MLA Sheep Industry Insights
The sheep industry outlook highlighted the impact of prolonged adverse weather conditions, with the national flock expected to fall to its lowest level on record by 2028. New South Wales currently accounts for approximately 39% of the national sheep inventory. Following three years of record-high lamb production, lamb carcase production is forecast to decline by around 10%, while mutton production is expected to fall by 28–40%, which is a larger decline than initially anticipated.
Despite the reduction in supply, sheep prices remain at record levels due to strong demand. Restocker lamb prices are expected to increase the most as demand continues to grow. Processing throughput has declined by approximately 30–40%, with slaughter numbers dropping by around 46% from their peak, reducing from 773,000 head in late 2024/early 2025 to approximately 417,000 head in late 2025/early 2026. Despite these challenges, the industry has expanded processing capacity by around 10 million head over the past two years. Looking ahead, around 37% of producers are planning to increase their breeding ewe numbers in 2027, while approximately 23% of producers are finishing sheep on grain. Prime lamb production continues to strengthen, with shedding lamb numbers doubling.
MLA Cattle Industry Insights
The cattle industry outlook showed that the national herd is expected to decline by approximately 3.6% by 2028. However, 2026 is predicted to record the highest cattle slaughter numbers seen in 48 years. Carcase production has increased by approximately 8.7%, with the current market being largely demand-driven. Strong slaughter rates combined with high demand have continued to support strong cattle prices.
Ashgrove Dairy
Ashgrove Dairy demonstrated the importance of maintaining strong pasture management and adapting to changing consumer demands. The dairy feeds approximately 5–6 kg of supplementary feed per cow per day while focusing heavily on
pasture quality, including the use of white clover and ryegrass to provide balanced nutrition.
The dairy has adopted a unique milking approach, operating on a 16-hour milking interval rather than the traditional morning and afternoon schedule. This system allows cows to produce more milk by optimising their natural production patterns.
Ashgrove has also invested significantly in upgrading dairy infrastructure to improve operational efficiency and enhance worker safety. Beyond traditional milk production, the business has successfully diversified through tourism, cheese production, and consumer milk products. This diversification allows the business to respond to changing consumer preferences and provides greater resilience against market fluctuations.
Landfall Angus
Landfall Angus is a family-owned business producing both commercial and stud bulls, with the majority of their sales occurring on the mainland. The business also operates a turf enterprise and is exploring future opportunities within tourism, including planned renovations to support this direction.
One of the key areas of interest was their use of Halter virtual fencing technology to improve grazing utilisation. Landfall Angus was one of the first businesses in Australia to trial Halter, and through early challenges and adjustments, they worked closely with the company to develop a system that better suited their operation. The technology is now being used with young weaners grazing fodder beet, where cattle are moved multiple times throughout the day and provided with controlled access to smaller portions of feed. The demonstration of this system was impressive and showed the potential benefits of improved grazing control. The business plans to continue using Halter for another two years before reviewing its long-term value.
Landfall Angus conducts three bull sales each year, with two held in Tasmania and one in Victoria, selling approximately 1,000 bulls annually. A major message from the owner was the importance of people within a business. He openly discussed personal challenges and highlighted that having the right team and support network around him had been one of the most important factors in overcoming difficulties and building a successful operation.
Iveridge
Iveridge operates a successful meat and wool enterprise, with Coles being their major buyer. A strong focus of the discussion was the importance of employing good people and creating a positive team environment. The business acknowledged that dealing with large retailers can sometimes be challenging due to limited competition when negotiating sales.
The business places a high priority on investing in quality infrastructure to improve safety, efficiency, and ease of work for employees. Their sheep were in excellent condition, and one management strategy that stood out was placing breeding ewes into a starvation paddock with access to silage but limited pasture before joining. This process has resulted in improved reproductive performance and better lambing outcomes.
Riverlea Farming
Riverlea Farming is operated by a farmer who moved from New Zealand approximately 10 years ago. The business has a strong focus on understanding exactly where every dollar is being generated and spent across the property.
