Calf prices.
- Thread starter redsloe
- Start date
- Location
- somerset
from what I hear, the best conts down a bit, middle down a fair bit, bottom end crap. Friends been picking up smaller Hereford and aa hfr calves between £10 -£20, same breeds bull calves £20 - £30. can pick up middle conts bulls and heifers, a £100 or thereabouts, these are decent young calves, and will look good when reared. But, if you have a good arrangement with a farmer(s), and you know they have had colostrum etc, that's worth a lot, been thinking about how much more, and I think £20, if you add up losses, vet and med, it adds up. because at these low prices, some farmers wont bother to much with them. Calf prices at Exeter are different to Salisbury, frome, tends to be an older, stronger calf wanted, and smaller younger calves get hammered, I sell at all 3 markets, and have bought at Salisbury and frome, there is a big difference.
Dman2
Member
- Location
- Durham, UK
Got a load of calves in yesterday
Brb bulls down £120 a head on this time last year
Heifers down same
Brb bulls down £120 a head on this time last year
Heifers down same
Dman2
Member
- Location
- Durham, UK
But then our stores were down £150 a head on last year as well
Martyn
Member
- Location
- South west
We have sold 40 day old calves this week,
BB bull ave - £275
BB heifer ave £224
Limi Bulls - £255
Limi Hei - £216
Hereford Bulls - £210
Hereford Hei - £182
B&W bull - £85
44 calves sold
BB bull ave - £275
BB heifer ave £224
Limi Bulls - £255
Limi Hei - £216
Hereford Bulls - £210
Hereford Hei - £182
B&W bull - £85
44 calves sold
- Location
- somerset
Exeter ?
when you say 40 day calves, do you mean 40 days old ?
- Location
- East Sussex
I read calves 40 days of age, 44 sold in total.
I suspect under the 42 day limit where they need tb testing.
gone up the hill
Member
- Location
- Devon
Crazy prices when you can buy in well reared/grown stirks 10 months old for £200 head more!
- Location
- somerset
then by keeping them till that age, and the extra cost of feeding them, I wouldn't say that was a good price, they would have been very well fed, to keep a bloom on them, this time last year, we were getting more for bb's, top £320, hfds topped at £290, and would have been 14 days old. It is nice to top the mkts, but you have to look at how much it costs to do so. Also on our milk contract, we are not allowed to feed anti-biotic milk, even to mkt calves.
Martyn
Member
- Location
- South west
Yes we sold 44 calves just befor 42 days of age, we are well down on last year about £100-120 a head and two years prior our top limi and BB reached £460-490.
Agree very little in the rearing job of calves, im please to say we are holding onto about 60% of our own beef calves now and next year should be even more. Selling calves is also about having a good name for rearing, ok a poor year this year but we also want to be top prices when market flying so i think its important to present a well grown calf in the ring.
I would think that's pretty good, the aax we buy being similar to the Hereford.
Generally over 4weeks old and nicely started.
It's a job to negotiate a relative calf price when fat price has dropped more than the calf in the first place!
Bossfarmer
Member
- Location
- between Perth and Inverness
i bought in lim x dairy calves off the milk at 2 months old, ive got them outside just now but the weathers terrible will these calves harden up if i leave them out over winter and feed a barley/protein mix plus silage or should i bring them in? ive only an old byre to use for them the main sheds full, they wont poach the ground like cows do