Price penalty for heavy bullocks
Some of the factories have become selective in the acceptance of bullocks killing out more than 400kgs (880lbs) and those accepting the heavy bullocks have introduced a price penalty on producers to discourage the retention of cattle into weights over 400kgs.
It is believed the ending of the cattle census has resulted in animals being retained longer on farms into heavier weights, but the processors are now saying the carcasses over 400kgs are not meeting with favour at the retail level in the super chains.
“The prime cuts coming off the very heavy continental animals are too large for the standard meat trays for the supermarket pre-packed consumer packs of beef and the supermarkets don’t want them,” one procurement manager explained.
Some of the processors are finding the marketing of these animals more of a problem than others, dependent on their particular market outlets, but all processors are agreed the mean carcass weight has increased, with the rise more noticeable over the past month.
Official figures for the national kill for the first quarter of the year showed that the average carcass weight for bullocks increased to 346kgs - up from 328kgs for the same period in 2004 - an increase of 5.4%. The national carcass weight average for heifers increased by 5.5% from 269kgs to 284kgs.
Figures for the second quarter are expected to show a bigger increase in average weights when they become available next month.
The factories are urging producers to market bullocks before they become overweight.
