WHAT are prices going to do? This is the eternal question posed by livestock producers and it is as difficult to answer as it has been for eternity.
The universally accepted maxim that knowledge is power does not always translate in our world. Despite the amount of information available to livestock producers in our technology driven world, there seems little opportunity to capitalise on that.
There are facts and there are fallacies. The facts are that our beef and veal exports are at record levels - a lazy $673 million for August alone - and these show little to no sign of abating anytime soon.
Meat industry insiders are intimating that their main concern for the immediate future is maintaining supply.
The beef exporters may be right with their concerns - Australia's female cattle sell-off has been unprecedented. It would surprise many that the numbers of cows and heifers yarded at the sales that MLA's National Livestock Reporting Service covers for September 2014 remain at 55 per cent.
The female component sold at these saleyards has been above 50pc since July 2013. The 146,566 females, consisting of 65,938 cows and 55,790 yearling heifers, sold in September alone casts some doubt on the ability of producers to breed enough cattle to satisfy processor needs.
If these are the facts, then it is obvious that investing in commercial beef cattle would be a very wise manoeuvre, so why do I hear so many beef producers claiming impending poverty and a lack of faith in the future?
The answer seems to be in the ridiculous situation we have seen recently where prices for cows, bulls, manufacturing steers and bullocks have far outstripped those for young cattle.
* Full report in Stock Journal, October 16, 2014 issue.
