Dave6170
Member
- Location
- Watten, caithness
Last year def was
Is there any future in suckler cows ?
- Thread starter ges
- Start date
GeorgeK
Member
- Location
- Leicestershire
There was a bit in the ag bill about giving more rights to tenants to enter environment schemes so you can qualify for future payments
- Location
- East Sussex
Plenty of jam in the tomorrow jar.
- Location
- Scot Borders
Quite shocked how many cows came up for sale this week on FB. 2 herds of 140+ cows and several 50-80. All spring calving. Very early in the year for such big numbers
What planet are you on trade has been depressed for that last year
Northeastfarmer
Member
- Location
- Cleveland
Oh you’re back...
Northeastfarmer
Member
- Location
- Cleveland
Watch you don’t sit on that
- Location
- somerset
as a spring calving dairy herd I asked on here what beef bull should I use, answer was charolias, fair enough.
we went back into dairy, after a few years out, and I ran 75 sucklers, out wintering them. It was soon obvious that cont cows needed an awful lot more feed than native, yet as I drive around, I see lots of con cows and calves set stocked, we measure all our grass growth, cows would very seldom stay in a paddock, for more than 3 feeds, controlled by moving fence for each feed, the amount of extra high quality grass is large, all animals perform well on quality grass, and rotational grazing. We talk about kg constituents/ acre, produced, we are paid on them, and yet as you drive around, you see big old cows and calves, set stocked on old pastures, and you hear moans about the beef price. Lad round here, was managing 350, angusx cows, av weight 450kg, outwintered, angus bulls, every thing sold before 2 winter, solely on good grass, winter kale, and high-quality silage round bales from paddocks that got a head of cows. Waitrose contract, strict spec, and hitting it, 1 man band, except silageing, good profits, but had to be ruthless with empty cows etc. The dead weight spec is 400 kg carcass max, I think, anything over robbed, and yet you see some big old steers about, probably finishing over spec, so, if you say your cont cow weighs in at 750 kg, and gives you 1 calve a year, for every 500 kg aax cow, at kg for kg, you have 3 cows /calf for each 2 750kg cow/calf, if you measure out put by kg/acre beef sold, where does that leave you ? Interested in this, as every year we look at our business, work out costs/profit etc, could we improve by doing something else, after all we need profit to live, and chatting with said chap, looking on utube/internet etc, as you look at other systems around the world, angus or Hereford cows form the bulk of the suckle herds, looked at an USA feedlot, 10's of 1,000's cattle a year, on site abattoir, 2000 employees, 5000 cattle a day killed/dressed, all meat packs, 1 size carboard box, burgers made on site etc, it's the 1 size box, that's the interesting bit, all cattle pretty much the same size/spec, buy cattle from all over USA, standard size beef cows, =standard size calves, Why do we have to be different over here ? Why can't we produce a 'standard' size bullock? why don't we measure in kg/acre of beef ? We exported aa and Herefords all over the world. and yet a large proportion of imported breeds here, on the net, there are detailed systems of suckle herds, rotational grazing, look up greg judy on utube, that's an eyeopener 1600 angusx cows, moved every day in big mobs, 1 grazing every 60 days, no wormers, no flies, cattle look amazing.
like I said, we look at what we do, each year, last year our cows produced a return, of all monies (except land) of 11%, damn site better than the bank, and we were hit very hard by the weather, so dairy stays, but you never know, we are always looking, now, iv'e put my tin hat on, and wait for suckle farmers to shoot me down, for talking a load of crap !!!!
