Widespread rainfall since February has fuelled the prospect of the national beef cattle herd entering a rebuilding phase for the first time in three years, according to Meat & Livestock Australia’s (MLA) Cattle Industry Projections April update.

Vastly improved conditions, combined with a positive rainfall outlook, has led to a forecast adult cattle slaughter for 2020 of 6.9 million head, a drop of 19% on 2019. MLA Senior Market Analyst, Adam Cheetham, said for the first time since 2017, many producers are now in a position to seriously consider rebuilding depleted herds, particularly across southern Queensland and New South Wales.

“From a cattle supply perspective, the impact of improved conditions on producer intentions is anticipated to see cattle turnoff decline to the lowest point since the mid-1990s and remain at historically low levels for the next two years,” Mr Cheetham said.
“The flow-on effect of a sharp contraction in adult cattle slaughter has seen a decline of 16% in the national beef production forecast to 2.05 million tonnes carcase weight (cwt), with increasing carcase weights only offsetting some of the decline in slaughter. “Intense competition for store cattle will challenge the lot feeding sector and the number of cattle on feed is anticipated to ease, limiting the upside potential for average carcase weight gains.”

Mr Cheetham said global and volatile demand had applied downward pressure to cattle prices in recent weeks, after prices surged to record levels across all categories in March on the back of improved seasonal conditions. “Looking ahead, driven by limited supply availability, domestic conditions continue to be a key factor influencing Australian cattle prices. However, developments in local and global markets, specifically foodservice demand and ongoing economic conditions, will continue to pressure prices,” Mr Cheetham said. “Currently, Australian prices remain out of sync with global price trends, largely due to the influence of domestic conditions. “While this seesaw effect may continue given the global uncertainty, Australian cattle prices are expected to maintain a certain level of support for the next 12-18 months, given limited domestic supply and strong restocker demand.”

Click here to read MLA’s Cattle Industry Projections April update

4. Autumn feed budgeting 

Do you find yourself asking How long should I supplementary feed animals? What is the feed value of my autumn pasture? What are my animals’ nutritional requirements for their stage of gestation or lactation? What are the increased nutritional requirements for weaner management?

The answers to these questions and more will be provided during an interactive webinar / phone seminar on feed budgeting being delivered by Agriculture Victoria Veterinary Officer Dr Cathy Bunter.

Dr Bunter has over 28 years’ experience working in mixed veterinary practices across Australia, including five years teaching students as a lecturer in animal nutrition, health and production at Longerenong Agricultural College.

Dr Bunter said developing an accurate feed budget, incorporating the introduction of early-season pasture to an animal’s diet, was critical to ensuring that animal nutritional needs and animal growth rate goals are met. “Efficient supplementary feeding is key to ensuring profitability, as well as pasture persistence,” she said.

This event will assist producers to assess if they have adequate feed-on-offer and to understand the variable properties of early-season growth. “Using feed tests and interpreting the results into real-time animal nutritional requirements confidently is an important skill,” Dr Bunter said. “We will take a ‘step-by-step’ approach to navigating this through the beginning of the season.”

This event is delivered by Agriculture Victoria with funding through the Victorian Government’s 2019-20 drought support program.
The ‘Autumn feed budgeting’ webinar / phone seminar, will be held at 7.30 pm on 6 May.

Register online at https://login.redbackconferencing.com.au/landers/page/428b66
For enquiries contact Tess McDougall on tess.mcdougall@agriculture.vic.gov.au or 0409 841 492

Are you a producer looking to commercialise an invention or develop a new value-added product? Not sure how to get started? 

Come along to the GRDC and Farmers2Founders virtual workshops if you want to:
FREE EVENT – Access via laptop or tablet

• Meet other producers working on new business and product ideas.
• Get feedback and support on commercialising your product or invention.
• Discuss what are some of the challenges and opportunities you see for grain producers looking to value-add.
• Find out more about how F2F can help.
• Keen to explore technologies or innovations that can help us through COVID-19

This workshop will be a great opportunity to meet like-minded producers from around Australia and work with F2F’s entrepreneurs and innovation experts.

• 26th May 2.30pm – 5.30pm (AEST)
• 28th May 10am – 1pm (AEST)

RSVP at farmers2founders.com/events
Contact: Alexander Leat at admin@farmers2founders.com

We are AgThentic, and we are on a mission to change the world by helping innovators build the food system of the future. We have built a group of companies to do this:

• AgThentic - specialist advisory services for clients in agricultural innovation 
• Tenacious Ventures - early-stage venture capital for agrifood tech innovation
• AgTech...So What? - podcast telling stories of agrifood and farming innovators
• Farmers2Founders - farmer-led innovation program to discover and develop innovations sourced directly from active farmers

We work where agriculture meets technology, with world-changing ideas and innovators. But we need you to tell their stories. We are looking for an exceptional marketer to grow our community, attract and support world class startups, and drive revenue. This is a hands-on marketing role perfect for a tenacious marketer who loves strategy, but thrives creating content, and wants to help us change the world.

We need a marketing champion to design strategies and create content to maximize our impact.

Strategy

• You will own the growth of the AgThentic, Tenacious Ventures, and AgTech So What brands. You will design persona-based strategies to engage audiences ranging from startups to farmers, across organic and viral in-person & digital channels.  
• You are creative, with great ideas that you are willing to advocate for and can oversee from concept to execution and evaluation
• You make data-driven decisions, and are comfortable launching and iterating quickly. You know that marketing success requires a hierarchy of metrics that will vary across channels (e.g., shares, leads, downloads, revenue, etc.).

Content.

• You will strike the right tone for our audiences and create helpful, thought-provoking, engaging content across social media, newsletters, articles, blogs, and podcasts to drive awareness of us and our portfolio companies. You will use visual tools, short and long-form mediums, and not be afraid to try new things. You will develop new partnerships to grow our impact.
• You have exceptional writing and editing skills.
• You can adapt your style, tone, and format across modern digital platforms
• You are a critical thinker and love learning new things.
• You like digging into complex topics, synthesizing findings, and communicating your insights to drive engagement and revenue.
• You are detail-oriented. You follow up, follow through, and rarely “drop the ball.” You believe in the need for playbooks.

What’s in it for you
This is an opportunity to work at the heart of agriculture, entrepreneurship, and technology with a passionate team of rockstars who truly believe that marketing is core to business success. You will get to drive strategy across multiple companies, engaging one day with farmers, and the next with corporate executives or startups. We are a team of four: you will be a big fish in a small pond. You will report directly to the CEO, with autonomy to work flexibly and remotely from wherever you choose.

How to apply
Please send: (1) a writing sample; and (2) a social media account that you’ve owned/run that you’re proud of to jobs@agthentic.com. No resumes or cover letters, please.

Need more info? Click here.