Quality cattle was selling well at Maitland Saleyards yesterday despite drier conditions in the Hunter.
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Greg Lidbury, of stock and station agents Bowe and Lidbury, said it was a case of producing cattle the market wanted.
“Competition for quality cattle is good,” he said.
“The prices at Maitland are still fairly good and solid.
“A lot of this is because the drought is much more severe in other parts of the state and Queensland.”
Mr Lidbury said in those areas, farmers have had to slaughter a lot, and sometimes all, of their herds.
“Prices in the Maitland market were pretty ordinary last year, because there was more cattle around.”
Maitland Saleyard draws its cattle from Sydney, the Central Coast, Buladelah, Dungog and other reasonably nearby areas.
Mr Lidbury said that although the area’s farmers were much better off than those west of the ranges, the need for rain was becoming desperate.
“We’re on a bit of an edge at the moment, where we need significant rainfall and run off,” he said.
Run off was the big need right now.
“Where a little bit of rain can help the grass to sprout, and in times of drought you can bring feed in, it’s nearly impossible to bring in enough water for the cattle,” Mr Lidbury said.
“If there is not enough rain for run off, the dams are not filled and farmers can become desperate for water.
“Most of the rain around this time of the year comes from storms, but you have to be lucky enough to be under a storm.
“At Woodville we got 13mm [on Sunday] night, but others got none or only 1 or 2mm.”
On the bright side though, Mr Lidbury was optimistic about the recent news of the Free Trade Agreement with China.
“Thanks to Australia’s coming Free Trade Agreement with China, the export market for quality cattle is the strongest I can remember,” he said.
“I can’t think of any time previously where the export market for cattle was as good as it is now.”
Once fully implemented, the Free Trade Agreement has the potential to boost the gross value of beef production by $270 million annually by 2024.
Out to 2030, the total benefits for beef will approach $3.3billion.
“The outlook seems very strong,” Mr Lidbury said.
And although the cattle produced in the Maitland area is not directly exported, he said producing the right cattle for processing or for feed lots could earn good money.
