12 cattle breeds that are on the way out in Australia
Australia’s cattle herd is changing, as producers leave battler breeds behind.
Going, going, but don’t count them out, yet.
So say the stalwarts of some of Australia’s least popular beef cattle breeds which have recorded sharp declines as droughts, retirement and the dominance of juggernauts like Angus have bulldozed opportunities for the battler breeders.
An analysis by The Weekly Times of Australian Registered Cattle Breeders Association data shows Lincoln Red registrations have recorded one of the sharpest declines, down to just seven last year compared to 290 in 2010; a 94 per cent fall.
Lincoln Red Cattle Society Australia president Jann Dixon-Hughes said drought had a “huge impact” on numbers making it a “hard struggle” financially.
Ms Dixon-Hughes said another issue was the ageing population of Lincoln Red producers.
“We’re getting new breeders, but they’ve got to build up their herds,” Ms Dixon-Hughes said.
She expected registrations to lift as the post-drought recovery gathered speed.
Another British breed to also drop off has been the Devon. Over the past decade, Devon registrations have gone from 720 in 2010, down to 213 in 2020, a decline of 70 per cent.
Gowan Ross Devon principal Alison Heap said while some herd registrations varied from year to year, drought meant many breeders left the industry which negatively affected her breed. “Most of our neighbours have had to sell their cattle and their land,” she said.
“There were a number of members of retiring age who decided high land and cattle prices meant it was time to retire.”
Another reason for the decline in registration numbers was that most Devon herds were commercial, not stud, herds, she said.
“Registration costs (studs) a lot of money and we can get just as much for a bull that’s just recorded than that’s registered,” Ms Heap said.
Other breeds to suffer big falls include the Belgian Blue, down to one registration from 41 in 2010; Blonde d’Aquitaine down to 352 from 1006 in 2012, and Mandalong Specials down from 1178 in 2011 to 18.
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