Market Morsel: If you’re going to buy go light

Market Morsel

The Eastern Young Cattle Indicator (EYCI) tested 820c/kg carcass weight earlier in the week which translates to about 440c/kg live weight. Taking a look at two grass fed cattle trade matrices we can see that there is still money to be made if you can turn off at a price of 350c/kg live weight or higher once the weight is put on.

The first matrix looks at buying a 300 kg steer, while the slightly more riskier trade sets the buy in weight at a price of 350kg lwt. If you are buying up at these levels, aim for the lighter cattle.

Cattle trade matrix summary – Per head profit based on buying 300 or 350 kg live weight, sell at 550kg live weight, per head costs of $250.