A major focus of the operation is maximising pasture utilisation and improving the efficiency of the whole farming system. One example is their cropping program, where broccoli crops are harvested for the florets and cattle are then used to graze the remaining plant material. The business operates a diverse system incorporating dairy cattle, beef steers, breeding ewes, lambs, and cropping. Their focus is on understanding the production potential of the property and making the most of available resources.
Rumen Digestion Insights
The rumen digestion discussion highlighted the differences between pasture species and how they influence animal performance. Different grasses and crops have varying breakdown rates within the rumen, which affects feed intake and weight gain.
Ryegrass has a similar digestibility to chicory but takes approximately four times longer to break down in the rumen. This means animals spend more time processing the feed compared with crops such as brassicas and chicory. When targeting weight gain, crude protein levels are an important consideration when selecting pasture species.
Animals need to consume more ryegrass compared with crops such as kale and chicory because each mouthful contains less dry matter. Lucerne provides excellent-quality feed but needs to be utilised before it becomes too mature. Hay and silage can change the nutrient characteristics of feed but do not significantly alter digestion time.
Ryegrass has higher fibre content, resulting in slower digestion and potentially slower weight gain, whereas clover provides a valuable protein source with good digestibility. Highly digestible feeds can also create challenges, as animals may consume feed faster than the available carrying capacity allows. Maintaining a variety of pasture species and crops can help manage this risk.
Wet conditions can reduce dry matter intake, meaning livestock need to consume more fresh feed to achieve the same nutritional intake. Higher dry matter feeds generally improve intake efficiency and animal performance.
Tasmanian Feedlot
The Tasmanian Feedlot is Nil-Antibiotic Japanese-owned, with all meat produced being exported directly to Japan. The business primarily purchases young cattle from Tasmanian producers and has developed a highly structured entry and feeding system.
Before entering the feedlot, cattle receive a vaccination program including Bovilis, Pestigard, and 5-in-1 vaccinations, administered two weeks apart. Piliguard is used for pinkeye prevention, with Manuka honey patches also trialled as an alternative treatment.
A major learning from the feedlot was the importance of backgrounding cattle before entry. Originally, cattle entered directly into the feedlot and would only consume around 3 kg of feed per day due to stress. With the introduction of a 3–4 week backgrounding period, cattle now enter the feedlot consuming around 20 kg per day from their first day.
The ration consists of approximately 70% roughage, with the remaining portion made up of barley, potatoes, and additives including lime and Beef Culture. Potatoes are used as an energy source similar to grain and are highly palatable for cattle.
The feedlot cleans pens every two weeks, with manure collected and composted for sale as a bulk fertiliser product.
The business works with a nutritionist from America due to their experience with potato-based feeding systems. Cattle enter the feedlot at approximately 450–480 kg liveweight and must meet strict cleanliness standards before slaughter. Best practice involves placing cattle into shed pens with sawdust bedding to clean their hides, which can take between 10 and 42 days depending on conditions. Dirty cattle can receive processing penalties.
Shed pens can provide an additional 100 g/day weight gain, and cattle that are underperforming are removed from the feedlot and returned to pasture before re-entering the system. The feedlot produces approximately 550 tonnes of feed per day, with trucks delivering around 7.5 tonnes per load. Cattle are fed three times daily, with 10% of the ration provided in the morning, 45% at lunch, and 45% in the late afternoon.
Due to Japanese market regulations, probiotics cannot be included in the ration. Average weight gain is approximately 1.85 kg per head per day, achieving around 80–90% of maximum performance while avoiding excessive growth issues. Cattle remain on feed for approximately 130–140 days before reaching around 800 kg liveweight. The operation achieves an extremely low mortality rate of approximately 0.001%.
A key difference between the Japanese and Australian markets is that Japan purchases the entire carcase, whereas Australia generally focuses on selling premium cuts.