Farmers do not take in to account Natives live cheaper than Continentals.

nxy

Member
Mixed Farmer
Regardless of how much you're currently getting for store cattle, with fert £1000/t, cherry £1++ / litre, and barley kicking £300/t, how does anyone make money from cattle, regardless of whether it's native or continental breeding?

I am not in the UK I accept that but when I look at my costings its the finishing where no money is being made. I run 60 sucklers and finish everything on the farm. What the figures tell me to do is sell weaned calves. My sucklers are possibly the most profitable part of my business. My sucklers cost me very little, they live almost constantly outside and eat rough hay and straw. We have just started calving to coincide with grass growth and some are looking a bit thin. No fert will go on the grass this year though normally we use 30 units of N or so. The rest is down to muck. Cows never see silage or grain. If you need lots of fert you are over stocked and if you only cut one cut of late hay you use a lot less diesel.
 

Hilly

Member
Regardless of how much you're currently getting for store cattle, with fert £1000/t, cherry £1++ / litre, and barley kicking £300/t, how does anyone make money from cattle, regardless of whether it's native or continental breeding?
Its never been much different since pre bse tho has it ?
 

JP1

Member
Livestock Farmer
I keep natives and the south devon will pay well as stores, I usually sell mine at 18months old weighing anywhere between 600-700kgs and get a good return and the cows will make good money as culls, only yesterday I sent some cull cows off varying between 450-550 deadweight. They produce good growing calves off grass. Might not be everybody’s cup of tea but you need a cow that suits your system.
I like the SD cow. Not convinced on the bulls, dippy backs put me off if I'm honest
 
Easier calving and keep the heifer calves out the luing for hill grazing cows

Simental calves too big for heifers, longer gestations, and calves ideally need concentrates to push them once speaned. Shorthorn yearlings are actually heavier fed on grass / haylage / mother's milk than simental with 2lbs of cake one they're off mothers

Angus bulls seem to have lost their easy calving along the way of "improved" ebv weight gains, and anyway, why produce Angus calves that are worth £1200 when 22 month old, when I can sell Shorthorn sired offspring at 12 months old for £1100???
Are the Shorthorns really worth that much more than AA? Why? Morrisons premium?
 

DrDunc

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
Dunsyre
Are the Shorthorns really worth that much more than AA? Why? Morrisons premium?
Shorthorn weigh more as yearlings, and do better at grass? Don't know, but not many Angus sold as yearlings in this area, most kept for another 10 month and sold as forward store to finishers, or sent direct to abattoir

My father had South Devon bulls here many years ago when limousines first starting appearing. Easier fleshed off grass and far better temperament, but lims grew better on what was then "cheap" cereals. Maybe the input costs will make those of us who survive the feed feet and fuel inflation go back to natives off grass?

Now that we're out of EUROP, isn't it time to ditch the supermarket "friendly" grading, and be paid by butchers for better tasting native carcasses once again?
 

digger64

Member
Shorthorn weigh more as yearlings, and do better at grass? Don't know, but not many Angus sold as yearlings in this area, most kept for another 10 month and sold as forward store to finishers, or sent direct to abattoir

My father had South Devon bulls here many years ago when limousines first starting appearing. Easier fleshed off grass and far better temperament, but lims grew better on what was then "cheap" cereals. Maybe the input costs will make those of us who survive the feed feet and fuel inflation go back to natives off grass?

Now that we're out of EUROP, isn't it time to ditch the supermarket "friendly" grading, and be paid by butchers for better tasting native carcasses once again?
With high grain prices ,enviro schemes and high input /material prices- where are we going to find all this lovely clovery quality fenced grass to carry/finish these wonderful forage only fed beasts economically ?
 
Shorthorn weigh more as yearlings, and do better at grass? Don't know, but not many Angus sold as yearlings in this area, most kept for another 10 month and sold as forward store to finishers, or sent direct to abattoir

My father had South Devon bulls here many years ago when limousines first starting appearing. Easier fleshed off grass and far better temperament, but lims grew better on what was then "cheap" cereals. Maybe the input costs will make those of us who survive the feed feet and fuel inflation go back to natives off grass?

Now that we're out of EUROP, isn't it time to ditch the supermarket "friendly" grading, and be paid by butchers for better tasting native carcasses once again?
That's interesting. If my suckler herd was to expand a bit, I would consider running a BSH/AA bull as well as the traditional Hereford. Not had much experience of Shorthorns but a lot of them look rather long in the leg to me and have seen some massive cows going up the line at work. Not so much of a problem if used as a terminal sire I suppose but the calves would still need to perform on grass to make it work.
 

