Cattle Feed Source Dries Up
AUSTRALIA - could be importing food for cattle within weeks, as the crisis in the country's rural sector worsens, breaking more and more farmers' hearts.
26 April 2007
2 minute read
Agriculture Minister Peter McGauran said yesterday the "real problem" facing beef and dairy farmers across the country was the unprecedented lack of stock feed. Unless there is substantial rainfall this weekend and over the next couple of weeks, Australia will have to look to our neighbours for help.
"The twin problems here with the fodder is it's increasingly scarce and at this rate will be totally unavailable, and secondly it's expensive – beyond the reach of most of livestock producers," Mr McGauran said.
"Towards late May we will know whether importation should commence. But it might be in the next week or so that livestock industries say, 'It's better to be safe than sorry', and a boatload of roughage should be arranged."
While there is enough grain for sheep and cattle at the moment, it's the lack of roughage that is panicking Australia's 80,000 beef and dairy farmers.
Roughage is an essential part of a cow's diet and includes hay or other coarse feed.
However due to tough quarantine regulations, Australia can not import hay. Instead we would have to import hybrid roughage blends.
A document seen by The Daily Telegraph shows Australia could be forced to import palm kernel meal from the Pacific Islands, soybean and maize meal from Canada, New Zealand and the US, stock feed pellets from New Zealand and tapioca from Thailand.
Source: Daily Telegraph
