Rod Turner, Landmark Roma, this week advised me: “What a difference a month of good rain makes and cattle producers in the Maranoa have gone from feeding enormous quantities of lick and fodder to cutting down trees to feed hungry cattle to seeing a foot of green buffell over their properties. The local cattle numbers have steadied, as producers will now value add weight and presentation of their sale cattle.
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“It was only four weeks ago we were selling weaners in Roma saleyards that normally would have been marketed in January /February as domestic or heavy feeder cattle. Most of the cattle being yarded now are coming from western centres out to the Channel Country, also this week cattle came from Tennant Creek and Alice Springs and made up the 5500 yarded.”
“Locally numbers are hard to find, naturally prime cattle are extremely short in supply causing the cancellation of our weekly fat sale for last two weeks. The buying support has increased with strong competition from feedlots and back grounders, the local restockers have pushed young cattle back to the 420c/kg level.”
Rod added: “There is a general fear numbers are so depleted a in all areas after five dry years , that as the season breaks in the west it will get very expensive to restock. Breeders and lightweight cattle will become very hard to find. There are only six weeks of Roma cattle sales left to the last cattle sale to be conducted on Tuesday December 12. Harvest is well under way with varying success with wheat, barley and chickpeas due to a tough season for grain growing.”