Hilly

Member
Shorthorn weigh more as yearlings, and do better at grass? Don't know, but not many Angus sold as yearlings in this area, most kept for another 10 month and sold as forward store to finishers, or sent direct to abattoir

My father had South Devon bulls here many years ago when limousines first starting appearing. Easier fleshed off grass and far better temperament, but lims grew better on what was then "cheap" cereals. Maybe the input costs will make those of us who survive the feed feet and fuel inflation go back to natives off grass?

Now that we're out of EUROP, isn't it time to ditch the supermarket "friendly" grading, and be paid by butchers for better tasting native carcasses once again?
Yes it is ! Long over due
 

Henarar

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
Somerset
Shorthorn weigh more as yearlings, and do better at grass? Don't know, but not many Angus sold as yearlings in this area, most kept for another 10 month and sold as forward store to finishers, or sent direct to abattoir

My father had South Devon bulls here many years ago when limousines first starting appearing. Easier fleshed off grass and far better temperament, but lims grew better on what was then "cheap" cereals. Maybe the input costs will make those of us who survive the feed feet and fuel inflation go back to natives off grass?

Now that we're out of EUROP, isn't it time to ditch the supermarket "friendly" grading, and be paid by butchers for better tasting native carcasses once again?
Sell them live at market to the butchers, some still go themselves and some will be "accounts".
What grade they get will be immaterial they have bought the animal
 

Hilly

Member
Sell them live at market to the butchers, some still go themselves and some will be "accounts".
What grade they get will be immaterial they have bought the animal
Butchers round here just seem to want 500kg limmy heifers , god knows why , my local butxher bought them for 30 year his meat was bogging . He went bankrupt and now butchers gallowys and the most beautiful steaks, out standing flavour etc
 

Old Tup

Member
Remember being at a SAC on farm meeting demo about suckler production….
Discussing cows outside wintering…audience were invited to imagine each cow as an Electric fire how many bars you had to switch on to keep you warm with the cow outside in the winter…..the colder and wetter it is the more bars you need to switch on to provide just enough to keep her alive….obviously the warmer and dryer it is the less that is required.
But that was in the good old days when Barley was £80 a ton and straw was as good as the cost of baling plus a bit..
 

Werzle

Member
Location
Midlands
Getting the balance right is key, no point keeping the cheapest cow if she produces a worthless calf and no point producing quality calves if you have fed them most of their lives out of the bag. You also need to keep enough to earn a lump of money so its all about what suits your farm and system.
 

Old Tup

Member
Getting the balance right is key, no point keeping the cheapest cow if she produces a worthless calf and no point producing quality calves if you have fed them most of their lives out of the bag. You also need to keep enough to earn a lump of money so its all about what suits your farm and system.
Yep….that’s the paper bit done😉
 

Cowgirl

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
Ayrshire
That's interesting. If my suckler herd was to expand a bit, I would consider running a BSH/AA bull as well as the traditional Hereford. Not had much experience of Shorthorns but a lot of them look rather long in the leg to me and have seen some massive cows going up the line at work. Not so much of a problem if used as a terminal sire I suppose but the calves would still need to perform on grass to make it work.
Will be like all the “improved” “native“ breeds - some are absolutely huge, bigger (therefore presumably hungrier) than some continentals. You would have to do your research and find those bred for commercial attributes, not the show ring. Most have Maine Anjou influence don’t they? The OP Shorthorns are critically endangered.
 

Treecreeper

Member
Livestock Farmer
Remember being at a SAC on farm meeting demo about suckler production….
Discussing cows outside wintering…audience were invited to imagine each cow as an Electric fire how many bars you had to switch on to keep you warm with the cow outside in the winter…..the colder and wetter it is the more bars you need to switch on to provide just enough to keep her alive….obviously the warmer and dryer it is the less that is required.
But that was in the good old days when Barley was £80 a ton and straw was as good as the cost of baling plus a bit..
A number of years back when I thought that there would be barely enough silage i thought I would try to shorten the winter by keeping a bunch of cattle out The weather turned wet and cold, cattle were eating a bale a day and started to go back in condition, brought them in and when settled were only eating 2 bales every 3 days.
 

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

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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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