TheIndependentPublished by CIAA - a Platinum Operations companyAugust 9th 2016 Issue 8www.ciaa.com.au

94 Old Port Wakefield Rd, TWO WELLS SA 5501 www.ciaa.com.au

IN THIS ISSUE

By MICHAEL LAMONT

With all the hype surrounding the shortage of cattle

numbers and the prices that seem to have no ceiling, the state of the Australian sheep flock has been largely overlooked.

For no good reason at all, the size of the national sheep flock keeps shrinking. It is quite staggering to think that during a period where crossbred and Merino lamb prices have been stable at profitable rates for producers that numbers are still diminishing.

Sheep meat prices have a bright future, this is no secret, add the burgeoning prices for wool, better breeding technologies where lambing percentages are rising and better feeding techniques where more kilograms of meat per lamb are produced, these factors should add

up to an increase in supply, sadly not.The most immediate problem for

fat lamb producers is going to be how to source replacement ewes, especially at reasonable prices. Numbers available at feature store sales are predicted to be at historical lows, so there seems little doubt that prices are going to sky rocket to levels last seen five years ago when any quality young Merino ewes started at $200/head and just escalated from there. Border Liecester X Merino ewe lambs and hoggets could easily smash records.

The driving force behind these predictions apart from the shortage of numbers is the certainty that lambs will remain a profitable business for producers. As soon as Thomas Foods and JB Swift announced their forward contracts for new season’s lambs the writing was on the wall.

As spring approaches there is general speculation as to what will happen to lamb prices, will there be

big yardings, will the quality be any good, will buyers get the weight out of the lambs and how much will feeders be prepared to pay to buy lambs to feed on? The forward contracts have, to a large extent taken most of these questions out of the equation.

Lamb prices are going to be at the very least $5/kg, even at the peak of numbers, the yield is inconsequential as the “over the hooks” sale takes any speculation away, so the only point of interest will be how much the feeders will pay and when will the madness begin?

I’ll have a stab at these questions, the store buying frenzy will start as soon as any numbers start to appear in saleyards and if you want good quality crossbred lambs to put away get ready to pay $100 to $120 and well grown Merino lambs are going to set you back $90 to $110/head.

Just keep bidding and good luck!

Sheep Shortage Looming?

Profile - Daniel Griffiths, Pg. 6

Dublin fat cattle sales hit $4/kg!Pg. 2

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94 Old Port Wakefield Rd, TWO WELLS SA 5501 www.ciaa.com.au

Left: Eastern Young Cattle Indicator graphRight: Northern Trade Lamb Index graphBoth graphs indicate cents per kilogram carcase weight

All graphs and information courtesy of Meat & Livestock Australia’s National Livestock Reporting Service.

20152014 201620152014 2016

Dublin fat cattle sales hit $4/kg!

There has been plenty of sales around the countryside where light weight store cattle have achieved the almost unthinkable price of $4/kg liveweight. It doesn’t seem so long ago that $3/kg was a pipedream, now vendors are disappointed if their cattle don’t achieve this mark.

Last Monday’s fat sale at Dublin produced one of the legendary sales in recent cattle sales history, CIAA auctioneer, Andrew Lepley called $4 for a grain fed steer and was nearly knocked over in the rush from buyers as they bid on the

quality Murray Grey yearling.The canny vendors were AR &

JK Daniel, Long Plains, “Butch” and Janine have been very efficient feeders of both cattle and lambs, they have been ably assisted with supply by their independent agent,

Richard Jones. The majority of the pen of steers exceeded the $4 mark, with a top of $4.08, the heifer portion was only marginally cheaper, they returned up to the high $3.90 bracket.

Sheep and lamb prices keep on keeping on, early new seasons lambs took a slight dive as supply frees up but with a substantial floor in price provided by the forward contracts offered by the major processors, there seems little doubt that returns

will stay buoyant.The run up to spring and

the anticipated flush of fat cattle out of the pastoral zone is expected to exert some downward pressure on prices, however this will only be a temporary set-back, summer

and autumn prices are expected to bounce back to current levels, beyond that it should be, steady as she goes on the cattle price front.

