Market Talk - Dry puts pressure on livestock prices

Another steady week in livestock markets throughout the eastern states as the weather stays hot and dry (remembering it is the beginning of February).

Cattle numbers coming into the main saleyards have jumped as the stock drinking water becomes an issue going forward and these extra numbers are putting pressure on prices.

As an example, at Mortlake on Monday there were 2,672 cattle yarded (423 more) and most trade cattle made 440c to 500c while bullocks made 440c to 478c and the best heavy cows 370c to 398c/kg liveweight. 

At Wagga on Monday there were some young weaner calves included as producers decide to split and take advantage of the good cow prices. 

Locally we are seeing a tightening of kill space for the next few weeks and with weaner sales just around the corner the supply of cows to the abattoirs will jump significantly. 

While still on beef, interesting to note the US cattle slaughter fell by 6.4% to 29.3 million head which is the lowest level since 2015. 

This was the third consecutive year of smaller kills with the total numbers down 13% since 2022. 

The cow slaughter fell 11 per cent to the lowest level since 2005. 

The low kill number is important for Australian producers because it means the amount of lean manufacturing beef produced domestically in the US is creating space for imported product.

Lamb markets through the week have either held firm or improved for the best shorn lambs with most averages between 1,050c and 1,100c/kg carcass weight with most saleyard reports indicating a big price gap between woolly and shorn lambs. 

We saw that at Powranna on Tuesday with both processors and restockers having a major preference for shorn pens and the rumour is that woolly lambs aren’t yielding as well as their shorn friends. 

Restockers are paying significantly more for shorn lambs and in fact some buyers are walking straight past the woolly pens. Time to shear?