Queensland graziers breeding up the herd

The 2021-22 (FY22) financial year was a period of major herd rebuilding for the Queensland cattle industry. Analysis of AuctionsPlus weekly commercial cattle sales has revealed some interesting insights around the retention of heifers and higher prices paid for proven breeding females – clear indications of the desire to rebuild herds through Queensland.

Queensland offered a total of 293,589 head of cattle on the AuctionsPlus platform in FY22 - selling to a clearance rate of 84.5%. The number of steers offered out of Queensland increase by 16% on FY21, to total 118,003 head in FY22 (Figure 1). Comparatively, the offering of heifers decreased by 15% to 85,355 head, with the listing of breeding females remaining stable year-on-year. Excellent rainfall late in the wet season after consecutive years of promising outlooks, but disappointing results, allowed Queensland graziers to finally bolster female numbers. Consequently, heifers and future breeders were tightly held by vendors, while limited offerings were the subject of heated competition.

Figure 1: AuctionsPlus Queensland commercial cattle listings – FY20-22

Prices for Queensland cattle on AuctionsPlus averaged 30% higher in FY22, which was consistent across all stock categories. The number of PTIC heifers offered in Queensland increased by 42% in FY22, to total 23,320 head. They achieved a 76% clearance and average price of $2,440/head – up 32% on the previous year (Figure 2). Listings of PTIC cows increased by 11%, to 20,093 head for the financial year, which sold to a 79% clearance - while prices averaged 27% higher, at $2,263/head. The lower listings of young heifers and breeding females, combined with consistent price increases across all stock categories, confirmed the notion that the further north you go the more graziers will choose to breed-up numbers, rather than buy them in.

Figure 2: AuctionsPlus Queensland commercial cattle average prices – FY20-22

The remarkable rise in the commercial cattle market from FY21 to FY22 has been reflected in the stud bull market. Across 35 stud bull sales on AuctionsPlus in July alone, 1,760 bulls averaged $14,222/head – up 20% on last year, as outlined in this previous article.