By MICHAEL LAMONT

"majority of the pen of steers exceeded the $4 mark, with a top of

$4.08"

94 Old Port Wakefield Rd, TWO WELLS SA 5501 www.ciaa.com.au

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Adelaide 7 Day Weather Forecast

Information courtesy of weather.com & willyweather.com.au

TUEAugust 9

Rain16/8

WEDAugust 10

THUAugust 11

FRIAugust 12

Rain12/7

Partly Cloudy15/7

Partly Cloudy17/8

SATAugust 13

Mostly Sunny14/6

SUNAugust 14

Sunny16/8

MONAugust 15

Sunny18/9

Be vigilant in the "brave new world"

On-line marketing of livestock is becoming more and more

popular and is a very efficient way to conduct business and make purchases of livestock via the internet. Whilst there are time and cost benefits to purchasing and selling via this conduit, it is important to realise that when dealing with live animals, there are a number of pitfalls to not visually inspecting livestock prior to having them lob in your yards.

There are numerous different online avenues for buyers and sellers of livestock to utilise, some involve a level of appraisal and description of stock through a third party and some direct from seller to buyer. Regardless of the means, there are a few points that should be covered off on by both parties which are probably taken for granted when buying or selling through sale yards or on farm.

• Make sure you have access to and receive a copy of both the National Vendor Declaration (NVD) and Sheep Health Statement for all movements of sheep and Cattle

Health Statement for interstate cattle purchases. Otherwise you may find you have purchased stock ineligible for entry to South Australia.

• Ask questions relating to potential disease issues – drench resistant worms, pestivirus, johne’s, lice and footrot status, prevalence of toxic weeds etc, for areas you are unfamiliar with. Also ensure the description of the stock matches your expectation and ask questions to verify things like pregnancy status, age, drench history, bloodlines etc.

• Upon receiving, isolate stock for up to 2 weeks and conduct a thorough inspection, drench and vaccinate if necessary and if you are concerned… as always call in your local vet or Animal health officer for an inspection.

• Make sure stock purchases are appropriately identified with NLIS tags when buying or selling and remember to transfer the newly purchased stock to your Property Identification Code or if a Stock agent has facilitated the sale, check to see if they have done it. Always remember that if it isn’t a sale-yard transaction,

it’s the purchaser’s responsibility to transfer.

Unfortunately, I’ve had to call too many South Australian producers recently who’ve bought stock online only to find that they are either ineligible for stocking South Australian properties or have come with some form of unwanted problem or disease.

Fortunately however, I receive more calls than I make, from diligent stock agents and purchasers wanting to ensure they are buying eligible stock and making enquiries as to disease status prior to purchase. So to all readers of this publication, by all means utilize the new avenues for buying and selling stock, always remembering that there will be unknowns and to seek advice prior to purchase. Animal health officers like myself are happy to be contacted directly or check out our website at-www.pir.sa.gov.au/biosecurity.

Chris van Dissel

AHO Barossa and Adelaide Plains

By CHRIS VAN-DISSEL

94 Old Port Wakefield Rd, TWO WELLS SA 5501 www.ciaa.com.au

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What's the game plan for the coming season?

Predicting the weather and playing AFL football have a lot

in common, according to Agriculture Victoria Climate Specialist Graeme Anderson.

“It doesn’t matter how many times the ball gets down to your forward line, you still need the forwards to convert them to goals,” said Graeme, who spoke at the recent MLA-sponsored Border Beef Conference.

And so it is the case with seasonal forecasting. Australia’s oceans come into each season with either good or bad form, and then the weather events determine who gets lucky and who misses out.

“Our key climate drivers and oceans can point to an average or wetter than average spring, but the individual weather events are still needed to convert that moist air into rain that falls on your farm,” Graeme said.

“Presently, June-July-August – the key seasonal outlook for southern producers – is indicating an average or wetter than average spring thanks to the Indian Ocean Dipole kicking us more moisture this year.”

Graeme said challenge for producers is to better understand the latest physics on climate drivers and the seasonal forecasts for your region, and being better able to manage the increasing variability of our seasons.

“Whether we believe in climate change or not, the ocean and atmosphere couldn’t care less," he said.

