anyone sold any incalf suckler cows recently?

bluebell

Member
i personally think the whole cattle side of farming has never been so bad economically, in all the years ive been keeping cattle. At least farms with no livestock dont have the constant worry of keeping animals feed healthy bedded up and all the things that go with that, all the prices of feed straw vet bills etc etc go up, why have cattle prices dropped? our national herd numbers has dropped alot from say 40 years ago, answers please?
 

onthehoof

Member
Mixed Farmer
Location
Cambs
This always used to be best time of year for cattle prices now the worst.
Reasons for the drop? - competition from cheap chicken, vegans, climate change, supermarkets
 

Werzle

Member
Location
Midlands
i personally think the whole cattle side of farming has never been so bad economically, in all the years ive been keeping cattle. At least farms with no livestock dont have the constant worry of keeping animals feed healthy bedded up and all the things that go with that, all the prices of feed straw vet bills etc etc go up, why have cattle prices dropped? our national herd numbers has dropped alot from say 40 years ago, answers please?
Prices for quality sucklers and suckler bred cattle have been ok for the last few years , its just the drought thats knackered it . Faith in the suckler job is going to be tested this winter but your options are poor, cull culls and average to below average breeding stock are making poor money so selling up is going to be painfull financially and buying fodder is also going to hurt. I know people are sick of hearing next year will be better but i fully expect trade to be flying next spring , the country cannot cull the huge amount of breeding cows like we have this year without seeing a shortage next year in my opinion.
 

thesilentone

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
Cumbria
Intensive farming, low margins, high turnover is all well and good until mother nature throws a spanner in the works. How much do the accountants factor a drought or washout into the business plan ?
 

bluebell

Member
ive been waiting for the good times to return, will they? what about imports? what if a future government takes the view that food ie beef can be had for cheaper from abroad, why should farming have support from our leaders? does the average person on the street care or do they just care of how cheap their food bill is? after all in my pesonal opinion government should have protected our other industries i e coal mining, but allowed the free market to buy on price so we as a country still import coal because its cheaper?
 

milkloss

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
East Sussex
We’re just about holding our heads above water as a whole which includes income fromrenting out land. I’d be better off not messing about with suckers and is an issue I’ve mentioned on here before so apologies if I seem a bit repetitive.
I don’t have a massive amount of confidence going on, we don’t exactly have much of a history of ‘good times’ do we?
 

Bill the Bass

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
Cumbria
This always used to be best time of year for cattle prices now the worst.
Reasons for the drop? - competition from cheap chicken, vegans, climate change, supermarkets

I don't see what impacts vegans and climate change have - I think people will carry on eating beef regardless on the whole, consumption is fairly static in the UK but people eat less roasts and much more mince and burgers - ironic given the health advice is the contrary. I agree though if you look at the price of beef and lamb and look at the price of an equivalent quantity of chicken or pork, if I were on a budget I know what I would go for...

Breeding bull prices have held up not too bad this autumn so there is obviously some confidence about.
 
I went to a store cattle sale with a sale of breeding cattle afterwards. After watching stores at a depressed trade for anything but what was near to kill it was unbelievable how much the breeding cattle made.
There must be some confidence somewhere with me included as I had to pay well to get what I wanted
 

Happy

Member
Location
Scotland
I don't see what impacts vegans and climate change have - I think people will carry on eating beef regardless on the whole, consumption is fairly static in the UK but people eat less roasts and much more mince and burgers - ironic given the health advice is the contrary. I agree though if you look at the price of beef and lamb and look at the price of an equivalent quantity of chicken or pork, if I were on a budget I know what I would go for...

Breeding bull prices have held up not too bad this autumn so there is obviously some confidence about.

UK government Ag policy is what’s going to do for the job rather than people stopping eating beef. They’ll keep eating it but more will be imported.
Vegans and climate change are very convenient levers to the government at this moment in pushing ahead with their green brexit and rewilding/reforesting of the countryside policy.
Not one of the raft of policy announcement from Defra since Mr Gove took charge has been positive towards utilising the countryside for food production.
Sadly he and his green party funding Defra board members will determine the future profitability of the job rather than what farmers were willing to pay for bulls this autumn:(
 
UK government Ag policy is what’s going to do for the job rather than people stopping eating beef. They’ll keep eating it but more will be imported.
Vegans and climate change are very convenient levers to the government at this moment in pushing ahead with their green brexit and rewilding/reforesting of the countryside policy.
Not one of the raft of policy announcement from Defra since Mr Gove took charge has been positive towards utilising the countryside for food production.
Sadly he and his green party funding Defra board members will determine the future profitability of the job rather than what farmers were willing to pay for bulls this autumn:(
I think the issue is we as beef producers can see the need for our existence due to increasing population, food security, import export balance, benefits to our ground, benefits to sheep production and environmental benefits
 
