Compare that to continentals with prices dropping £100+/head if feed prices did the same, it looked a good price all last summer and Winter. No offence intended but it’s not a budget if you haven’t covered the major input. Everything I feed is bought in, the majority barley. 80% of this is bought forward from merchants six months in front. Calves averaging 8.5 months on farm so when a calf arrives I know how much it will cost to feed through to finish post weaning. Forward bought barley over the last four years all under £139 delivered. I took cover from harvest until December this year in April at £130.
As for the bulls drawing out of 3 or more pens every load. Weigh regularly, target weight 470kg which is when they usually really slow up, if flying they get longer if stalling they go sooner at 450, I don’t carry passengers. None of these firms work to keep us in a living and I would rather know the sale price/kg when I buy it than face these modern grids and fluctuating base prices
Buy some soya and include it at around 60-80kg per tonne. Add some molasses and then watch them fly.Thank you I do appreciate your input, we were feeding beans in ration till they ran out . And performance hasn’t changed. I feel they don’t digest the beans as well . Maybe crimped beans would be better
We sent them some calves this winter and never again to be honest. They paid well enough for the first batch then ended up raping uson the second batch if they hadn't made the kilo LW gain by a certain age. They tried to get away paying us £80 for 6 week old Simmy heifers, absolutely disgusting, there was nothing wrong with them so I rang up and complained and they upped it to £150.
I'm not sure who our local agent is... our cattle dealer/haulier seems to be the buyer for them in our area. They knew nothing about it when I contacted them, so it must be whoever graded/classified them at the collection centre.Who was the agent? TC?
We purchased everything, except the calves with are our own tb restricted, so full budget done, but our feed costs are higher than yours as use top quality nuts, (but purchased forward)as can't handle straights for beef side of the farms and were pulling them out at 440kg for the b/w and 470kg for the beef breeds which was around the same age.
Do you just purchase from Buitalaar?
Have you ever done the Angus bulls with Buitelaar?The B/W yes. The calves do really well and losses are minimal, they are really on top of colostrum management etc. With the suppliers.
Have you ever done the Angus bulls with Buitelaar?