DESPITE the activation of Saturday overtime shifts at numerous beef processing plants across eastern Australia to try to clear the backlog of cattle, forward bookings on slaughter cattle now extend deep into October at many locations.
Some operators are now more or less fully subscribed for October kills, offering space bookings only for November. Others have withdrawn (or continued to withhold) direct consignment grids altogether for the timebeing, knowing they have more than enough slaughter stock on hand.
The current log-jam of meatworks cattle now looks as bad as it has been since the…