“Managing for seasonal variability

will only become more important to farming enterprises, so having short, medium and longer term strategies to deal with this variability sets us up well for the future.”

While weather-watching is an important element of farming, Graeme encouraged producers to focus on the aspects of their business they can control.

“Agile farmers routinely set key decision trigger points for action and, as each season unfolds, they exert the discipline to act as needed,” he said.

Graeme said the four key climate drivers, (or Climatedogs as comically explained in the Agriculture Victoria Youtube video), that producers need to watch and understand are:

• ENSO – (El Nino/Southern Oscillation)• IOD – (Indian Ocean Dipole)• SAM – (Southern Annular Mode)• STR – Sub-tropical Ridge

Graeme said ENSO is particularly useful to watch during June-August to see how things are setting up for spring rainfall, with the Southern Oscillation Index being a measure of the pressure difference between Darwin and Tahiti.

“In El Nino years, like 2015, the pressure was higher over the Darwin/Australia region and lower at Tahiti (SOI negative) which is not helpful for

sending moisture our way,” he said.“Some places in NSW got very

handy rains last year thanks to some moisture from the Indian Ocean, but we missed that in much of Victoria.

“The IOD has a strong correlation with Victorian spring rainfall.

“When it is positive, it is in a drier phase and wetter springs are more likely when the IOD is negative, like it is now for the 2016 winter/spring.”

The SAM refers to belts of westerly winds that circulate around the Southern Ocean and can influence the strength of frontal activity and rain triggers that get to Victoria.

When SAM is positive, fronts travel further south towards the pole, which can lead to drier winters. In summer, SAM in a positive phase can help rainfall events along Victoria’s south-east coast, eastern Victoria and southern NSW.

The STR is a natural high pressure belt which can influence the location and strength of high pressure systems across southern Australia.

Graeme said, in the past 10 years, SAM and the STR have both been less helpful in creating cooler season rainfall, with some weather events slipping south more often and, each decade since the 1950s has become warmer.

“Seven of our past 10 springs have been 1-2°C warmer than average, effectively extending the summer season into spring and autumn. This can give us some bumpy springs for producers to manage,” he said.

Pre-season Training

Information courtesy of Meat & Livestock Australia.

94 Old Port Wakefield Rd, TWO WELLS SA 5501 www.ciaa.com.au

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MSA set for continued growth in new five-year plan

Under its new five-year plan the Meat Standards Australia

(MSA) eating quality program is aiming to ensure all cattle in Australia will be eligible for MSA grading to enable their eating quality to be accurately described.

Meat & Livestock Australia (MLA) has led the development of the MSA program, which has grown to the point that 3.1 million head of cattle were graded in 2015/16, or 38 per cent of the national adult cattle slaughter.

MLA has now set its sights on MSA grading over 50 per cent of all cattle slaughtered by 2020.

MSA Program Manager Michael Crowley said this would be achieved through a range of strategies outlined in the new five-year plan.

Mr Crowley said growth would be driven by supporting beef brands in underpinning their products with an MSA endorsement of eating quality.

“Investment in research that improves accuracy of the MSA model and covers all pathways, cattle types and production methods will be key to achieving these ambitious goals,” he said.

“And by empowering brand owners to drive the success of MSA globally, we are confident we can continue to drive benefits from

paddock to plate.”Over the last five years the

MSA eating quality program has expanded to continuously increase as a proportion of cattle slaughtered in Australia, with 1.34 million head of cattle graded in 2010/11 rising to 3.1 million in 2015/16 in line with commercial incentives, as shown by

an increase in young cattle premiums which have risen from $0.15c/kg to 0.24c/kg, and retail premiums across key primals of $1.73/kg in 2015/16.

In 2015/16 there were 45,217 MSA registered producers supplying 54 MSA licensed processors, 140 MSA licensed brands, and 3,743 MSA licensed wholesaler, foodservice and retail outlets.

MLA is aiming to increase supply through these supply chains with a goal of more than 60,000 MSA registered cattle producers by 2020.

“The demonstrated outcomes of the MSA program and return on investment to producers are proof that the program has been successful, but we want to grow further,” Mr Crowley said.

