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Heifer exports create a headache for dairy farmers
2 Dec 2004
Dairy farmers nationwide are selling the equivalent of five per cent of their milking-age stock to exporters, in order to top up poor returns on many dairy farms. More than 100,0000 young heifers and young milking cows were exported in the first nine months of the year, out of a national stock of about two million head. The majority were sold by dairy farmers in Victoria, with China the primary destination. The opportunistic exports are causing a shortage of milking cows on the domestic market, and in turn driving prices up. Elders estimates that unjoined heifers of about six months of age fetch beteen $900 and $1,100.
Country News, 02/12/04
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