The Year in Review - spotlight on January

Three local state ALP MPs – Rockhampton’s Bill Byrne, Mirani’s Jim Pearce and Keppel’s Brittany Lauga – were happy to tell the 250-strong crowd they were digging in to the trenches to fight the decision to acquire thousands of square kilometres as part of a comprehensive strategic partnership agreement between Australia and Singapore, to enthusiastic applause.

Suggestions were made to strike one of the world’s greatest beef events, Beef Australia, from Rockhampton’s calendar, in recognition of the potential loss of thousands of head of cattle from the landscape, in an emotion-charged afternoon.

It was Stanage Bay landholder Pip Rea who suggested this as well as replacing Rockhampton’s four iconic bulls with a Singapore Army catafalque.

She also laid down the challenge to Senator Canavan, whose base is Rockhampton, to fight for local constituents.

“Are you going to fight for us, or will you simply be the mouthpiece for the government,” she asked. “Put your money where your mouth is, turn words into action.”

The senator’s big picture message of the importance of the alliance between Singapore and Australia and the need to maintain good relations with northern neighbours was largely lost on an audience concerned only with survival.

They demanded a yes or no show of support from Mr Canavan, who spoke plainly in return, saying his government would take the advice of the Department of Defence into account, alongside concerns of the affected community.

With Capricornia MP, Michelle Landry, on holidays, it was left to Senator Canavan to explain that before last year’s election the government had received advice about “arrangements that would lead to expanded areas at Townsville and Shoalwater Bay”.

According to the Sydney Morning Herald, former trade minister Andrew Robb sealed the deal to “significantly deepen economic and defence ties with Singapore through an expansion of the countries' free trade agreement”.

Sally Cripps’ continuing coverage of the issue can be read here and here.

Coming into the New Year in January 2017, beef producers were focused on one key question. Could the sustained high prices of 2016 be maintained?

Even from early January, when the southern weaner sales got underway, the answer was a resounding yes. 

With a rally in United States beef prices fuelling confidence, southern fattening operations oozing feed and with grain prices continuing to provide incentive for lotfeeders to increase capacity, competition for the very tight supply of cattle was expected to stay red hot heading into autumn.

Northern NSW and southern Queensland calf suppliers who target specialist autumn sales were starting to talk about the prospect of southern competition for the first time in three years.

Shad Bailey, director with Colin Say and Co at Glen Innes, said southern calves were 30 to 40 kilograms heavier on average and mostly 40-50 cents a kilogram dearer than last year.

“We’ve had a couple of successful years down there buying cattle but didn’t source a beast this year,” he said.

“Bullock fatteners from around the Gippsland who have been absent from the market for two years have finally got a season.

“One positive, as a result, is that coming into our autumn weaners sales is there will be more people in the market.”

Other Queensland and northern NSW buyers who had been sourcing southern January weaners in recent years said they weren’t too upset at the fact they came away empty-handed, facing the hot, dry summer.

Some in fact didn’t even bother going, expecting the market to be very dear and factoring in the extra 5-10c/kg freight costs of carting heavier cattle.

“We expect the buying to be tough going through autumn - we’re selling them for good money so we have to expect to pay for them,” one Queensland fattener said.

Meat and Livestock Australia’s market information manager Ben Thomas said 2017 was the third year in a row of higher year-on-year southern weaner prices. “Really, it is a continuation of what was a strong market at the end of last year, driven by the shortage of cattle,” he said. 

Meanwhile, commercial cattle prices held firm across all categories at Queensland’s first saleyards auction of the year.

A total of 406 head of prime and store cattle were penned at Toowoomba Saleyards with bullocks selling to 300c/kg, heavy cows hitting 247c/kg and calves making to $4/kg.

Also, weaner steers sold to 380c/kg, and a high of 348c/kg was reached for weaner heifers.

Meandarra-based master woolclasser, Chantel McAlister, began the year with a mission to tour Australia to document its woolsheds, sheep properties and farming families, to showcase the “beautiful raw glory” of Australian wool to the world, via blogs and livestreams.

Chantel has since suspended her drive to bring the wool industry out of the shadows to have a baby, due in early 2018, but says she’s looking forward to the continuing journey.

Refresh your memory on Chantel’s aims here.

MORE yearlings, more millions, more records – Magic Millions keeps setting the benchmark higher and higher at its annual Gold Coast yearling sale.

Some 649 lots in the prestigious Book 1 catalogue were sold over the four day sale from January 11 – 14 2017 at a record average price of $206,922 and record gross of more than $134 million.

The statistics were impressive with the average ($206,922) and median ($160,000) prices rising by $10,000 (6.7 per cent) on the 2016 figures which, in turn, were both up 15 percent on the 2015 sale.

The buying bench was truly international with 12 countries represented plus every state of Australia: Hong Kong spent $11 million, China $3.8m, USA $2.2m and the UK nearly $2m.

Magic Millions managing director Vin Cox was delighted. “If we had got somewhere near last year we would have been very happy. But we have gone above that by quite a margin.”

Five yearlings achieved the million dollar mark. Top price honours at $1.3 million were shared by a More Than Ready/Purespeed colt sold by Corumbene Stud, Dunedoo, to trainer Gai Waterhouse and a Redoute’s Choice/Ballet Blue colt sold by Arrowfield Stud, Scone, NSW, bloodstock agent James Harron.

HAVING a resident reach 107 years of age is a grand feat but having two at the same retirement village would leave anybody asking, what is in the water at Roma?

Dexter Kruger and Olive Reade celebrated their major milestone on January 13 and 17 at the Pinaroo Roma Inc. aged care facility.

Mr Kruger said the secret to his old age was living in the country bush air. ​Read Lucy Kinbacher’s full story here. 

IF there was ever a time to be in the shoes of Chinchilla melon farmer Cameron Turner, it was in January this year.  

The manager of Sweetlife Farms Australia's Haliden property was in the midst of picking the first full crop of new rockmelon variety, Infinite Gold. It was shaping as their “best crop in years”. Read the full story here.