Talk of the Town: Female pedigrees rise up in the livestock world

Yes, you read correctly.

The pop princess knew something we livestock producers didn't appreciate until now.

"Who run the world? Girls."

Those famous lyrics have never been more relevant to the agriculture industry than now. Suddenly the role of the female representatives in a flock or herd has never been more important.

And it's about time.

If you head along to a bull or ram sale and turn to the front of the catalogue, traditionally you'd find multiple pages dedicated to the sires represented throughout the offering.

If you listen to an auctioneer provide their sales pitch on a standout lot, the male pedigree is always highlighted first.

If you look at the list of top records it always seemed to be sires commanding a higher dollar value.

But in recent years, as long-standing droughts broke across the country, it's future breeders, either commercially or stud worthy, that are worth opening up the wallet for.

So why has it taken this long for the majority of producers to realise the value in the female base?

We all know it takes two parties to breed - a male and a female.

For so long the emphasis for both commercial and stud buyers has been on the male side.

With their one-sided shopping list in hand they chase certain desired traits at a bull or ram sale, read up on the data and spend up big to try and influence their herd.

Then the calves and lambs begin hitting the ground and suddenly everything they expected hasn't been delivered.

They buy sires backed by semen tests, but don't put the same scrutiny on their females, and then are surprised when the scanning rates aren't high come joining.

Yet it's the females that are usually the first to be culled in the quest to find an answer for a poor result.

It seems this year producers are more aware of the role of females.

After all they were the last thing standing in drought and females are the important first jigsaw piece in laying out the picture of rebuilding as the season turns around.

A few years ago the biggest buying trend at stud sales in Queensland was around homozygous poll bulls.

Anything with nuts and a PP symbol beside its name immediately commanded a higher price.

There is still a premium for those traits today.

But now interested buyers want to know more about the female bloodlines in the bulls; what have the matrons bred and how do they stand up fertility and production wise?

The Glenlands catalogue last week was a perfect example; it had just as many pages for the dam lines referenced in the front section as sires.

As producers look to reignite their red meat enterprises the decisions that they make now will influence their bottom line in a few years time.

Never before has agriculture been in such a high value position combined with a level of confidence that rivals any poker player.

Female livestock and their collective worth shouldn't be underestimated.

In the famous words of Beyoncé, "If you like it, then you shoulda put a ring on it".

And never have producers been so committed to pay for diamonds in a sea of rough.

Talk of the Town is a weekly opinion piece written by ACM journalists. The thoughts expressed are their own.