Beef / Lamb & Pig Price Tracker

Nithsdale

Member
Livestock Farmer
A butcher friend of mine reckons that we should be breeding bigger too. His reason is that he would like a loin big enough to bone out and roll, rather than sell chops. People aren't so keen on bone nowadays.

25kg hung up needs 50kg+ walking though. If your flock is dialled in to producing the 20kg carcase that we have done for God knows how long... some change needed in your ewes, or keeping lambs longer to reach those weights (add to that more feeding/grass/fert costs)...
 
25kg hung up needs 50kg+ walking though. If your flock is dialled in to producing the 20kg carcase that we have done for God knows how long... some change needed in your ewes, or keeping lambs longer to reach those weights (add to that more feeding/grass/fert costs)...
Years ago a neighbour always topped the local store mart with his beast. Great big usually black limmies. They were probably heading for three years old most of them
 

Nithsdale

Member
Livestock Farmer
Years ago a neighbour always topped the local store mart with his beast. Great big usually black limmies. They were probably heading for three years old most of them

Dad used to take fat cattle right up to the 30month limit when I was young. They always sold well but looking back I don't think it was the best return for the costs he put into them
 
Dad used to take fat cattle right up to the 30month limit when I was young. They always sold well but looking back I don't think it was the best return for the costs he put into them
This was going back into the 80’s where age made no difference. Their tails were dragging low but these cattle would be slow grown wintered mainly on hay two old fellas on a rented farm wouldn’t cost their time. Most likely good tasting beef
 
25kg hung up needs 50kg+ walking though. If your flock is dialled in to producing the 20kg carcase that we have done for God knows how long... some change needed in your ewes, or keeping lambs longer to reach those weights (add to that more feeding/grass/fert costs)...
Yes, I agree. The big market is still for a 20kg approx lamb. He runs a fairly high end butcher's shop, so a fairly niche market. Interesting take on it though. I think Australian lambs tend to be about that size?
 

Bob the beef

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
Scot Borders
Yes, I agree. The big market is still for a 20kg approx lamb. He runs a fairly high end butcher's shop, so a fairly niche market. Interesting take on it though. I think Australian lambs tend to be about that size?
Yep oz lambs would have a much deeper loin, but very little gigot.
Best lamb chops I ever tasted were from a merino, tender meat but very little fat
 

Nithsdale

Member
Livestock Farmer
This was going back into the 80’s where age made no difference. Their tails were dragging low but these cattle would be slow grown wintered mainly on hay two old fellas on a rented farm wouldn’t cost their time. Most likely good tasting beef

I'm a young pup. I was only born in the 80's 🤣
I'm not sure what we did with the youngstock back then - Galloway cows on the hill breeding Bluegreys for inbye going to the Char... they probably did go store

The Galloway's went as the switch to dairy cross cows became popular, everything went to Char, then switched to Limmy in the 90's. Dad finished everything with the BSE carry on. IIRC in the 90's you took the cattle through the different colour paper slips (pink and green?) to get the headage payments?then into the fat ring at 28-30months...

But 30months is a bloody long time to keep a calf. No wonder I can run twice as many sheep now 😂
we shift the calves as yearlings in May, before they'd be turned out to grass now
 
I'm a young pup. I was only born in the 80's 🤣
I'm not sure what we did with the youngstock back then - Galloway cows on the hill breeding Bluegreys for inbye going to the Char... they probably did go store

The Galloway's went as the switch to dairy cross cows became popular, everything went to Char, then switched to Limmy in the 90's. Dad finished everything with the BSE carry on. IIRC in the 90's you took the cattle through the different colour paper slips (pink and green?) to get the headage payments?then into the fat ring at 28-30months...

But 30months is a bloody long time to keep a calf. No wonder I can run twice as many sheep now 😂
we shift the calves as yearlings in May, before they'd be turned out to grass now
How does your land compare?
 

Estate fencing.

Member
Livestock Farmer
I know a fella that keeps em 2 years and makes less than 1 yr olds🤔😂
Someone was telling me the other day that his 33-36 month old cattle made £950 when he killed them! He bought 30 almost 3 years ago as calves and managed to sell only 24, so they had 2 full winters. He said that he was happy because they hadn’t cost much, some people are easy pleased. He is the same with sheep, never takes the tup out so always lambing and doesn’t look at the lambs until mid May (12-14 months) then sells them as poor store lambs!
 

muleman

Member
Someone was telling me the other day that his 33-36 month old cattle made £950 when he killed them! He bought 30 almost 3 years ago as calves and managed to sell only 24, so they had 2 full winters. He said that he was happy because they hadn’t cost much, some people are easy pleased. He is the same with sheep, never takes the tup out so always lambing and doesn’t look at the lambs until mid May (12-14 months) then sells them as poor store lambs!
We could almost be talking about the same man, lambs all year too!
 

Nithsdale

Member
Livestock Farmer
Sorry I meant different mix of stock. I always yearn to have a lot of cows to keep the land right instead of pezzled with sheep all the time.

At the start, Grandad had 20-30 sucklers (Galloway's), 40 dairy (Ayrshire's) and 200 (Cheviot) ewes - then switched to Blackies. Used to buy in store (Blackie) lambs, grow some rape/kale/stubble turnips and grain.

The dairy went (estate weren't interested in helping funding the bulk tank or upgrading the parlour or road). So dad ran 80 sucklers. Stopped buying store lambs and upped ewe numbers a bit, selling scotch Mules. Headage payments he upped ewes to 350-400, and ran mostly Mules.

Today we are still running 80 sucklers, more beef bred (a lot of sim and Luing blood). Lambing 600 ewes, Lleyn and CheviotxLleyn - breed my own replacements but they run on the estate on tack keep.


Cows are good but take up a lot of land (silage ground and grazing)... Can make a mess when the weather turns in the autumn... are always crowding that 1 gateway you want to shift sheep through... and break things for fun 😖
 

SFI - What % were you taking out of production?

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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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