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Dairy industry in focus

Popular industry Innovation Day returns this week Mount Gambier Market Report CATTLE

Up to 200 dairyfarmers and service providers from across the Limestone Coast and beyond are expected to attend the popular Innovation Day, to be held at The Barn, Mount Gambier on Wednesday June 1.

According to DairySA conference coordinator Cathy Ashby, the Innovation Day is the result of a collaborative approach between DairySA and South East SA dairyfarmers.

“Like all agricultural industries, it’s important that dairyfarmers keep up to date with the latest advances in their industry,” she said.

“Whether it’s the latest innovations in breeding and pasture and their effect on profitability at the farm gate, or diving into the field of epigenetics to understand more about colostrum and its potential to ‘program’ cows for the future, this conference will give delegates the opportunity to hear new ideas, observations and pathways for their dairy future.”

Speakers will include Bill Wales from the 100 Days project - addressing the most critical period in each cow’s lactation - Jennie Pryce from the DairyBio program and Tom Cosentino from the South Australian Dairy Association industry fund.

A mix of concurrent sessions in the afternoon will provide participants with a cross section of themes to deep dive into the topics.

Dairy Australia chair James Mann will detail the current challenges and opportunities facing Dairy Australia and provide a snapshot of current projects and commitments and how they translate at the farm gate.

Now in its twentieth year, the DairySA Innovation Day has grown to become one of SA’s premier dairy industry events and has built a reputation for attracting high calibre speakers and industry experts.

Following the full day program delegates are invited to enjoy the Top Paddock and Dinner to get together with old and new industry friends, share the day’s insights and provide feedback to the DairySA Board and team.

Naracoorte Market Report - SHEEP & LAMBS

There was a reduced offering of 4860 lambs and a small lift in sheep numbers to 1079. It was a mixed quality yarding from heavy weight lambs showing excellent cover and ideal trade weight lambs to plainer lots suiting restockers. The usual buying gallery attended and operated with slightly less demand. Light lambs sold mainly unchanged helped by restocker competition, medium trade weights sold from $1to $3/head cheaper and heavy lambs sold close to firm. Restockers purchased light lambs from $79 to $147 with the better quality store lambs from $141 to 159/head. The best of the Merino lambs made from $166 to $205/head to average 770c/kg cwt.

Very light weight lambs to the processors made from $47 to $89/head with light lambs selling from $105 to $147 and the light trade weights sold from $145 to $168/head as they averaged between 815c and 900c/kg cwt. Medium trade weight lambs sold from $161 to $191 and heavier trade weights made from $190 to $215/ head as they averaged in costs from 770c to 800c/kg cwt. Heavy lambs sold from $206 to $232 to average 760c and the extra heavy pens made from $227 to $264/head averaging 719c/kg cwt. Heavy crossbred hoggets sold to a top of $209 and a pen Merino hoggets made to $179/head.

The sheep market remained steady for the mixed quality penning of all weights and grades as prices remained unchanged. Light weight mutton sold mainly from $103 to $126 with very light lots $65 to $82/ head. Medium weight sheep sold from $130 to $146, heavier pens made from $164 to $190 and the extra heavy crossbred ewes sold from $184 to $221/head. Mutton costs mainly averaged from 575c to 620c/kg cwt throughout the sale. Medium weight Merino wethers made from $159 to $166 and a sale of crossbred wethers sold to $211/head. Rams of all breeds sold from $30 to $112/head.

Numbers fell away as agents yarded 381 head of liveweight and open auction cattle. These sold to a large field of trade and processor buyers along with the usual feeder and restocker orders.

Quality was mixed over the pens in a market that mainly sold from firm to a little better in places.

Yearling steers mainly went to feed on from 350c to 631c with similar heifers also to feed on made from 524c to 585c as the trade were active on the heifers from 380c to 600c/kg. Restockers operated here on both sexes from 590c to 608c/kg. Grown steers and bullocks attracted trade support from 448c to 530c with feeder operating from 470c to 562c/kg. Grown heifers to the trade ranged from 388c to 468c with feeder support from 355c to 530c as manufacturing steers sold from 355c to 420c/kg.

Heavy cows were sought after as they lifted up to 9c to range from 340c to 390c as the lighter types to trade buyers peaked at 335c with feeder activity from 260c to 370c/kg.

Bulls ranged from 240c to 328c/kg to the trade with restockers taking a single back to the paddock at 342c/kg.

Hamilton Market Report SHEEP & LAMBS

WEDNESDAY

Agents yarded 11,200 lambs at Hamilton and 6100sheep. There was not as much weight overall on offer last week with more lighter conditioned tail end lambs, despite this, the top end of the lamb offering was very good. A near full field of buyers together with store buyers were still active In a market that was generally firm to slightly dearer for trade lambs. Very heavy Lambs were stronger by $5/head with some lambs back to the paddock up to $20 stronger in places, more so for the very light lambs, however, the medium lambs back to the paddock were $10 to$15 softer in places

Light Lambs 12kg to 16 kg made between $94 to $148/head. Light trade lambs 18kg to 22kg made from $155 to $188/head averaging between 759c and 845 c/kg cwt. Medium trade lambs 22kg to 26kg made from $160 to $213/head averaging around 766c to 800/kg cwt. Heavy lambs sold to $246/head with Hoggets selling to $173/head

Competition for sheep was not as strong with heavy sheep back $10 to $15 /head, medium weights $5 to $10 softer and the very light sheep unchanged.

Heavy cross bred ewes made to $250 with the well covered Merino ewes making between $127 and $195/head to average 600cto 681c/kg cwt. Merino wethers sold from $148 to $188/head to average between 648c to 750c/kg cwt making the overall average price for mutton to be between 630c and 700c/kg cwt.

Rams terminal sires sold to $90/head and Merino Rams to $146/head.

Naracoorte Market Report - CATTLE

There was a smaller yarding of cattle with 188 head less. The regular buying group attended in a mixed quality offering from good to plain. Prices for the younger and grown cattle did fluctuate in places during the market depending on the quality overall selling close to unchanged. Cows and bulls mainly sold to firm market on average.

Steer vealers sold from 580c to 630c with the heifer vealers making mostly from 500c to 604c/kg with the restockers and trade both active. Yearling steers to the restockers and feeders made from 544c to 622c/kg. Yearling heifers to the trade sold from 502c to 590c as the feeders and restockers purchased their heifers from 420c to 558c/kg.

A sale of 3 light weight grown steers sold for 500c/kg. Good quality grown heifers with cover made from 400c to 470c with feeders again active paying from 455c to 490c/kg. A pen of extra heavy weight manufacturing bullocks sold for 300c/kg. Heavy weight beef cows mostly made from 335c to 375c/kg. A few sales of medium weight cows sold from 250c to 300c, and the plain light cows made from 80c to 180c/kg. Restockers purchased cows from 185c to 333c providing extra competition. Heavy beef bulls sold from mainly 300c to 312c, with 2 younger bulls reaching 335c/kg.