Australia: The cattle country blessed with rain this year and those who hurt the most

Many of the issues that plagued beef producer sentiment this time last year have faded, not the least of which is the seasonal outlook. A short-term weather forecast for relatively good conditions and soil moisture maps showing continued improvement across many key cattle regions should encourage producers to invest where there is feed to take advantage of. While the widespread El Nino weather pattern that many were factoring in at the end of last year didn't eventuate, the extremity of what various cattle regions received in terms of rain marked beef producer fortunes in 2024. The cumulative rainfall for key cattle regions put together by agriculture commodity experts at the Commonwealth Bank of Australia shows some areas received well above the ten-year average for their part of the world. Specialist weaner country in north eastern NSW received triple the rain it had the previous year while Dalby in Queensland got well over half. Charters Towers in Queensland, however, ...