The Farmers Club

The “Club Notes” for Thursday, the 9th of May, 2024.

By Dwain Duxson

Somethings missing

Nigel Kerin, from Kerin Ag, is a thinker; he is always analysing the situation, whether that be on his own Farm or at an industry level. I caught up with the Sheepman at Beef Week on Tuesday. He will sorta ask or paint a question, knowing he has his answer to it, but will just want to see how you respond first. It's a unique trait. Anyway, he asked me what does the Cattle Industry have that the Sheep industry doesn't? So, according to Nigel, he always explains it better than how I am going to write it here, but his answer is: a Feedlot system. He said that when times are tough and prices are challenging, the Feedlot system turns many light Cattle into heavier types at more value. The Sheep industry doesn't have that, so what happens is when time gets tough, those Lambs that could possibly go into a Feedlot situation if it was available have to go on the market as lights and are then punished and, in turn, brings the whole market down. The Cattle industry has about 1.3 million head on Feed at any one time; imagine if the Sheep industry had a rolling 3 million head on Feed at any one time; how that would change the dynamics of the industry. It's a topic that could be picked apart with "what if’s", but it's well worth giving some thought to. It would be a great topic at Lamb-Ex. Do you reckon a fully-fledged Feedlot or finishing system would be an advantage to the Sheep industry? Reply to [email protected]

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