L1 Beef Cattle

• Bovine meat


  21% of total meat produced, 16% exported from country produced
• Beef Consumption - selected countries

  • Argentina (63 kg/person/year)
  • USA (35 kg/person/year)
  • Australia (32 kg/person/year)
  • New Zealand (16? kg/person/year)
  • China (4.6 kg/person/year)
  • Indonesia (2.4 kg/person/year)
• NZ share is only 1 % of global beef production
• NZ Share of global beef production trade= 6%
• New Zealand exports beef markets

  • USA
  • China
• 85 % of New Zealand's beef is exported
• 70 to 75% of the beef exports are to USA and China
• Average Carcass weight


  • Steers 310 kg
  • Bulls 300 kg
• 50 % killed before 2 years of age
• All have individual EID
• All plants are accredited to USDA standards
• Seasonal production follows grass growth curve
• Main Dam Breeds


  • Angus
  • Hereford
• Terminal Sires


  • Charolais
  • Simmental
• Calving percentage is 85%
• Most farmers aim to calve over a two month period
• Age at weaning


  180 days and 220 Kg live weight
• Based on a national herd of around 3.84 million cattle
• 1.09 million beef breeding cows in New Zealand
• 1.7 - 1.9 million bobby calves and 0.7 – 0.8 million cull dairy cows slaughtered
• 0.5 – 0.6 million calves moved into beef industry for finishing
• Livestock slaughter numbers and average carcass weights for NZ cattle 2022/2023

  • Steer (630,000 head, 310 kg/head)
  • Heifer (479,000 head, 245 kg/head)
  • Cow (953,000 head, 200 kg/head)
  • Bull calves (523,000 head, 300 kg/head)
• Ratio = Calf weaning weight / Cow weaning weight
• Beef Production Systems


  • Prime beef - High Value both domestic and export
  • Ingredient or Processing Beef
  • Bull Beef Production
• New Zealand produces an estimated 678,000 tonnes of beef (carcass weight)

  
• 2.650 million cattle slaughtered
• Breakdown of cattle slaughtered

  • 24% steers produces 29.5% export beef
  • 20% heifers produces 19% export beef
  • 36% cows produces 28.5% export beef
  • 20% bulls produces 23% export beef
• Average export carcass weights steers and bulls (kg carcass weight)

  • the average weight has significantly increased
• Domestic beef market


  15% of beef produced is consumed in New Zealand there has been a decline in red meat consumption and an increase in white meat consumption
• Practice Changes in last 25 years


  • Reproduction, breeding at 15 months, pregnancy scanning
  • Nutrition - use of body condition scoring, targeted feeding, alternative herbages
  • Animal Health, whole herd health plans, internal parasite management
  • Genetic, use of terminal sires, crossbreeding, composites, use of performance recording (Breed Plan), progeny tests, sires for dairy beef
  • Farming systems - bull beef production, dairy support
• Global demand for beef has risen from 64M in 2005 to 106M in 2050