FT Livestock Exchange news with Jack Henshaw

Check out the FTLE page here or Call Jack Henshaw, our in-house Livestock Agent on 0407 902 941.

I was talking to a fellow Beef Cattle Producer this week, and he was worried about the talks of net-zero emissions by 2050.

As we talked further we soon shifted the focus to how we embrace the changes that might come and have a look at ways to make our Beef Cattle industry more sustainable and efficient.

This goes beyond emissions.

We need to embrace this strong Livestock market and not fear it and look at ways how it could make our farming operation more sustainable in the future. The biggest driver of change is profitability.

Maybe it's selling off the cast for age Cows or selling off Heifers, when naturally in a good season, they are the Cattle we want to keep to build up our breeding numbers again. It is a long time to take a Weaner Heifer through to having her first Calf, we still have to remember what's around the corner. It might be two years or three years down the track of another drought or the market coming back due to unforeseeable events. We need to plan and make calculated decisions.

I was talking to one Producer who is selling off his old Cows in Calf and selling off all his Weaner Heifers at extremely high prices, which he said the cash would cover him for the shortfall in breeder numbers for two years.

He is now getting me to buy Cow and Calf units at coastal Livestock markets (Cheaper Cattle) where he is putting the Cows with Bulls, getting them back in Calf to sell preg tested in Calf and selling off the weaners as backgrounders. He is making a very healthy margin on a low-risk article because if the market takes say a 20% shift back, he can still Calve the Cows down again and come out on top.

Anyway, just how one person is going about it.

Call me if you want to discuss it.