Expectations consolidate for a record number of calves this year

The severe challenges faced by the meatpacking industry in 2019/20 due to a very high outflow of live calves in the two preceding years do not appear likely to repeat over the next two years. Although live cattle exports in 2024/25 were the second highest on record, with 387,000 head, there were relatively few calves from the 2024 generation among them. The commercial flow was predominantly made up of breeding females—mainly heifers—from both beef and dairy breeds.