Trading PTIC Cows is not a new opportunity – calving down the cow and split the articles, taking the cow into either a breeder or processor market; and the calf into the backgrounding or feedlot market. However, with a strong baseline of the processor cow market, it has recently risen in popularity.
On the face of it trading a PTIC breeder is simple and provides options. However, it comes with complexities around unknown calving, putting condition back on animals and also the risk or two separate markets changing during the trade.
The sale of the calf anywhere from 8-12 months is an assumed process – heading back to a restocker or feeder market is nothing new, it is the cow where the opportunity lays.
One factor which producer must be taken into consideration is the cost of grass – what is the trade costing the business compared with other opportunities such as steer or lamb fattening.
Reviewing AuctionsPlus data from 2019 to 2025, traditionally the volume of PTIC cows and PTIC heifers hit AuctionsPlus in Autumn, where 36% of PTIC females were offered.
Both Summer and Winter represent 25% each of the offering, and Spring with 16%. The New England, Northern Tablelands and the Northwest Slopes of NSW are the primary source of PTIC females, making up 25% of the offering over the past six years.
Price wise, the above volume brings choice, PTIC Cows and Heifers in Autumn and Winter on average trade 7% -10% cheaper than in Summer. December through to February is traditionally the most expensive time to buy PTIC females, and Winter the cheapest.
For those considering purchasing PTIC cattle for trade, 2025 is shaping up well with the potential to be a favourable year for selling dry and cull cows.
The volume of cull cows has broken records throughout 2024 - largely thanks the USA. Dry conditions in 2023 has seen the US herd fall to the lowest point since 1951, which in turn, has driven prices sky high. In August 2024, the USDA Beef Retail was trading at 851c/lb – the highest it’s been since records started in 1970.
Australian cattle remain extremely competitive in the global markets, comparing the MLA National Feeder Indicator and the US CME Feeder Cattle Index (c/kg LW AUD), the US index has traded a 300c difference over Australian Feeders since May 2023.
Cull cows from Australia have been selling into the USA as part of 90CL (90CL refers to meat that is 90% lean red meat and 10% fat, Australian lean beef and 50CL fatty US beef makes a 70CL beef patty).
The 90CL indicator has broken its all-time record in April 2024, breaking 950c/kg AUD for the month. It continued to break records throughout the rest of 2024; currently for the month of January 2025 it is sitting at 1,061c AUD.
Meanwhile, the processor cow indicator hit its highest point since January 2023, in September 2024 reaching 298c/kg LW. South of the United States, another beef producing giant is also seeing destocking.
Brazil, the third largest global beef producer, is also seeing a record slaughter rate. The Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE) released Quarter 2 (April-June) figures, revealing that 9.96M head had been processed. This is an increase of 17.5% compared 2023, and also an all-time quarterly slaughter record for Brazil since the country started tracking slaughter rates in 1997.
To conclude, 2025 is shaping up to be a prime year for the beef industry and traders. There is grass opportunities throughout Eastern Australia. After the pain of 2023, there has been a level of hesitancy for beef producers to trade cattle, however, the opening of 2025 has shown that looks to be subsiding.
Tom Rookyard is the General Manager at Ottley Livestock Finance.