“This includes identifying on-farm practices and tools that help producers increase the eating quality of their cattle and improve compliance to both MSA and company specifications.

“As MSA moves from delivering domestic eating quality solutions to globally focussed outcomes, we

will seek to enhance the characteristics of the trusted MSA quality mark, which is the authoritative symbol that underpins the eating quality of beef and

sheepmeat brands. “And it goes without saying

that the MSA program will remain underpinned by world leading science.”

The plan features ongoing investment in research, as well as a focus on continued improvement of MSA’s integrity systems, and more efficient, accurate and transparent grading through development and adoption of objective carcase measurement technologies.

The new five-year plan has been developed in close consultation with the Peak Industry Councils through the MSA beef and sheepmeat taskforces representing producers, processors, brand owners and end users.

Information courtesy of Meat & Livestock Australia.

"The demonstrated outcomes of the MSA program and return on

investment to producers are proof that the program has been successful,

but we want to grow further"

94 Old Port Wakefield Rd, TWO WELLS SA 5501 www.ciaa.com.au

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Braised Red Wine and Rosemary Lamb Shanks

Ingredients- 4 frenched lamb shanks- 1/4 cups of plain flour- 8 whole baby onions, peeled- 4 stalks of rosemary- 4 cloves of garlic, peeled and sliced- 1/2 cups of red wine- 1 1/2 cups of beef stock

Method1. Preheat the oven to 180°C. Season the flour with salt and pepper, and mix well. Dust lamb shanks in the seasoned flour, shake off excess.2. Heat a large frypan over a medium high heat, add a little oil. Brown the lamb shanks well on all sides. Remove and place them in a small roasting dish or large casserole dish.3. Reduce heat in pan and add a little extra oil, add the baby onions, cook for 1 minute, stir occasionally. Add rosemary and garlic, stir for 30 seconds.4. Gradually pour in the combined wine and stock. Stir until the mixture boils. Pour over the lamb shanks. Cover the dish tightly with its lid or foil, place in oven. Cook for 1½-2 hours or lamb shanks are very tender. Turn the shanks occasionally and adjust the heat as it cooks if needed. You may need to add a little beef stock or water if it appears too dry. Serve shanks with a spoonful of the thickened sauce and mashed potato and green vegetables (beans and sugar snap peas). Recipe from beefandlamb.com.au

Profile - Daniel GriffithsI was born in the Mallala

Community Hospital, the second of three sons, enjoying life on a family farm growing up. I attended Mallala Primary School and then on to Xavier College in Gawler completing Yr12 in 2006.

Following this, I came home and worked on the farm which is mostly broadacre farming when I realised that livestock was where I really wanted to be. In late 2007 I attended a shearing school and began a small round of shearing sheds in the local area. In 2008 I moved to Naracoorte, having spent some time down there through school on work experience with PPHS, and joined in a team of shearers down there for the season.

I lived with Glen Hamlyn and couldn’t help but learn about being a stock agent.

I moved back home in 2009 to continue my shearing run in the Mid North. In 2012 I received an offer to join SAL Platinum Operations in Balaklava as a stock agent for the area. This was a great opportunity for me to commence a career as a stock agent and I thank them for the support and the start that this gave me.

In July 2013 I joined the SE company Spence Dix & Co partnering up with Joe Scammell and Daniel Doecke in the north. It was a fantastic opportunity to be with a company with such a large network which has

proved to be a very rewarding move. I am thoroughly enjoying my time with this Spence Dix & Co and am now learning the craft as an auctioneer at Dublin sheep and cattle for CIAA.

I am looking forward to the future as a stock agent with very exciting times ahead for sheep and cattle prices. It is a rewarding industry to be part of having good relationships with both clients and buyers.

I enjoy playing football for Mallala during the winter months and getting up the river when time permits through the summer. We have just purchased a small property just out of Mallala which we are excitedly renovating and hope to move into soon.

