Beef / Lamb & Pig Price Tracker

Old Tip

Member
Location
Cumbria
That’s the same story I’ve been told they aren’t selling it. Eating habits changing amongst mainly the younger end of folk. 1% of the population are vegan. 15% are reducing red meat or changing eating habits
Think its more to do with the weather and brexit, cold damp weather and folk aren't having bbqs or eating out as much also money is being saved rather than spent due to the massive uncertainties of brexit.
The vegan thing is not going to make such a massive difference i feel, once they start getting ill they turn back to meat, i do strongly feel that AHAB and NFU should be tacking court action to stop these so called meat substitutes being called meat though. How the heck can they call something a vegan chicken burger or something grown in a lab from mould meat
 
Think its more to do with the weather and brexit, cold damp weather and folk aren't having bbqs or eating out as much also money is being saved rather than spent due to the massive uncertainties of brexit.
The vegan thing is not going to make such a massive difference i feel, once they start getting ill they turn back to meat, i do strongly feel that AHAB and NFU should be tacking court action to stop these so called meat substitutes being called meat though. How the heck can they call something a vegan chicken burger or something grown in a lab from mould meat
Folk saving up to go on holiday eating chicken too
 
We have holiday accomadation and never known it as quiet, folk are booking very late, up till last year we would be 50% booked a year in advance now its very much hand to mouth. Think thats partly a change in how folk do things and partly everyone being very cautious due to the B word
Wage earning folk have had years of wage reductions due to paying debt money back this does not help us sell an expensive meat. It’s echoed in what you are saying with your accommodation we had some too now all back to full time lets
 

ISCO

Member
Location
North East
Almost every time the news is on they talk about red meat linked with cancer, red meat linked with climate change they even had a story about a Scottish school who had significantly reduced red meat from their menu and urged others to follow suit
I can well believe consumption is well down due to above factors. Just this week Mrs May called for 20% cut in meat consumption to tackle climate change, how long before this is policy and schools forced to reduce consumption.
We desperately need some good PR. There is a thread on seaweed reducing methane in cattle by 99%. If this is proven in time this may help. We need science to back our industry.

Unfortunately cutting meat consumption is something everyone can do with little effort and cost whereas insulating the house or buying an electric car costs money and is not always convenient.

There may also be an element of supermarkets using this as an excuse along with brexit to reduce prices.

Only time will tell however I think the industry is now facing it's greatest challenge. Lots of big players investing in lab grown meat and plant alternatives. If these are perfected the sh!t well hit the fan.
 

Full of bull(s)

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
North Yorkshire
I was talking to an old business acquaintance the other day who runs a busy collection centre in Wales collecting fat cattle/sheep. He says talking to the meat firms they also seem to be using the current situation to manipulate their supply base. He has warned them a lot of his farmers would go back to selling stores at these fat prices to which they replied good, as the store price will fall with extra supply and the big feeding men sending regular numbers, the suppliers they want will be able to keep full and have some margin so everyone is happy. I can only assume from that most of the out of spec cattle come from the small/occasional suppliers as well as the supply fluctuations. Please don’t shoot the messenger [emoji856]
 

lloyd

Member
Location
Herefordshire
Too many sheep in this country.
Everyone who buys a house and a few acres
and watches countryfile have this romantic
Idea of keeping them.
Then for every farmer who's cut nos another
one has doubled up because someones told
them it's a nos game .
Farmers are their own worst enemy .
And yes I've cut mine 200 ewes because
there's simply too many!
 

Old Tip

Member
Location
Cumbria
Too many sheep in this country.
Everyone who buys a house and a few acres
and watches countryfile have this romantic
Idea of keeping them.
Then for every farmer who's cut nos another
one has doubled up because someones told
them it's a nos game .
Farmers are their own worst enemy .
And yes I've cut mine 200 ewes because
there simply too many!
But world wide there are less and less sheep and more and more consumers, short term things dont look good but long term i feel sheep have a better prospect than cattle
 

Top Tip.

Member
Location
highland
I was talking to an old business acquaintance the other day who runs a busy collection centre in Wales collecting fat cattle/sheep. He says talking to the meat firms they also seem to be using the current situation to manipulate their supply base. He has warned them a lot of his farmers would go back to selling stores at these fat prices to which they replied good, as the store price will fall with extra supply and the big feeding men sending regular numbers, the suppliers they want will be able to keep full and have some margin so everyone is happy. I can only assume from that most of the out of spec cattle come from the small/occasional suppliers as well as the supply fluctuations. Please don’t shoot the messenger [emoji856]
I am sure what you are saying is right but that is a very short term outlook from these meat firms as these store producers have to make money as well,if they aren’t producing the whole system collapses.
 

lloyd

Member
Location
Herefordshire
But world wide there are less and less sheep and more and more consumers, short term things dont look good but long term i feel sheep have a better prospect than cattle

Well that's not how its played out out in the
auction markets at the moment.
I've watched limited demand time and time again
and my lambs normally sell well above the average.
 
