IS the trend toward more red-meat production really in a farmers best interest?
It’s the question no one really seems to ask amid the push to breed and produce more, especially in the case of lamb and sheep. A key reason sheepmeat prices are at record highs – and there is so much profitability in the sector – is a shortage of supply. But how far can you change that before it starts to hurt farmer returns? Australian beef production will hit record levels in 2012, thanks to a combination of herd expansion and more cattle to kill, plus higher carcass weights. This forecast was released last Monday as part of Meat and Livestock Australia’s mid-year update for cattle, and the figures talked about raise questions about the whole supply and demand balance for the industry. At the moment the amount of beef we are producing isn’t selling well enough overseas, or domestically, to give farmers a decent return for the costs involved. According to ABARE, the average southern beef producer in 2009-10 was estimated to have experienced a 47 per cent decline in farm cash income,