@livestock 1 I can see the benefits you posted, sadly the opening one that we as beef producers see the benefits. All we hear in the bulletin articles on news is the inefficient use of land producing red meat as opposed to corn, no mention of how land could become infertile with no livestock in parts of country, how large % of upland farms can not produce corn, and yet their livestock could be or will be unviable without livestock farms in lowlands.
People completely naïve that the beautiful uk countryside would be changed dramatically without stock, a part of my farm is 300 acres of tenanted land, the landlords have a block they took back off a previous tenant between me and my local village. A stunning village full of new blood commuting to London. Every field has footpaths here, and my route was one of the most widely walked, easily few hundred at weekends in summer. Since landlords taken back that land they grow almost entirely maize on it, a fair walk through maize mid summer, numbers reduced beyond belief(y) talk in the village that "its just not the same" not seeing lovely rolling green fields and cows and sheep, and losing their dog in maize!! Gives me great pleasure when they moan and I inform them due to losses of sheep and lambs through dogs and infertile cattle through neospora and general poor prices they cant afford to do otherwise. Fortunate as new comers they know not that they never had sheep there and only there male calves from dairy but why let the truth get in the way of a good story
 
Was at a dispersal last week in Stirling. Fairly average aa and sim cows Charolais calves at foot and in calve . 4/5th calvers 2300-2800 . Looked right good trade. Came home empty. Fella late 40’s had enough and sold up
It’s a shame about the fella selling his cows sounds like he’s had a good trade though!
Must be some confidence somewhere
 

Happy

Member
Location
Scotland
@livestock 1 I can see the benefits you posted, sadly the opening one that we as beef producers see the benefits. All we hear in the bulletin articles on news is the inefficient use of land producing red meat as opposed to corn, no mention of how land could become infertile with no livestock in parts of country, how large % of upland farms can not produce corn, and yet their livestock could be or will be unviable without livestock farms in lowlands.
People completely naïve that the beautiful uk countryside would be changed dramatically without stock, a part of my farm is 300 acres of tenanted land, the landlords have a block they took back off a previous tenant between me and my local village. A stunning village full of new blood commuting to London. Every field has footpaths here, and my route was one of the most widely walked, easily few hundred at weekends in summer. Since landlords taken back that land they grow almost entirely maize on it, a fair walk through maize mid summer, numbers reduced beyond belief(y) talk in the village that "its just not the same" not seeing lovely rolling green fields and cows and sheep, and losing their dog in maize!! Gives me great pleasure when they moan and I inform them due to losses of sheep and lambs through dogs and infertile cattle through neospora and general poor prices they cant afford to do otherwise. Fortunate as new comers they know not that they never had sheep there and only there male calves from dairy but why let the truth get in the way of a good story

That’s pretty much it.
Sadly this one sided version of events is current defra boards mantra.
The BBC are not coming up with all this anti production to save the planet stuff of their own accord.
All part of the well engineered plan defra have in store for UK farming post brexit and food production is not a feature of it.

Irony is a country like this where most of it is only suitable for livestock grazing is exactly the type of food production that is sustainable rather than those in much of the world where they plan on importing our future food needs from.
 

Werzle

Member
Location
Midlands
That’s pretty much it.
Sadly this one sided version of events is current defra boards mantra.
The BBC are not coming up with all this anti production to save the planet stuff of their own accord.
All part of the well engineered plan defra have in store for UK farming post brexit and food production is not a feature of it.

Irony is a country like this where most of it is only suitable for livestock grazing is exactly the type of food production that is sustainable rather than those in much of the world where they plan on importing our future food needs from.
With 60+million mouths on our little island i dont think the goverment can afford to mess with home grown food production too much.
 

bluebell

Member
yer but our country sold it self out years ago, thats why theirs no tough talk with the EU. , What a disgrace i thought when i saw the police the army the ambulances all vehicles are german made even our councils bin lorries are mercedes, who won the war?
 

SFI - What % were you taking out of production?

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    Votes: 79 42.5%
  • Up to 25%

    Votes: 65 34.9%
  • 25-50%

    Votes: 30 16.1%
  • 50-75%

    Votes: 3 1.6%
  • 75-100%

    Votes: 3 1.6%
  • 100% I’ve had enough of farming!

    Votes: 6 3.2%

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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