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94 Old Port Wakefield Rd, TWO WELLS SA 5501 www.ciaa.com.au

RIPPIN’ RESULTSAR & JK Daniels

Long Plains4 Murray Grey steers to $4.08/kg averaged $1,360.38 at the South Australian Livestock

Exchange, Dublin 1/8/16

AJ & GM HallLoxton

12 heifers to $3.67/kg averaged $1,331.37 at the Southern Livestock Exchange, Mt Compass

3/8/16

MW & HM Doudle NomineesPort Lincoln

56 Angus x Shorthorn steers to $3.40/kg averaged $1,493.50 at the South Australian

Livestock Exchange, Dublin 8/8/16

GH & CJ BensenKadina

36 crossbred lambs made $184 per head at the South Australian Livestock Exchange, Dublin

2/8/16

MR & S ZacherLock

12 ewes made $128 per head at the South Australian Livestock Exchange, Dublin

2/8/16

Broughton Hills Pty LtdYacka

4 Murray Grey x Angus heifers to $3.90/kg averaged $1,395.63 at the South Australian

Livestock Exchange, Dublin 1/8/16

Motpena PropsPort Augusta

36 Shorthorn steers to $3.36/kg averaged $878.39 at the South Australian Livestock

Exchange, Dublin 8/8/16

DF & E Kemp & SonsRoseworthy

6 steers to $3.60/kg averaged $1,551.67 at the South Australian Livestock Exchange, Dublin

8/8/61

Colin Broad Pty LtdBooborowie

41 crossbred lambs made $184 per head at the South Australian Livestock Exchange, Dublin

2/8/16

DJ & SJ DolphinLock

25 wether hoggets made $120 per head at the South Australian Livestock Exchange,

Dublin 2/8/16

Jeff Emms0408 803 427

Platinum Livestock(08) 81 305 000

Richard Jones0448 071 505

Jones Livestock Services

EP Livestock0408 126 144

SAL North West(08) 86 272 788

SAL North West(08) 86 272 788

SAL North West(08) 86 272 788

KW Livestock Keith Pluckrose0428 452 199

Geoff Williams0407 797 357

Geoff WilliamsLivestock

CIAA(08) 85 203 131

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SAL North West Tumby BayColin McFarlane - 0457 736 285

Rodwells WoolbrokingChris Vordermaier - 0488 043 304

*in conjunction with Elders Tumby Bay

Regional South Australia is not adequately represented by

the current State Labor Government. Specifically, irrigators throughout South Australia are being left disadvantaged with the lack of knowledge and information from the Weatherill Labor Government and Minister Hunter in relation to potential water allocations.

The Marshall Liberal Team recently announced that if elected in 2018, A State Liberal Government would provide probable scenarios to water

licence holders throughout the State allowing an insight into potential allocations, unlike Minister Hunter who does not allow for informed decision making.

This is a policy which is already being utilised in other States, such as New South Wales and Victoria.

This policy shows the transparency of an elected Liberal Government and provides irrigators throughout South Australia with potential inflow advice to assist them with their business planning.

The State Labor Government are failing our regions and we need to ensure the long-term winners in the

agriculture sector are considered and informed, especially in light of the fact the opening minimum water allocation in July this year was at 36%.

These resources are supporting the livelihoods of irrigators and this policy allows them to have the knowledge to make more informed decisions when forward planning.

The Marshall Liberal Team support regional South Australia.

Until next time,Adrian PederickMember for Hammond.

By ADRIAN PEDERICKA Mallee Member

Liberal Water Policy

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Willow Fields Stud Cattle

Price Review - $3,500 + GSTCows with calf at foot, back in calf.

High quality registered Angus Cows for sale, herd to be sold as a whole.Willow fields genetic test for parentage and known genetic disorders and culls

accordingly. EBV’s and other details available.

Great opportunity to add outstanding genetics to top up a herd or a great bloodline to base a new stud on.

