Beef / Lamb & Pig Price Tracker

I understand that, the point I was making is why give £300 for a calf when £200 is enough, we complain about losing 30ppk on the dead but fight to outbid each other around the calf ring.
It’s probably because it’s easier to pay 15k for 50 calves than it is to pay 40k for 50 stores or 75k for 50 heifers.
A bit like buying land
Other than that I have no idea
 
Location
Devon
British beef sales are down for multiple reasons, lack of promo, massive promo of meat free diets, weather, variation in eating quality etc. So we either get retailers to slash prices to increase sales or we slash supply to balance with demand, the former would result in a drop in price and loss of more producers, the latter would result in a loss of producers but a margin for those who remain. And before anyone mentions the B word and banning imports, it's never going to happen, it never was, indeed it allows us to bring in more whilst hoping we can continue to export a bit more. Back on topic, why on earth were Sedge calves so damned expensive, no one is forcing farmers to bid more than they are worth.

Due to the weather there was hardly any farmer buyers around the calve ring yesterday!

Trade was driven by the handful of regular dealer buyers, most of them take the calves on and rear them then sell them when they are weaned at 12/16 weeks old.

Last year for 16 week old weaned calves one of the most prominent sedge dealer buyer was selling them for £525 head for weaned steers, the year before it was £500 head, the cattle that he sold for £500 head will now be going up the line and making £1050/1100 head..

Will cost him £120 head to rear the calves so if he can buy them for £300 and sell them for £500 he is clearing £80 head for 3 months ownership of the calves!
 

jendan

Member
Mixed Farmer
Location
Northumberland
Due to the weather there was hardly any farmer buyers around the calve ring yesterday!

Trade was driven by the handful of regular dealer buyers, most of them take the calves on and rear them then sell them when they are weaned at 12/16 weeks old.

Last year for 16 week old weaned calves one of the most prominent sedge dealer buyer was selling them for £525 head for weaned steers, the year before it was £500 head, the cattle that he sold for £500 head will now be going up the line and making £1050/1100 head..

Will cost him £120 head to rear the calves so if he can buy them for £300 and sell them for £500 he is clearing £80 head for 3 months ownership of the calves!
What happens if he cant sell them for £500,and only get £420?
 

Full of bull(s)

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
North Yorkshire
Due to the weather there was hardly any farmer buyers around the calve ring yesterday!

Trade was driven by the handful of regular dealer buyers, most of them take the calves on and rear them then sell them when they are weaned at 12/16 weeks old.

Last year for 16 week old weaned calves one of the most prominent sedge dealer buyer was selling them for £525 head for weaned steers, the year before it was £500 head, the cattle that he sold for £500 head will now be going up the line and making £1050/1100 head..

Will cost him £120 head to rear the calves so if he can buy them for £300 and sell them for £500 he is clearing £80 head for 3 months ownership of the calves!

Is it commission free in the stirk ring at Sedgemoor ? Be going the same way as Beeston at that rate
 
:D I’ll tell you when I can find a company to sell me some cherry to put in the rolls Royce to get me home
They have a long list of people wanting to buy these 16 week old weaned calves.

People want the calves but not the work!

At least one of the dealers that does this has 2000+ calves at any one time on farms that rear for him!
i would cry if I had 2000 calves in my possession
 
Who buys the calves and rears them is missing my point, this thread is full of complaints about the prime price for finished cattle and it being 30ppk less than last year, however, calves are still through the roof in comparison, the dealer can only sell at £500 if there is a client willing to pay it.
 

