Meat & Livestock Australia is this week releasing a new feeder steer indicator, in response to changing industry requirements.

Beef Central has previously used the now-discontinued paddock-sale heavy feeder indicator for its home-page dashboard series, but will shift to the new indicator in coming days.

Lack of reporting support from industry for the previous paddock-sale indicator made it increasingly unreliable in recent times, despite the high volume of feeders bought out of the paddock.

The weight ranges and fat scores in the new saleyard feeder steer indicator have been expanded to better capture cattle being sourced by feedlots in the current market environment, MLA said.

The changes make for a more accurate and relevant indicator, it said.

The feeder market is a growing segment of the Australian cattle supply chain, with the Feeder Steer Indicator used by a range of stakeholders to inform and guide important business decisions. As such, a more robust, relevant and accurate indicator is required to ensure the long-term success of the industry by enabling more informed business decisions, MLA said.

The previously used Feeder Yearling Steer Indicator will be updated this week and referred to in future as the Feeder Steer Indicator. This change will precede a broader review of all MLA’s existing indicators, as well as the development of new ones to better support an ever-changing industry.

The changes in the specifications are outlined below.

To learn more about the changes and how these will improve the accuracy of the indicator, Click here.