Beef Cattle

South Australia's beef industry

  • SA has 7% of national beef establishment (3944 businesses) (source Australian Bureau of Statistics – Agricultural State Profile, South Australia, 2006-07).
  • The herd is predominately located in the Limestone Coast and Adelaide Hills regions, with contributions from the mixed farming and northern pastoral zones.
  • SA currently has a beef cow herd of approx 574,000 head (4% of national herd), producing more than 460,000 calves each year.
  • Domestic beef distribution is primarily through supermarkets, butchers and food service.
  • The total value of domestic consumption exceeds $600 million in value (source South Australian Food ScoreCard Report 2007-08).
  • Major markets for export include the US, Japan, Europe and numerous markets throughout Asia.
  • SA processes 346,000 head at a value of $319 million (source South Australian Food ScoreCard Report 2007-08).
  • The gross value of the industry is $1.062 billion, with a net value (gross less imports) of $945 million (source South Australian Food ScoreCard Report 2007-08).

Disease prevention and management

The most important disease control programs in cattle are bovine Johne’s disease (BJD) and enzootic bovine leucosis (EBL).

Australia was declared free of bovine tuberculosis (TB) in its cattle population in 1997 but monitoring is continuing through the National Granuloma Submission Program.

For more information about disease prevention and management please contact PIRSA Animal Health.

There are requirements that need to be met for the movement of cattle into South Australia, including completion of the appropriate health certificate(s).

Useful links

MLA More Beef from Pastures
Meat and Livestock Australia's More Beef from Pastures is designed to help southern beef producers identify and implement on-farm management practices to maximise the profitability and sustainability of their business. Central to the program is the Producer’s Manual, an information package delivering essential processes required to carry out a successful beef business.

CRC for Beef Genetic Technologies
The Co-operative Research Centre for Beef Genetic Technologies aims to add $179 million to the value of the Australian and New Zealand beef industries each year from 2012. Their focus is on world-class gene discovery and gene expression research to improve profitability, productivity and animal welfare.