Beef / Lamb & Pig Price Tracker

[Chae1]

Thing is everyone including myself says they need to cutback. But don't actually do it. Everyone's hanging on waiting for others to cutback first and price to rise.

 

[e3120]

Well, we've cut back 10% on the calves reared this year. It'll take 2 years to filter through, but it's our bit. To be fair, it's mostly due to being fed up with finding ourselves eaten bare in August and September, housing sharpish and having loads of grass in November and March (no sheep, heavy land).

 

[gone up the hill]

Thing is everyone including myself says they need to cutback. But don't actually do it. Everyone's hanging on waiting for others to cutback first and price to rise.

Talk is that the UK Gov are currently trying to do a trade deal with India that will see India being allowed to export tarriff free meat and grain etc to the UK but we will have to pay tarriffs on any grain/meat going the other way!

And that is before you get onto the very low welfare/ what chemicals etc etc they still use in India!

 

[Anymulewilldo]

Sheep haven’t cut back at all, quite the opposite. But young bulls in the sheds have dropped from 100-120 all the time down to 30-50. I just can’t get excited about pouring 2.5t of corn over £300/t into cattle. Heavy clays, shallow top soils so not able to grow anything but grass. I won’t cut the sheep back to graze many more heifers than we already do. I think the sheep make a better return and the main reason I graze heifers is to pick the cow makers out of them at 15/16 months. Suckler herd will be expanding shortly, nothing big, just another 12/15 cows.

 

[livestock 1]

Thing is everyone including myself says they need to cutback. But don't actually do it. Everyone's hanging on waiting for others to cutback first and price to rise.

If it’s anything like previous bad years for suckler cows they will reduce themselves as a matter of course. Replacements cost money and if there’s no money coming in to spare they won’t be replaced. They will probably go even faster than normal as culls are a good trade so there’s a constant market available for them. Plus feed is dear
Hang in there

 

[gone up the hill]

Yea, rolled a bale out for the ewes in that field pictured, but they've hardly touched it.

How can you be short of grass?? confused dot com...

As when ever i post about the very dire situation ref grass growth/ lack of grass etc young Sid pipes up and claims there is plenty of grass in Devon/ grass is growing well and some farmers have grass a foot tall that they do not know what to do with it....

But back in the real world the situation is getting very serious, it was bad before but the ground has burned so much now its back to bare soil on grazed fields the last 3/4 days here.

@kill

 

[livestock 1]

Just put five in the shed with mastitis as I’m persuading folks to keep them

 

[gone up the hill]

If it’s anything like previous bad years for suckler cows they will reduce themselves as a matter of course. Replacements cost money and if there’s no money coming in to spare they won’t be replaced. They will probably go even faster than normal as culls are a good trade so there’s a constant market available for them. Plus feed is dear
Hang in there

Most of the suckler cows around here are gone!

Not sure they can be reduced much more!

Problem is this year it will cost £800+ to keep a cow ( if you are short of silage/grass etc then it could easily be £1000 before the winter is out ) yet the calves will be lucky to average £750 for heifers and steers!

Either the price of beef/lamb rises or before many years there will be a very small beef/sheep industry left in the UK! its as simple as that!

 

[Alias]

Beef price is $h!te.

Best not to speak about it.

As an aside, I was speaking to a well connected farmer last weekend.

He said beef processors only have 3 days worth of storage. So if we didn't supply for 3 days it would be seen on supermarket shelves.

I thought it was hung for 28 days but obviously not.

I was in Dunbia a few years back and if I remember right, the sides were cut up after 2-3 days and just the loin and valuable parts were left in the lump and went back into another fridge to hang for a fortnight or whatever the supermarket wanted

 

[Full of bull(s)]

I was in Dunbia a few years back and if I remember right, the sides were cut up after 2-3 days and just the loin and valuable parts were left in the lump and went back into another fridge to hang for a fortnight or whatever the supermarket wanted

Yes they mature the individual cuts in the vac packs, much of the rest will be long sold/eaten by the time they come out. Don’t forget not all of it by any means ends up on Supermarket shelves these firms all have multiple meat brands of their own for the wholesale trade, it’s quite interesting if you go on their websites

 

[Poorbuthappy]

How can you be short of grass?? confused dot com...

As when ever i post about the very dire situation ref grass growth/ lack of grass etc young Sid pipes up and claims there is plenty of grass in Devon/ grass is growing well and some farmers have grass a foot tall that they do not know what to do with it....

But back in the real world the situation is getting very serious, it was bad before but the ground has burned so much now its back to bare soil on grazed fields the last 3/4 days here.

@kill

Devon is a very diverse county.
Some are still ok for grass. Some burnt up a long time ago.
With every dry week that passes it becomes more widespread.
Certainly this last week with its constant wind has worsened things.

 

[Purli R]

we have a pipe across our ground that they pump fuel through for Fairford airfield. There kept being a tanker and car parked in the lay-by all one summer, we thought it was people shagging. Turned out they had taped in to pipe.

Big new dairy set up 15 miles from us,word is they have tapped into water main & helping themselves! (no idea if this is possible or not)

 

[Anymulewilldo]

Big new dairy set up 15 miles from us,word is they have tapped into water main & helping themselves! (no idea if this is possible or not)

It’s possible, you just need a BIG clamp and the balls to get in the hole while its gushing and get the fitting on.

 

[Purli R]

It’s possible, you just need a BIG clamp and the balls to get in the hole while its gushing and get the fitting on.

Speaking from experience?????

 

[Anymulewilldo]

Speaking from experience?????

Nonono! I don’t do water! Too much water pressure at home.

 

[Farmer 83563]

It’s possible, you just need a BIG clamp and the balls to get in the hole while its gushing and get the fitting on.

You can tap off live mains up to 7" with these no bother

 

[aangus]

It will drop another twenty yet. They have extra costs you know. The supermarkets won’t make it up for them. £4.15 if we’re lucky by the end of the month

That’s because the barley has dropped a similar amount, they’ll just drip feed us a little profit and most of us will carry on because its a way of life

 

[Northeastfarmer]

Thing is everyone including myself says they need to cutback. But don't actually do it. Everyone's hanging on waiting for others to cutback first and price to rise.

There’s been plenty of herd dispersals around here….in fact I don’t actually know where the cattle are coming from because you can drive 150 miles north and south from here and be lucky to count suckler the number of suckler cow herds on one hand

 

[Hilly]

Thing is everyone including myself says they need to cutback. But don't actually do it. Everyone's hanging on waiting for others to cutback first and price to rise.

ive 20 cows less this year

 

[Hfd Cattle]

ive 20 cows less this year

I'm the opposite at the moment ..... just seem to keep gathering them up .