Excellent seasonal conditions in many parts of northern Australia, increased breeder numbers and buoyant beef prices means the Hormonal Growth Promotant (HGP) market is being tipped to quickly recover to pre-drought levels.
About 1.4 million implants were sold into the grassfed sector during 2022, up 16% on 2021 and 53% compared to the same period in 2020.
Elanco’s cattle brand manager Kim Krilich, says implants remain one of the most widely-used inputs in beef production.
“Implants have been used to improve growth rates and feed conversion efficiency in beef cattle for nearly 40 years.
“Industry figures show the vast majority of grainfed cattle and at least 20% of all grassfed cattle in northern Australia are treated with implants at some stage of their lives, delivering $236.3 million in extra profit to beef producers and feedlots each year.
“Various other studies have shown growth-enhancing technologies, such as implants and rumen modifiers, also have an important role to play in maximising productivity from available resources and reducing greenhouse gas emissions per kilogram of beef produced.
“Sustainability is rapidly becoming one of the key pillars of the beef industry.
“With the renewed confidence in the market, there’s no better time to be discussing your customers’ HGP requirements.”
Compudose remains the undisputed leader in the grassfed implant category, with Compudose 400 and Compudose 200 accounting for just less than two thirds of sales in this sector by dose (SOURCE: Baron Audit Data MAT Sept 2022).
Ms Krilich said Compudose is a proven technology that maximises growth rates in grassfed cattle, allowing beef producers to meet market specifications sooner, or increase total production.
“The average of 134 trials conducted in Australia shows cattle implanted with Compudose have a 15.8% average weight gain advantage compared to non-implanted cattle.
“Compudose 400 is one of the most cost-effective inputs available for use in the beef production industry.
“It is the only implant that has a specified pay-out period of 400 days, giving producers absolute confidence that it will continue to perform over this time.
“In typical conditions where unimplanted cattle are growing at 0.5 kg/head/day, studies show Compudose 400 can shave 55 days from the time taken to increase liveweight by 200kg – or boost liveweight gain by more than 30kg when compared to unimplanted animals over 400 days.
“At today’s beef prices, a single dose can easily increase your profit by more than $100/head – or even more if used as part of a whole-of-life implant strategy.”
Despite these solid economic benefits, Ms Krilich said there is still widespread misunderstanding about market access, perceived economic premiums for implant-free cattle and the potential impact of implants on MSA grading.
“Cattle treated with Compudose are accepted by most major export and domestic markets for Australian boxed beef, including MSA-graded markets.
“Independent research has confirmed the liveweight gain advantage provided by Compudose routinely delivers higher returns than implant-free cattle, even when market premiums are considered.
“Market premiums offered for implant-free cattle are often highly variable and short-lived and are often insufficient to compensate for the lost income of the extra liveweight gain provided by implants,” Ms Krilich said.
While implants can have some effect on eating quality by reducing marbling, increasing ossification and reducing ageing potential, this potential impact can be managed via production and processing pathways, including genetics, on-farm management and processing techniques.
And MSA guidelines clearly state that implanted cattle are eligible for MSA grading.
According to Meat & Livestock Australia’s MSA Beef Eating Quality Insights (2021), in 2021, 35% of all MSA-graded carcases were implanted and of these, 16% were grassfed.
Ms Krilich said the use of implants poses no risk to human safety when used in accordance with the label directions.
“All animals, including humans, and many plants contain hormones. Hormones are simply natural chemicals that help to regulate certain physiological processes, such as growth, metabolism and reproduction.
“Implants provide small increases in the levels of certain hormones above the threshold required for growth. Once the pay-out period of the implant ends, the level of available hormone drops below the threshold and growth promotion stops.
“The high margin of safety is reflected by the nil meat withholding period for all registered implants.
“Put simply, there is no such thing as ‘hormone-free’ meat,” she said.
