BUSINESS 59
THEWEEKLYTIMES.COM.AU WEDNESDAY FEBRUARY 7 2024
BULL BUYING GUIDE
AUTUMN
Stud breeder Glenn Bowman, of Bowman Performance Genetics, with the purebred herd at Rosedale.
two months and then return to Neerim South to be sold in lead pens in the annual autumn sale at 18 months. “This way I’m getting the latest bloodlines back through my herd at an early age,” Glenn said. Consistency of the breeding herd was key to the entire pro- gram and the Bowmans’ Rose- dale operation was a beneficial large scale commercial testing ground using their own gen- etics to get direct and immedi- ate feedback.
“The ratio of bull calves kept to what is culled is im- portant,” Glenn said. “If you are keeping 80-plus per cent of bull calves then you are on the right track I believe. If you are cutting 50 per cent then you are doing something wrong. We are well over 80 per cent of our male progeny out there working.” Glenn said there was much more involved in the breeding of quality cattle than ever be- fore and it was for the better to help iron out defects.
“When I first started it was all a raw data thing – other than visual, there was a weight sheet for the bulls and that was the only information you had, which could all be doctored through feeding,” Glenn said. “What genomics does, it ex- poses the raw genes of the ani- mal. “If you are not buying something that is genomic tested, how do you know what you are buying? It’s like a pig in a poke if you don’t have the DNA extraction from them.”
“I look at calving ease and then I work down the page – docility, foot scoring and struc- ture, eye muscle, intramuscu- lar fat, and above average growth rates,” Glenn said. “Physically I make sure they have the nice smooth shoulder and thickness, good butt shape and strong head on them. “I also like to get out there and see progeny of those ani- mals to make sure it is breed- ing that way.” The Bowman family runs
1000 stud and commercial breeders on 1700ha at Rose- dale. Heifers are AI’d at the end of October, natural joining with bulls starts early Novem- ber and the ET program is con- ducted at the end of November. There are two groups of 80 recipient cows and about 100 embryos are implanted every year. “We are trying to increase the rate of gain by using the best of the best genetics,”
Glenn said. “We are finding when we put the bull sale cata- logues together, most of those calves end up in the front end of it so they are proving they are the elite of the genetics.” Calving is at the end of July and weaning conducted at five to six months. The entire male drop is moved to Neerim South in March for 12 months before the sale group selection starts. The top yearling bulls are taken back to Rosedale for the natural joining program for
Strong demand for Australian red meat China, the United States and Japan were the top three markets for Australian red meat in 2023. And they are expected to
regarding the awareness of premium red meat, as demand for non-local cuisine food service experiences and acceptance of packaged meat products purchased from modern retail are playing a more significant role in emerging markets.” “For example, in South- East Asia, growing red meat consumption is being driven by increasing interest in
12 months ending in November 2023.
continue expansion, along with growing appreciation for quality red meat products. The US also continued to be a major market for Australian grass-fed beef. According to the market snapshots, opportunities for Australian exporters in the US revolve around increasing value through premium products such as chilled grass-fed beef, rather than
just growing consumption volume. Meanwhile, Japan was the third largest beef importer globally and the second largest export customer of Australian beef. The market is especially unique for having a highly sophisticated but also very fragmented retail food market, where Australian beef and lamb are commonly sold in retail, as both fresh
meat and ready-to-eat options.
continue to be major customers in 2024.
China remains the No.1 destination for Australian red meat exports by volume, importing 206,193 tonnes of beef and 165,245 tonnes of lamb and mutton. The market snapshots reveal that long-term import demand drivers are strong, with China’s affluent consumer base forecast to
MLA manager of global market insights and adoption Miho Kondo said the young, expanding and increasingly affluent consumers in emerging regions such as the Middle East and South-East Asia provide another significant opportunity for red meat exporters. “The dial has been shifting
According to Meat and Livestock Australia’s annual global market snapshots for 2024 – which were released last week, Australia exported a total volume of 1.84 million shipped weight tonnes of red meat to more than 100 countries – which was worth a record $17.08bn – for the
dining out at not only Western-style cuisine restaurants, but also Japanese and Korean.”
HICKS BEEF AUTUMN BULL SALE
70 BULLS Black & Red Composites & Red Angus THURSDAY 7TH MARCH 2024
“Annandayle South” HOLBROOK NSW Tom Hicks 0448 796 124 Andrew Hicks 0427 147 258
www.hicksbeef.com.au tom@hicksbeef.com.au
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