AGRICULTURAL and pastoral consultant Alan Peggs has called on pastoralists and the entire beef industry to search for new live cattle markets.
In the wake of the live cattle export ban to Indonesia finally being lifted, Mr Peggs said the ban showed how vulnerable pastoralists were when they were reliant on just one market.
Mr Peggs said the Indonesian market had provided northern pastoralists with their most profitable market over the last 20 years but it was time to find some other avenues for their cattle.
"Given Indonesia prefers high bos Indicus-content steers it has been logical to select bull breeds which match this preference," Mr Peggs said.
"Most herds in the north now are grey Brahman, red Brahman or Droughtmaster based."
He said even though the live cattle exports ban to Indonesia had been lifted, pastoralists needed to understand the OIE standards which needed to be met would significantly reduce the number of cattle exported.
He said the standards would not satisfy the animal rights groups who would continue to fight against the live export trade.
"From a risk management view point pastoralists should begin to think about alternative markets," he said.
"The current live export alternatives for high content bos Indicus cattle are Egypt, Malaysia and the Philippines.
"In the case of Egypt the numbers which can be exported are limited by abattoir capacity while in the case of Malaysia and the Philippines, the price they are prepared to pay is substantially below what the Indonesian market is prepared to offer."
Mr Peggs said Turkey and Russia had also developed into potential markets but with preference for bos Taurus and Angus cattle.
"In the domestic and export beef markets there is a preference for beef sourced from bos Taurus cattle or low-content bos Indicus cattle," he said.
"The dilemma for northern pastoralists is how do they breed cattle which meet the specifications of the domestic and export beef markets yet are also adapted to the challenging pastoral environment?"
Mr Peggs said the Queensland cattle industry had shown it could diversify and produce cattle for both markets that could handle the environments.
"In all but the most humid tropical environments, 50 per cent bos Indicus content provides more than sufficient environmental adaptability," he said.
"In Queensland most herds now are a composite of bos Taurus, bos Indicus-cross, with the level of each varying according to hard or soft environments."
He said there were a number of different breed combinations which were able to deal with the harsh environment and accommodate both markets.
"For those in the Kimberley where the environment is more difficult than Queensland, the most appropriate bull breeds to use over high-content bos Indicus cows would be tropically-adapted bos Taurus breeds such as the Bonsmara, the Belmont Red, the Tuli or the Senepol," he said.
"The progeny of these bulls would be 50pc bos Taurus and 50pc bos Indicus.
"The steers would be suitable for live export as well as markets further south while the heifers would still be capable of coping with the region's environment."
Mr Peggs said in other regions such as the Pilbara, Gascoyne, Murchison and the Goldfields-Nullabor, more options were available in terms of what bulls could breed with high-content bos Indicus cow herds.
"For those in the southern pastoral regions who run Grey Brahman herds and who wish to retain the grey colour in their herd, the appropriate bull choice would include Charolais, Murray Grey, Gelbvieh Grey (Gelbvieh x Murray Grey) and the Romagnola," he said.
"For those who have Red Brahman or Droughtmaster herds and wish to keep their herds red, their options are numerous."
He said the females generated from these crosses would all have sufficient Bos indicus content to cope with the southern pastoral environment.
"The male progeny would be suitable for both live export to Indonesia and Egypt and domestic and export beef markets," he said.
"Currently high-content bos Indicus steers finished as grainfed yearlings for the WA domestic market are bringing $3.60kg carcass weight.
"This compares with Charolais and Brahman-cross steers which are achieving $4.60kg cw as grainfed yearlings.
"With the pastoral bull buying season approaching it would be prudent for pastoralists in both the Kimberley and the southern pastoral regions to give their choice of bull breed more than a passing thought."