ISSUES related to livestock seldom make it into the consciousness of the mainstream media unless it's some scandalous beat up or sadly, some alternative truth uncovered or perpetuated by any number of animal rights campaigners.
But this week, there has been media coverage to burn - the sale of the Kidman property portfolio and the price of beef have been topics that piqued the interest of journalists, and haven't some of the revelations been a bit puzzling or just downright mystifying?
The article in a local newspaper on Monday went unnoticed by me but by the number of phone calls I received and the deluge of shirt-tuggers keen to let me know there were some claims I should probably refute, it was too much for me to ignore for long.
I'm hoping the article was adulterated by some editorial zeal because there were some exaggerations that had some people either amazed or, at the other end of the scale, apoplectic with outrage about the effect the nuances laid out would have on the domestic meat market.
I'm sure the writer has far more journalistic skills and qualifications than me, unfortunately the intricacies of the livestock industry has a habit of making a lot of lay persons' reporting seem simplistic and, at times, inaccurate.
I, along with many others, are having difficulty coming to grips with the statement that an Adelaide meat wholesaler is paying $3000 a head for live cattle. As most readers are aware, I report on the markets from Dublin and Mount Compass, and these two sales very accurately reflect what is going on across the whole of our continent.
Yearlings selling for $3.56 a kilogram liveweight and vealers at $3.42/kglw do not $3000/hd make.
If they paid these nearly unfathomable prices for 700kg liveweight bullocks it is still difficult to reach the $3000 mark. I can only assume that they were either misquoted or they are sourcing 200-plus day, lot-fed Waygu beef from feedlots.
The next portion of this rant becomes a bit more complex. South Australian Cattle Breeders Association president Jean Evans has been quoted, badly I hope.
I can't recall ever meeting Mrs Evans and I'm assured by a bevy of people whose judgement I trust that she is a capable, efficient cattle person and a lovely lady to boot. So, I am in something of a quandary challenging her statement, but if needs be!
If her cattle are only attracting $1.60/kg to $1.70/kg and she has sold cattle since the beginning of the year, then she either should be looking at her cattle program a little closer - something that I don't believe for a minute - or changing her stock agent.
I'm not attempting to be facetious, it's just a matter of trying to get a better understanding from those who write information in ignorance.
If Mrs Evans is getting $1.70/kglw and a wholesaler is paying $3000 live, by my calculations the cattle are weighing more than 1.5 tonnes - I think not!
The other lowlight of the week's media frenzy was the sensation of the Kidman sale - the passion that has suddenly appeared for the iconic South Australian brand has seen film crews arrive at Dublin saleyards trying to get the lowdown on the value and future of one of our best known family businesses.
Sadly, the people reporting on the grand SA brand wouldn't know the famous SK brand if one of their steers were right up their backsides chasing them across a yard!
I'm probably not going to get a media award for this, am I? Oh bugger!
