Jon Condon

Brisbane

Publisher at Beef Central

Agricultural journalist specialising in the Australian and global beef industry for the past 33 years

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Articles

Sun sets on PCAS pasturefed cattle assurance era

5 days ago | beefcentral.com | Jon Condon

THE pioneering, industry-initiated Pasturefed Cattle Assurance Scheme (PCAS) will cease to exist at the end of this year. Auditing and certification body AusMeat has contacted stakeholders this week advising them that PCAS will be discontinued, after 12 years of operation.
Heifers dominating supply in many yards feeding domestic cattle for Woolies, Coles

6 days ago | beefcentral.com | Jon Condon

BIG price differences between lighter feeder steers and heifers this year have motivated a large swing towards feeding heifers for Coles and Woolworths supermarket supply. It’s not that uncommon for heifers to outnumber steers a little in supermarket programs, but some yards in both NSW and Queensland holding domestic contacts are currently feeding nothing but females, they told Beef Central last week.
Grainfed beef showcase reflects industry’s surging momentum

1 week ago | beefcentral.com | Jon Condon

THE first of a series of grainfed beef showcases held at a top Brisbane restaurant last week underlined the momentum in grainfed beef production and export that’s happened in recent times. In response to growing global demand for quality grainfed beef, Australian cattle numbers on feed hit another record high in the March quarter at 1.5 million head. In April this year, grainfed exports reached their highest ever monthly volume at 37,038t.
Australia ranked world’s best destination for steak restaurants, with Sydney the top city

1 week ago | beefcentral.com | Jon Condon

An attempt to rank the best destinations in the world for steak restaurants has placed Australia, and the city of Sydney, on top of the pile. Last month in a report issued by a UK-based group called World Best Steaks.com, Australia topped statistics by country, with 17 entries (16.8pc) among the 101 best steak restaurants in the world for 2025. Australia’s top entry, Neil Perry’s Sydney restaurant Margaret, was placed second, behind top-placed Don Julio in Parrilla, Buenos Aires.
Modest $10 loss on grainfed trading budget, latest breakeven shows

1 week ago | beefcentral.com | Jon Condon

TYPICAL flatback feeder steers entering a shortfed program this week and closing in early October would deliver a modest $10 profit, Beef Central’s latest 100-day grainfed trading budget calculation suggests. Better-performing cattle producing higher average daily gains of 2.2kg would fare a little better than that, returning a profit of $90, the latest calculation shows.
Chinese-owned Australian processor Kilcoy files for US listing

1 week ago | sheepcentral.com | Jon Condon

CHINESE-OWNED Australian-based red meat processor and exporter Kilcoy Global Foods has filed for a public listing in the United States, in a move designed to raise capital for strategic investments and acquisitions, expanded production and greater automation. Kilcoy yesterday filed for an Initial Public Offering on the New York NASDAQ exchange, for a starting date yet to be advised.
Trend towards shortfeeding cows may have come to a close

1 week ago | beefcentral.com | Jon Condon

WITH lighter cows under considerable price pressure in parts of eastern and southern Australia over the past six months, there’s evidence that some cows have been directed into grain-assist programs, either in commercial feedlots or using self-feeders in the paddock.
Weekly kill: Southern processors making their presence felt in Qld

1 week ago | beefcentral.com | Jon Condon

WITH only a fortnight left in the 2024-25 financial year, tax considerations are coming into play for some cattle producers, with some electing to push slaughter cattle back until after June 30 on accountants’ advice. The same thing happens every year, but the impact is amplified in years like this when kill space becomes tight in some areas.
Industry digs deep to raise $255,000 for bush charity, Dolly’s Dream + PICTURES

2 weeks ago | beefcentral.com | Jon Condon

BEEF industry stakeholders forked out an incredible $255,486 in support of the Dolly’s Dream charity yesterday, as part of the Australian Agricultural Co’s annual ‘Long Lunch’ fundraiser. More than 350 stakeholders gathered in Brisbane for the event – the fourth held since 2022. Last year’s event hit a tally of $206,000, but this year smashed that mark by almost $50,000.
Brazil surges past Australia as largest US imported beef supplier

2 weeks ago | beefcentral.com | Jon Condon

IN another reflection of the rapidly tightening supply of domestic beef in the United States this year, Brazil has for the first time surged past Australia as the largest supplier of imported beef to the US. Brazil’s monthly shipments in April reached 48,000 tonnes – up from just 8000t in the same month last year. For the past four decades, Australia has been the principal supplier of imported beef into the US market, at times surging past 400,000t/year.