CATTLE demand from the Eastern States has opened up a new market for Gascoyne pastoralists, but according to Richard Shallcross it has also highlighted the WA processing sector's inability to compete to secure home-grown cattle.
Tim and Edwina Shallcross run Bullara station via Carnarvon and often background their Droughtmaster cross cattle at Tim's parents, Richard and Jennifer's property at Wannamal.
Such was the case a year ago when things were tough at Bullara because of the dry, so Tim and Edwina weaned early and sent 300 weaners down to Richard and Jennifer's where they were put on a feed regime consisting mainly of hay.
Of those backgrounded cattle, 115 head left WA bound for a feedlot in Ballarat, Victoria, where they will now go on feed for 60 days.
The truckload of Bullara cattle are just a snippet of the 107,717 head that have left WA and gone through the Ceduna checkpoint this year, up until December 5.
According to Richard Shallcross, the majority of their cattle would normally be sold to live export but in this particular case, live export could not compete with the prices the Shallcross's were offered on-farm by the Victorian feedlot.
Their consignment consisted mainly of Droughtmaster cross heifers but was topped up with steers, and they received $1.45/kg for the heifers and $1.80/kg for steers, liveweight on-farm.
"Price-wise we were better off sending them east than we were to export," Mr Shallcross said.
"We're pleased in one sense because they were at the correct weight to be sold and needed to be moved on, but in another sense it's disappointing because those cattle will be slaughtered and there's a big chance they'll end up back here in a box.
"It's a shame our processors can't buy at the right price and do the same thing, why can't they be killing cattle and sending it over there in a box?"
While they would rather have supported the local industry, Mr Shallcross said loyalty did not pay the bills and at the end of the day they needed to make a decision that was best for the cattle and their business.
He said with the collapse of the Indonesian live export market, this had provided them with another marketing option for their cattle and they would definitely look at sending more over the border.
"Although the type of cattle the feedlot is chasing is mainly softer-types that are not necessarily suitable for the Indonesian market," he said.
"With the ongoing problems in the beef industry, I do hope this avenue can be streamlined so it can continue.
"It has been a good option for us and we may be loading up a few more again soon, it just depends on the competition we get locally."
The Shallcross cattle were carted by Leeds Transport and owner John Leeds said he had been flat out carting cattle over the border since February this year.
Mr Leeds said they allowed five days to get from their pickup point, generally around Muchea, Jurien Bay and Dandaragan, to the yards at Wudinna, South Australia, where the cattle were rested before further transport.
While the trip could probably be done faster, Mr Leeds said animal welfare was far more important.
"Long distance transport is not a game for stacking cattle on trucks, we have strict standards and guidelines and we stick to them despite pressure," Mr Leeds said.
"Farmers know farming and we know transporting, so we know how to get them there alive.
"But I think credit must go to all those boys carting and to the whole industry during this tough time, losses of drought cattle have been minimal and people have been forking out for feed when they really can't afford it."
Mr Leeds said he had taken cattle literally everywhere in the east and from now until Christmas, pretty much all of his eight trucks were booked to take cattle across.
"It's been steady since February running cattle east, but we're also mindful of looking after people here," Mr Leeds said.
"To be honest, I'd be more than happy to keep my gear here but producers just have no option but to send them east.
"If it wasn't for that market, I think we would have seen a huge impact on prices here.
"The cattle have been coming from everywhere but we've mainly been taking a lot of pastoral cattle, bringing them down and improving the condition before we take them.
"Some of the cattle have been tough going for us, but others have been good."
