Hereford heifers jump $300 a head as exporters fill orders for China

Gary Anthony, Meeniyan, sold a line of Hereford heifers, 12-13 months, last week for $1300 a head, four months after selling the tops of cull heifers for live export for $300 less.

Hereford producers like Mr Anthony are enjoying the strong returns as international demand for female cattle, matched with a shortage of Australian breeders, push prices to new levels.

Exporters are paying $1300/hd for 200-400 kilograms Hereford heifers, eight-16 months-old, sired by a registered Hereford bull.

Producers believe the high demand is due to the breed's ability to handle cooler conditions, among a number of other traits.

"It's very good money and when the money's there you have to take," he said.

In 40 years of breeding, five of those which include selling cattle for export, Mr Anthony said he could not recall a time when second and third run heifers were fetching such a premium.

"As soon as the blokes up north started getting more rain I thought the heifers would be worth more as breeders but as it's turned out the export job has lifted and provided an opportunity to sell them," he said.

"When you get more money, it allows you to spend more. It's more money you can put back in your pocket, and reinvest back into the farm, to put in new tracks and troughs along with more fencing."

The rise has encouraged breeders like East Gippslanders Ken and Kym Skews, Ensay, to investigate selling surplus heifers for export for the first time.

The pair have bred Herefords for 24 years and will next week select 30-40 heifers for live export. In previous years the Skews retained their top heifers as self-replacements, and sold remainder to producers as pregnancy-tested in-calf, or as empty heifers for slaughter.

"We're almost a year a head of ourselves with this market because normally we would have to wait another 12 months to make basically the same money," Mr Skews said.

"We've have three years of drought and we've sold calves very similar to this for some shocking money in the past - it's nice to have win."

In south-east South Australia, Phil Clarke, Bin Bin and Calgara stations, sold 88 lightweight Hereford heifers to Landmark International this month. He said the price of export weaner heifers, which averaged 260kg, had risen about $200 in 12 months.

"It gives us an extra $20,000 and that's a semi trailer load of decent fertilizer we can throw around to grow more feed," Mr Clarke said.

Herefords Australia general manager Andrew Donoghue said the demand gave breeders an opportunity to offload additional heifers.

"Certainly 12 months ago when these orders were out there and the season was terrible, it was a real godsend. This year there is both domestic and export demand so it's taken it to another level," he said.

Hereford studs such as Mawarra Genetics have also benefited from the rise in prices after offloading surplus females for live export. The Longford stud has sold 60 heifers to several exporters in the last 12 months with prices ranging from $900 a year ago to $1300 last week.