Dear members,
It has been 3 months since I stepped into the CEO role with Herefords Australia. During that time we have accumulated over 17,000 MSA carcase records through members’ voluntary contributions and it continues to paint a bright picture about the quality beef Hereford and Hereford cross cattle produce. The average MSA index is around 60 with carcase weight, ossification and marbling being the main drivers of the index outcomes. I would like to encourage all members to continue to submit data if you are interested and feel free to engage your bull buying clients on this initiative as well. I have no doubt there is a lot of underutilised data that will help us take this breed forward.
Sydney show was a showcase for the breed and was a great representation of the quality of cattle we have in our breed. We supported a small social function after the judging and I don’t think there are many breeds where the breeders come together and enjoy each others company. The competition element continues to challenge making improvement in the breed and when we come together to work on common solutions to take the breed forward we can achieve a lot.
The week after Sydney, Ambrose and I travelled to Rockhampton to take part in the Australian Intercollegiate Meat Judging (ICMJ) northern program. I had the opportunity to present to the 120 students and early career professionals as well as chair a panel session with other industry leaders. We took part in a careers expo to promote our scholarships, connect students to our youth program and to engage the next generation with our programs. It was also a great opportunity to meet with commercial industry representatives who we are now working with following those discussions.
The Herefords Australia National Show & Sale saw the largest number of entries for many years. There was a big crowd for the show and sale which was great to see. We held our AGM followed by a social function and both were well attended (particularly the social function!). The sale itself went quite well particularly considering the market conditions. More bulls were sold at auction than last year. It was expected the average and clearance would be challenged, there was still a lot of positives to take out of the event with strong support from the stud stock sector in particular. The exhibitors should be proud of the quality of cattle through the offering. We will continue to build on the event and bring members and bull buying clients together at this showcase event.
Looking ahead, there is plenty to work on.
– As announced at the AGM, sustainability is one of the biggest macro trends we have seen in a long time and HAL is committed to driving the benefits of Herefords in line with the sustainability requirements our customers demand.
– We are in planning for Beef Australia which will be held in May 2024. We will keep sending out information as it comes to hand in particular keep an eye out for more information on the National Carcase Competition, Stud entries and commercial cattle competition information. I would love to see the Hereford breed well represented in all these competitions and we will be well placed to do well.
– The Australia/UK Free Trade Agreement came into force this month. We have a new 35,000 tonne market that will increase to 110,000 tonnes in 10 years before there is no quota, no duties (up from the previous 3,400 tonnes of quota). This is a game changer and is worth $500M in year one.
I look forward to the next few months as we work with commercial partners at events like the JBS producer awards and forum being held in Melbourne, we have the National Youth Expo in Parkes with record numbers of youth getting involved (145 entries at the time of this note). Dubbo and Glen Innes multi vendor sales, QLD youth event in Dalby, northern stud open days and sales.
Lets hope the season goes with us and the cattle market finds its feet.
Best regards,
Michael