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Werzle

Member
Location
Midlands
I was talking to an old business acquaintance the other day who runs a busy collection centre in Wales collecting fat cattle/sheep. He says talking to the meat firms they also seem to be using the current situation to manipulate their supply base. He has warned them a lot of his farmers would go back to selling stores at these fat prices to which they replied good, as the store price will fall with extra supply and the big feeding men sending regular numbers, the suppliers they want will be able to keep full and have some margin so everyone is happy. I can only assume from that most of the out of spec cattle come from the small/occasional suppliers as well as the supply fluctuations. Please don’t shoot the messenger [emoji856]
They have a fairly short sighted approach because where are all the finishers going to source cattle when the smaller men and breeding men have thrown the towel in? Its been interesting to see a few finishers selling in the markets again now there is severe waiting lists on the dead.
 

Timbo

Member
Location
Gods County
They have a fairly short sighted approach because where are all the finishers going to source cattle when the smaller men and breeding men have thrown the towel in? Its been interesting to see a few finishers selling in the markets again now there is severe waiting lists on the dead.

Atm , selling fat in the market is even worse than dead ( assuming you can get a booking ) - and the store man is going to have to deal with a ~30% drop in value of his store animal for the finisher to want to buy them. People need to start looking at real cop figures from their business , not percieved. Stores at £1000+, no matter what age or condition cannot make a profit even fed on air , so the sooner the job gets re- aligned the better.
 
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Werzle

Member
Location
Midlands
Atm , selling fat in the market is even worse than dead ( assuming you can get a booking ) - and the store man is going to have to deal with a ~30% drop in value of his store animal for the finisher to want to buy them.
Im not talking about price i am saying they are back in the markets because they do not turn cattle away. A beast might be going overage so taking less on a red market day will be better than letting them go over. Store trade and fat trade do not effect each other as much as you would like because people buy stores on the ever lasting hope the fat trade will be better when they sell them. Every farmer is a seasoned gambler
 

Timbo

Member
Location
Gods County
A- im not talking about price i am saying they are back in the markets because they do not turn cattle away. A beast might be going overage so taking less on a red market day will be better than letting them go over.

B- Store trade and fat trade do not effect each other as much as you would like because people buy stores on the ever lasting hope the fat trade will be better when they sell them

A) if the animal isnt fit, but doing well, taking it over 30m than sending it is often the better option.
B)Farmer mentality is to continue flogging a dead horse or enterprise that isn't profitable because " it's what we've always done... " Also see a) when the animal isnt doing " but it might start doing next week"...
 

ISCO

Member
Location
North East
I sometimes wonder if they are trying to speed up the demise of the suckler cow as it is very difficult to cut costs of suckler cows when prices are low.
Sucklers are seen as bad environmentally with beef from dairy herd seen as more efficient as calf a bi product of milk production and thus more sustainable.
Whilst it is not in dairy farmers interests there is scope for calf price to drop to allow rearers to cut costs.
It was said on here this last week that all supermarket schemes are now focussed on dairy beef.
 

Werzle

Member
Location
Midlands
I sometimes wonder if they are trying to speed up the demise of the suckler cow as it is very difficult to cut costs of suckler cows when prices are low.
Sucklers are seen as bad environmentally with beef from dairy herd seen as more efficient as calf a bi product of milk production and thus more sustainable.
Whilst it is not in dairy farmers interests there is scope for calf price to drop to allow rearers to cut costs.
It was said on here this last week that all supermarket schemes are now focussed on dairy beef.
That may well be true but sucklers are still a hell of a trade . Once we are all rearing dairy bred calves on a cost of production payment contract and moaning at the price the firms will say " well ,what we really want is higher spec suckler types"
 

SFI - What % were you taking out of production?

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    Votes: 78 43.1%
  • Up to 25%

    Votes: 63 34.8%
  • 25-50%

    Votes: 30 16.6%
  • 50-75%

    Votes: 3 1.7%
  • 75-100%

    Votes: 3 1.7%
  • 100% I’ve had enough of farming!

    Votes: 4 2.2%

Red Tractor drops launch of green farming scheme amid anger from farmers

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  • 1
As reported in Independent


quote: “Red Tractor has confirmed it is dropping plans to launch its green farming assurance standard in April“

read the TFF thread here: https://thefarmingforum.co.uk/index.php?threads/gfc-was-to-go-ahead-now-not-going-ahead.405234/
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