Werzle

Member
Location
Midlands
Who buys the calves and rears them is missing my point, this thread is full of complaints about the prime price for finished cattle and it being 30ppk less than last year, however, calves are still through the roof in comparison, the dealer can only sell at £500 if there is a client willing to pay it.
They are not selling weanlings at £500, a fair few who used to buy baby calves started buying weanlings because they couldnt rear them any cheaper than they could buy them for with the work already done. Calf rearing to sell as weanlings is a mugs game unless you have a long term agreement in place. As @livestock 1 said some prefer to buy calves as a cheaper way in to a bunch of cattle. All livestock farmers have a system and you cant just chop and change because of a spell of bad prices, we all breed and buy stock in the hope of prices improving and the more we breed and buy when prices are poor the greater the profit if prices rise and we have loads to sell. Its all a gamble. We moan about the fat price because its unfair that it is manipulated by foreign imports and not by over supply with home grown.
 
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They are not selling weanlings at £500, a fair few who used to buy baby calves started buying weanlings because they couldnt rear them any cheaper than they could buy them for with the work already done. Calf rearing to sell as weanlings is a mugs game unless you have a long term agreement in place. As @livestock 1 said some prefer to buy calves as a cheaper way in to a bunch of cattle. All livestock farmers have a system and you cant just chop and change because of a spell of bad prices, we all breed and buy stock in the hope of prices improving and the more we breed and buy when prices are poor the greater the profit if prices rise and we have loads to sell. Its all a gamble. We moan about the fat price because its unfair that it is manipulated by foreign imports and not by over supply with home grown.
Again completely missing my point and obviously didn't read GUTH post where he said dealers are buying babies at £300 and selling at 16 weeks at £500 to farmers for growing/finishing. I'm not saying switch systems, it is far simpler than that, GUTH said Sedge baby calves were a flying trade, I'm saying why pay so much for baby calves or weaned calves when the dead price is dropping. The point being the price we bid for calves in market, or the dealers on our behalf is completely in our hands yet - I suppose it's always easier to try and blame someone else for our own problems.
 

Werzle

Member
Location
Midlands
Again completely missing my point and obviously didn't read GUTH post where he said dealers are buying babies at £300 and selling at 16 weeks at £500 to farmers for growing/finishing. I'm not saying switch systems, it is far simpler than that, GUTH said Sedge baby calves were a flying trade, I'm saying why pay so much for baby calves or weaned calves when the dead price is dropping. The point being the price we bid for calves in market, or the dealers on our behalf is completely in our hands yet - I suppose it's always easier to try and blame someone else for our own problems.
Your missing my point that it isnt happening.
 
Location
N Devon
Again completely missing my point and obviously didn't read GUTH post where he said dealers are buying babies at £300 and selling at 16 weeks at £500 to farmers for growing/finishing. I'm not saying switch systems, it is far simpler than that, GUTH said Sedge baby calves were a flying trade, I'm saying why pay so much for baby calves or weaned calves when the dead price is dropping. The point being the price we bid for calves in market, or the dealers on our behalf is completely in our hands yet - I suppose it's always easier to try and blame someone else for our own problems.
Typical farmers there not making enough so keeping more ! plus suckler number dropping and some arable men with black grass problems wanting grass back in rotation seem to be happy keeping them for the company and the fym. Don't think you'll be getting them for what there worth any time soon !!
 
They are not selling weanlings at £500, a fair few who used to buy baby calves started buying weanlings because they couldnt rear them any cheaper than they could buy them for with the work already done. Calf rearing to sell as weanlings is a mugs game unless you have a long term agreement in place. As @livestock 1 said some prefer to buy calves as a cheaper way in to a bunch of cattle. All livestock farmers have a system and you cant just chop and change because of a spell of bad prices, we all breed and buy stock in the hope of prices improving and the more we breed and buy when prices are poor the greater the profit if prices rise and we have loads to sell. Its all a gamble. We moan about the fat price because its unfair that it is manipulated by foreign imports and not by over supply with home grown.
Talking at Carlisle the other week and someone pointed out to me how many ex suckler cow men are now buying weaning cattle or stores. There’s a lot when you look
 
Majority of calves are not making anywhere near £300 and majority of weanlings are not making £500.
not talking about the majority of calves, was talking about those calves that are making £300. The basic point being we complain about deadweight price and pay too much for calves.
 

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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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