The cattle market eased this week, with the nearing Christmas shutdowns causing a slight dip in the number of buyers and processors attending sales compared to the previous week. Cattle yardings fell by 20,615 to 77,881 head, but despite the significant week-on-week drop, this was the second largest week of the year in terms of yardings.

The sheep and lamb industry faced unprecedented challenges during 2023 and market confidence was shaken at various points, creating substantial movements in indicator pricing throughout the year.

Doug and Sue Campbell run a 5,000 hectare cattle property at Gaeta, near Gin Gin, Queensland. The property has been in the family for three generations, since 1923. Connection to the land and to the local community has been important to the Campbell family since those early days. There are regular BBQ catch-ups and an annual 22km cattle walk that people in the area get involved in.

Recent rainfall on the east coast over the last week ranging from 25mm to 150mm has improved market sentiment, pushing up prices for all cattle indicators. The performance of each state is closely linked to the amount of rainfall over the past two months.

MLA and Australian Wool Innovation (AWI) conduct the Sheep Producer Intention Survey (SPIS) three times a year. The survey results of the October wave were released this week. The results provide great insights into the future behaviours of Australia’s sheep producers and can be dissected on a state and size basis.

Beef and Lamb Campaign 2023

On Tuesday, the Australian Lot Feeders Association (ALFA) and MLA released the September lot feeding brief, which monitors trends and provides an overview in the lotfeeding sector.

On Thursday, the Australian Bureau of Statistics released the official slaughter and production statistics for the third quarter of 2023, which is useful to help understand the industry’s operating environment.

The latest livestock products data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) shows that Australia has entered a destocking phase for cattle and sheep, according to Meat & Livestock Australia (MLA).

The online selling of sheep and cattle has been growing in popularity in recent years. In response to this growing online marketplace, Meat & Livestock Australia (MLA) has launched the first publicly available online indicators.