Carcass weights reverse trend

Marts: A drop in slaughtering weights for cattle between 2001 and 2003 has been reversed this year with higher carcass weights making up for some of the loss in throughput for the first half of the year.

Average carcass weight for bullocks, young bulls and heifers all declined during the early years of the decade, partly due to the necessity for producers to remain under set stocking levels for premia and extensification payments, coupled with the uncertainty of the Cattle Census Dates used to assess stocking levels on farms.

Returns from factories for the first six months of this year has shown a significant reversal, with all categories showing a substantial increase in average carcass weight.