Rebate available to approved agents. For more information, please contact Ben Dohnt, Platinum Livestock

0437 856 327

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CIAA94 Old Port Wakefield RdTWO WELLS SA 5501Ph: (08) 85 203 131Fax: (08) 85 203 121

AdministrationKylie Kemp: 0409 304 186Marnie Burt: 0419 828 511Livestock ManagerTex O’Brien: 0418 835 156AuctioneersJeff Emms: 0408 803 427Peter Pinkerton: 0428 838 196Craig Barbary: 0428 817 811

www.ciaa.com.auwww.facebook.com/ciaalivestock

BURRAAndrew Butler0407 399 772GP Livestock

ONE TREE HILLGraham Phillips0408 802 280

GUMERACHAJeff Emms

0408 803 427KW Livestock

SPALDINGKeith Pluckrose0428 452 199

BALAKLAVA Peter Butterfield

0417 884 877

PARNDANA Terry May

0438 451 981Nathan Trethewey

0427 395 571

Keilem

ALL AREAS Tom Wardle

0418 810 363Craig Reschke0408 853 541Trevor Cleland0407 601 074

Tony Clark0427 363 161Julian Burke

0458 542 615Peter Wardle0458 484 422

EYRE PENINSULARichard Hill

0427 272 311Ben Dickenson0437 967 643Henry Zwar

0427 797 455Scott Masters0458 517 883

Willson Livestock

KADINAGarry Willson0428 845 889

Mark Carter & Co

ARDROSSANMark Carter

0418 825 673Luke Carter

0429 679 033

ALL AREASJonathan Spence

0427 084 951Rodney Dix

0429 818 490David Cox

0439 847 781Kym Lovelock0407 711 337Daniel Doecke0458 748 262Mark O’Leary0429 814 998Luke Schreiber0429 817 274Joe Scammell0429 112 664

Daniel Griffiths0437 486 771

YANKALILLA Greg Weber-Smith

0419 867 801John Rye

0407 547 205

KIMBABronte Kenchington

0457 740 220Colin McFarlane

0457 736 285Bradley Hier

0457 737 864Warren Brown0457 736 544

Nathan Johnson0457 735 449

ALL AREASWayne Hall

0477 064 407Craig Barbary0428 817 811Toby Cousins0429 068 964

Ben Dohnt0437 856 327Adam Bradley0428 838 285

Simon Rosenzweig0427 887 705

Matthew Pawley0458 423 513

STRATHALBYNTim Callery

0408 366 185Malcolm Collett0408 826 543

NARACOORTELaryn Gogel

0459 620 904Darryl Napper0429 640 234

Jones Livestock ServicesMALLALA

Richard Jones0448 071 505

WUDINNA Brian Durdin0428 272 922

Warren Beattie0428 899 004

Geoff Williams Livestock & RuralFLINDERS RANGES

Geoff Williams0407 797 357

The PhantomFooty season, joy for Crows!

(Power, only plodders!)There are an unbelievably large

array of allegiances to AFL football clubs amongst the ranks of buyers at the Dublin sheep and lambs sale and the sledging between them is nothing, if not entertaining.

There are quite a few that have had to brave the storm that their under-performing teams have created, poor old CIAA auctioneer, Peter Pinkerton barracks for Essendon, enough said!

Saleyard Manager, Andrew Lepley follows Colligwood, Wagstaff buyer, Carey Hackett is a Richmond man and the bevy of perennially disappointed Port supporters include Trevor Burns,

ALC and Peter O’Leary, Austral Meats.Greg Arnold was looking fairly smug

when the Kangaroos were 9-0, now he’s looking decidedly shaky after recent form, then there’s the Crows. Richard Winkel and Phil Hienrich tow the TFI sponsored Crows line as does CIAA’s “Tex O’Brien, the only Sydney supporter that springs to mind is the Mallala cattle feeder, cum policeman, Paul Bruggeman and of course there’s the mighty Hawks whose number one ticket holder at Dublin is Michael Lamont. Let the finals begin!

Burra bush races looming large!

The revived Thistlebeds Picnic race meeting, east of Burra is fast

approaching. The date to remember is Saturday October 22nd, last year’s meeting was a huge success and if you’re looking for some good clean (maybe dusty) fun, it’s the place to be.

The day features flat racing, calcuttas, barrel racing, novelty events and plenty of food and drinks.

Rumour has it that CIAA Admin manager, Kylie Kemp may even be sufficiently recovered from a recent knee injury to be able to throw her leg over something, she might even be fit enough to enter the barrel racing!