Grain-fed cattle account for nearly half of Australia's slaughter

With the release of the December 2022 Quarterly Lot Summary, the MLA market intelligence team conducted a yearly analysis to get an idea of ​​how the sector is performing. National feed cattle production capacity continued its natural upward trajectory in 2022, with the industry expecting 1.532 million heads to be available in the fourth quarter of 2022 (assuming 100% feedlot loading). 

National capacity in Q4 2022 is 225,000 heads higher than in Q4 2018 – an increase of 17.2%. All states are seeing strong growth compared to five years earlier. The most significant increase has occurred in Queensland, where the number of fatteners is now 17% higher (an additional 123,000 heads) than in the fourth quarter of 2018. Western and South Australia also saw significant increases in fattening livestock, by 16,600 and 19,700 respectively, since the fourth quarter of 2018.

The total grain-fed waste in 2022 reached 2.74 million heads, the lowest annual grain-fed waste since 2016.

While actual slaughter of grain-fed cattle declined in 2022, its share of total slaughter reached a new record of 47% compared to grass-fed cattle. This further reinforces the critical role that the fattening sector plays not only in dry years, but also in recovery/maintenance years when cattle stocks are limited.

With a significant number of cattle entering the feedlots and a record amount of forage during certain quarters in 2022, a further strong supply of grain-fed cattle is expected in 2023.

Compared to 2018, current capacity figures clearly indicate a strong growth in the feedlot sector and confidence that it will continue to expand. Evidence suggests that over the next five years, the role of grain-fed feeding in sustaining high-quality beef production in more than 100 countries, as well as the need for more feed to mitigate drought and meet consumer demand, should continue.