Markets respond to season changing rainfall
2023 was a year that severely challenged the marketing plans of sheep and lamb producers, with dramatic moves in the market rarely seen. Certainly, the scale of the market moves was not typical of the normal seasonality we come to expect of the sheep market. The Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) issued an El Nino “watch” […]
Angus cattle popular with buyers and sellers
As January comes to a close, we can take a look back at the stats for weaners that were sold at the December and January weaner sales. There are a few interesting points to come out of the data, including a marked difference in prices between breeds. For this analysis, we have used Nutrien Ag […]
The problem with feed grain
Feed wheat and barley prices have been slowly declining since harvest started. Part of the decline has been due to strong supplies thanks to wet weather over harvest, and much more ASW harvested than expected. International factors have also been impacting our prices. Corn is the world’s biggest crop, and this year is expected to […]
Sheep and lamb offtake update
Given the dramatic swings in seasonal conditions since mid-2023 in eastern Australia, it seems timely to check the sheep and lamb offtake levels to see what is happening to the flock size. Mecardo last looked at the sheep and lamb offtake in October (read here), when seasonal conditions were not good and prospects were grim. […]
