October 31, 2019

Drought forces Australia's farmers to slaughter cattle

Lack of water and feed has forced farmers to send close to 100,000 prime-genetic herds to the slaughterhouse as rising costs make farming prohibitive, reported ABC Australia.

Meat and Livestock Australia (MLA) estimates abattoirs will be the next stop for more than eight million adult cattle by the end of 2019. This is 7% more than last year.

MLA numbers show 1.15 million cattle are on feed by the June 2019 quarter.

Peter MacCallum, Scone livestock agent said many family-owned farms have been forced to destock. He said cattle numbers dropped 30% eight or nine months ago, and that number has dwindled further, as carefully bred genetic cattle are not spared.

Cattle prices are strong currently due to strong demand globally, especially from China.

The government had forecasted the agriculture industry to increase to A$100 billion (~US$69 billion) in value by 2030, but the drought has severely affected farmers' confidence to rebuild herds.

MacCallum said if the drought breaks, and with government support to repair and upgrade water infrastructure as well as construct more dams, the industry does stand a chance to bounce back from this setback.

-   ABC Australia.