Slaughter figures down as Australia's beef herd rebuilds

A sharp fall in cattle slaughter numbers is the latest evidence of extensive rebuilding of Australia's beef herd.

According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), the start of 2010 saw the lowest national cattle turnoff rates since 2002, with some regions recording their lowest slaughter numbers in almost 15 years.

Livestock economist Tim McRae said rain and producer confidence are behind the change. "Right across NSW, Queensland, Victoria, we've seen female slaughter numbers for that first quarter of 2010 back up to 17% in Victoria, so we're certainly starting to see producers holding on to their females," he said. "We're certainly starting to see some producer intentions that they'll rebuild their cattle herds over time.''

"I think we're starting to see a season which is going to provide producers the ability to hold on to some females, and that's been helped by a cattle price which has certainly kicked on the back of the supply issues," he said.

While the herd rebuilding will take time, the immediate benefit of the summer rains is also revealed in the latest ABS figures.

McRae said the average weight of slaughtered cattle in 2010 is about 274 kilograms, the highest ever recorded in the first three months of a calendar year.

"Whilst it's a pretty general average figure, it certainly shows that the quality of cattle entering the market was higher than previous years," he said. "I think that's a seasonal thing. In some regions, they've had three or four months to take benefit from the rains."