we went back into dairy, after a few years out, and I ran 75 sucklers, out wintering them. It was soon obvious that cont cows needed an awful lot more feed than native, yet as I drive around, I see lots of con cows and calves set stocked, we measure all our grass growth, cows would very seldom stay in a paddock, for more than 3 feeds, controlled by moving fence for each feed, the amount of extra high quality grass is large, all animals perform well on quality grass, and rotational grazing. We talk about kg constituents/ acre, produced, we are paid on them, and yet as you drive around, you see big old cows and calves, set stocked on old pastures, and you hear moans about the beef price. Lad round here, was managing 350, angusx cows, av weight 450kg, outwintered, angus bulls, every thing sold before 2 winter, solely on good grass, winter kale, and high-quality silage round bales from paddocks that got a head of cows. Waitrose contract, strict spec, and hitting it, 1 man band, except silageing, good profits, but had to be ruthless with empty cows etc. The dead weight spec is 400 kg carcass max, I think, anything over robbed, and yet you see some big old steers about, probably finishing over spec, so, if you say your cont cow weighs in at 750 kg, and gives you 1 calve a year, for every 500 kg aax cow, at kg for kg, you have 3 cows /calf for each 2 750kg cow/calf, if you measure out put by kg/acre beef sold, where does that leave you ? Interested in this, as every year we look at our business, work out costs/profit etc, could we improve by doing something else, after all we need profit to live, and chatting with said chap, looking on utube/internet etc, as you look at other systems around the world, angus or Hereford cows form the bulk of the suckle herds, looked at an USA feedlot, 10's of 1,000's cattle a year, on site abattoir, 2000 employees, 5000 cattle a day killed/dressed, all meat packs, 1 size carboard box, burgers made on site etc, it's the 1 size box, that's the interesting bit, all cattle pretty much the same size/spec, buy cattle from all over USA, standard size beef cows, =standard size calves, Why do we have to be different over here ? Why can't we produce a 'standard' size bullock? why don't we measure in kg/acre of beef ? We exported aa and Herefords all over the world. and yet a large proportion of imported breeds here, on the net, there are detailed systems of suckle herds, rotational grazing, look up greg judy on utube, that's an eyeopener 1600 angusx cows, moved every day in big mobs, 1 grazing every 60 days, no wormers, no flies, cattle look amazing.
like I said, we look at what we do, each year, last year our cows produced a return, of all monies (except land) of 11%, damn site better than the bank, and we were hit very hard by the weather, so dairy stays, but you never know, we are always looking, now, iv'e put my tin hat on, and wait for suckle farmers to shoot me down, for talking a load of crap !!!!
M-J-G
Member
I saw a Montana rancher on telly a few months back and they said they were struggling to make it pay.
So what's the difference?
- Location
- somerset
those that carefully cost out everything, aim to produce what the buyers want, and are good at it, whether in the USA, here, or another country, will survive. Some ranchers on utbe, bring the herd into coralls, wean, and calves straight into lorry, and off to sale barn, steers hfrs, the only bunching, all cattle sold by weight, so much a lb, on total weight of bunch, could be 10, or 20, or a100+, you wouldn't do that here would you ? But, all the cattle are uniform size. Another rancher had worked out, how much, per hour, of waiting to be sold, weight lost, for him, that day, 150 calves, lost weight to the equivalent of 2 calves, I've never even dreamt of doing that, but, the only bunch of cattle, I ever sold by weight, was stuck on the m5 for nearly 5 hours, on a hot day, pre weighbridge, and yes, I wasn't happy with weight, but just treated it as a 1 off.
- Location
- Fife
Watch some of the “Ranching for profit” videos on YouTube.
Weasel
Member
- Location
- in the hills
Weasel
Member
- Location
- in the hills
Weasel
Member
- Location
- in the hills
That won't include tree planting. Around here the landlord is putting tenants out to plant trees
- Location
- Fife
- Location
- somerset
another valid point on the suckle thread, is this, with the increase in the vegi/vegan brigade, the rise of ready meal consumption, and the high household debt, prime beef sales are on a downward slope, mince and 'processed' are rising, these 2 points reduce the sellable value of the carcass, couple this, with the coming s/mkt ban on euthanising crap calves, and insisting they must be reared, those animals = very cheap mince, ever thought about that ?
marco
Member
- Location
- tipperary, ireland
They may be stocked at a cow to 40 acres or double that in some of the worst ground
What have the 340 averaged to date