NSW up by 21.4 cents and Dubbo
up by 18.6 cents yesterday.
Southern
saleyards are flooded with unfinished cattle as producers destock but prices
are holding up better in the north with heavy steers selling for around 340
c/kg dressed weight. The current fall in prices especially for cows and young
stock is simply due to excess supply as the underpinning export prices are
still very healthy. MLA statistics show grassfed full sets at 875 c/kg this
week compared to 870 c/kg last week and 805 c/kg this time last year.
Shortfed
heavy steers showed the same trend at 1005 c/kg this week compared to 955 c/kg
this time last year. US 90 percent chemical lean beef is selling for 335 c/kg
compared to 331 c/kg last year.
In
drought the difference in price between well finished cattle and unfinished
cattle is always much greater.
In
the very depressed Victorian markets this week European cross steer milk
vealers still made 216.6 c/kg at Packenham on Monday. Euro cross heifer vealers
made to 202.6 at the same saleyards.
At
Warwick in southern Queensland Limousin X Droughtmaster steers 573 kg made 194
c/kg or $1,112 for Terry and Veronica Barditt of Killarney and at Toowoomba
grainfed Limousin steers 445 kg made 186 c/kg or $828 for Pinegrove Feedlot.
Another
example of premiums for well finished Limousin cross steers in hard times was
the recent sale of 70 grain fed Limousin X Angus EU accredited steers by Don and
Cecile Bourke of Kaludabah Rural at Mudgee. These outstanding steers sold over
the hooks to Wingham abattoir for $3.80 c/kg dressed weight to realize an
average of $1,174. Limousin X steers are just ideal for the EU market because they do not carry excessive fat and don't
require HGPs to produce extra muscle and growth.
Lucy
MacKenzie is the new BREEDPLAN person at ABRI who will handle all incoming
data. Lucy can be contacted on 02 6773 3056 or by email limousin@breedplan.une.edu.au
Now is the time to get your registrations and recordings done so that all of
your animals are on file for when you submit weights and docility scores.
Genetic
Solutions have just announced the availability of four new DNA markers for feed
efficiency plus an additional marker for marbling. There are now a total of 12
markers that Genetic Solutions can test and the cost for the 12 markers is
likely to remain similar to the cost for the very first marbling marker when it
was released.
Neville
Rosser of Danross Limousins called to say that there are now two Limousins with
eight stars for tenderness. Tramahler Unice which Neville and Denise purchased
at the Tramahler Female Sale earlier this year has tested eight stars for
tenderness and three stars (of a possible six) for marbling. The other known
Limousin with eight stars for tenderness is Tarampa Downs Advantage.
With 32 Limousins among
110 total beef entries at Taree (NSW) Show Limousins had an outstanding showing
with many interbreed awards including Supreme Bull and Supreme Female of the
Show.
Supreme Bull was Kippax
Valley Awesome Star shown by Paul and Janelle Relf of Warrigal Limousins at
Wingham. The Relf family also exhibited the Supreme Female, Kippax Valley Star
Dust.
Robert and Marilyn Bulley
of Roma-Park Limousins also had interbreed success taking out the Pair of Bulls
and Sires Progeny competitions as well as a second in the Breeders Group. Other
breeders to do well in the Limousin judging were Ken and Kirsten Bisley of
Amber Park Limousins with Kippax Valley Starlight in the female over 30 mths
and the Relf children Ryan, Rachel and Danielle of Ryradan Park Limousins with
Donna Valley Avril in the 16-20 months female class.
Picton Show is a small
show on the outskirts of Sydney but about six Limousin breeders went head to
head in the European breeds section. Results were as follows:
Junior Champion
Bull: Lavender Farm Barney - R & M Bower.
Reserve Junior
Champion Bull: Lavender Farm Aubrey - R & M Bower
Junior Champion
Female: Riviere Vue April - Tim Bower
Reserve Junior
Champion Female: Lavender Farm Arabesque - R & M Bower
Senior Champion
Female: Stevens: Cherokee – Adam Pogson
Reserve Senior
Champion Female: Lavender Farm Zinnia - R & M Bower.
The
Crawford family from Kingaroy were again at the top of the tree with their
Limousin cross cattle at the Dalby Wambo Beef Galore at Dalby last week. They
took out the Suncorp Feedlot Challenge for the most successful feedlot with two
first placings, one second and one third in the 763 head showing.
Alan,
Val and Jamie Crawford have just increased the size of their feedlot from 150
to a 499 head capacity and have used Rosehill Limousin bulls for the last ten
years.
27th
October: Fernlea Complete Female Dispersal, Warragul, Vic (catalogue on the
web).
15th
November: Tobias Annual Female Sale, Forbes, NSW (catalogue on the web).
24th
November: Classic Limousin Female Sale, Culcairn, NSW.
29th
January 2007: Premier and Longreach
Limousins Female Production Sale, Moss Vale, NSW.
21st
February 2007: Mandayen 2nd Limousin Performance Sale, Furner, SA.
23rd
February 2007: White Lakes Limousin & Angus Bull & Female Sale,
Brunswick, WA.
1st
March 2007: Donna Valley Annual Bull Sale, Holbrook, NSW.
Yours in Limousin
Alex McDonald