Horses were sold for $200.00 at Victorian Livestock Exchange about a fortnight ago. Some went to Japan for human consumption, some went to Laverton Pet Supplies. How do I know this? Because I was there and followed up the plight of one horse that was there. She was apparently 'processed' on the weekend so by Monday it was too late.
Yesterday I bought horse feed - four bales of hay approx $25.00 each and two small bags of feed high protein feed. The total came to $167.00. The situation is not going to improve until summer when new hay is cut. It costs money to feed livestock. The cost of feed has gone up considerably because of the previous drought. Unless I'm mistaken, no political party has power over the weather and can make it rain.
Follow the food chain and you'll find the answer to why your lamb chops are so expensive. The horses were cheap because they were unwanted for various reasons. The horse I followed up on was a 17.2 hh mare in racing condition - apparently she was too slow.
