Fevered restocking has shifted into a race to rebuild that is pushing young cattle prices skyward, with heifers leading the charge. Heifers are now worth as much as steers, sometimes more, as the reality sets in of shrinking supply against a backdrop of paddocks already full of feed and one of the most favourable spring.
While equity market investors have endured a bumpy six months of soaring, plunging and then partly reviving share price activity returns from prime agricultural investments suggest the sector is coping better with the coronavirus confusion. In fact, as COVID-19 pressure on financial markets and the dollar made farm exports more attractive and kept commodity prices.
Analysts are becoming increasingly confident in yield predictions that will lead the nation to what could be one of the biggest year on year recovery in crop production in the past 50 years. And Australia could also set to recover its mantle as one of the world’s largest wheat exporters after two well below average.
Japan is proving a solid rock for Australian beef exports during pandemic volatility and with restaurants there now back to 75 per cent of normal traffic, the outlook is strong. Japan remains neck and neck with China as Australia’s largest beef export market by value, with demand seemingly weathering the COVID storm well. The latest.
Global food and agribusiness bank Rabobank has just rolled out world-first technology that enables virtual rural property valuations but some in the industry are hesitant to believe a computer can do the job accurately. CSIRO-backed start-up Digital Agriculture Services (DAS) has created the Rural Valuations Hub, a software-as-a-service product that is helping Rabobank conduct property.
Lessons learned from previous crises about diversification of markets and the value of protecting established relationships have served high-end branded beef operation Blackmore Wagyu well during the current health pandemic. The sixth generation Australian family-owned farming business produces all the beef itself which is sent chilled to high-end fine dining restaurants and gourmet butchers in.
Expanding and diversifying into the Kimberley region is what Andrew ‘Twiggy’ and Nicola Forrest’s purchase of Jubilee and Quanbun Downs, near Fitzroy Crossing, will offer their existing beef cattle operation. The Western Australian billionaires announced last week they were the buyers of the premium offering via their investment vehicle Tattarang. The offering comprises 221,408 hectares.
Potential bull buyers from across the globe cast their eyes over entrants in the Sire Shootout last week with the catalogue, online stream and voting poll all garnering international attention. The three night online judging event attracted more than 12,400 views online and on Facebook with an audience from around the world including United States.
The move towards an electronic NVD system has resulted in the emergence of new mobile technology aimed at improving livestock traceability. New versions of the Livestock Production Assurance National Vendor Declaration for all species were recently released and instantly available online. Meat and Livestock Australia awarded an eNVD license to Australian tech company AXIchain who.
The typical dip in slaughter that comes with winter, combined with a low herd and very good seasonal conditions across much of the eastern states’ cattle country is creating a buffer from global beef market concerns for the cattle market. Cattle prices across all specifications continue to climb, with the benchmark Eastern Young Cattle Indicator.
