It is a little surprising that we are in one of the worst droughts the country has experienced (especially in NSW where the entire state is declared) and we do not have a national strategy or policy to address the priorities that are required to support the victims of a drought, the producer. Droughts are a regular occurrence and make no mistake, they are a natural disaster and should be treated as such. During a cyclonic event if you lose assets that provide an income for your business you are compensated by way of natural disaster assistance to rebuild.
Livestock producers who lose their income producing assets, their breeders, via way of a natural disaster, a drought, should be compensated in the same way. That should form part of any national drought policy going forward.
Livestock producers who have their breeding stock die due to the drought or are forced to liquidate because of the severe conditions have to be compensated in a methodical and fair way and compensation should be initiated automatically. The compensation amount would be determined by way of previous income the producer has received when marketing their livestock in an orderly and productive environment. If the producer has marketed breeding stock, (CFA breeders/surplus heifers) over the previous five years say to an average of $1200, that average should be recognised and the forced sale price, say $500 should be subtracted from the average. The producer is than compensated for the difference – in this case $700. This asset replacement value would activate when the shire has been drought declared. Tractability via way of the NLIS would ensure the integrity of any claim. This is not a handout. It is recognised as compensation for the asset lost, the breeders, and would ensure the viability of the producer to quickly recover breeder numbers by re-investing the monies received and not having to borrow additional funds to rebuild the business.
Priority for Federal Government support and assistance to rural producers in drought situations needs to be prioritised internally in preference to externally. Australia is a generous nation and over the years billions in funding has been provided to support the less wealthy nations in our region. With a natural disaster like this current drought those funds have to be re-directed to shires where smaller communities are struggling – not only the farming businesses, but also the local town businesses that play a vital role in keeping goods and services available and maintaining employment opportunities that keep this great nation moving.
The city is taking notice of the drought situation and the coverage is providing the catalyst for large and well-respected companies to provide support for all in rural parts of the country. Banks, retailers, energy companies are stepping up the initiatives including donation of profits from trading days and funds are stacking up quickly. We need to ensure as quickly as these generous donations are received they are just as quickly dispensed to where they are needed.
While we would like it higher, the livestock market is showing remarkable resilience when you consider the weight of numbers coming forward for the processor and re-stocker markets. There is significantly more processed product available internationally that is cause of concern for our processors and feedlots are at capacity with forward bookings for space growing daily.
Emerald last week auctioned more than 5000 quality cattle over two sales. The monthly store sale had close to 4000 head and the market was strong holding at rates similar to previous sales. The mostly local line-up, as expected, were showing signs of the season and the buyers’ gallery is beginning to shrink. Vendors were accepting of the prices. The Whitehead family achieved 302c for their Charolais weaner steers from their Springsure property Undercliffe. Heavy steers topped at 270c with the Bottomley family from Monash, Comet realising 267c returning close to $1200 per head. Medium weight steers sold to 299c. Heifers to feedlot sold to 251c.