Calf rearing costs..

[som farmer]

I thjnk you right regarding pyramind , just nice to have a umbrella so to speak when never done it before .

just buy a small number of same breed calves, do it properly, and see what they turn out like, nothing difficult, just regular routine.

we have just sold 9 stirks 3-6 months old, all sold singly, as none 'matched' anything else we have about. Sold fairly well, dec born ch steer, £490 was the best. If it had been a matching pen of calves, av price would have been +£40/50 head.

that is why you should try and buy calves, that will make a decent pen, all matching, in mkt.

 

[Hilly]

just buy a small number of same breed calves, do it properly, and see what they turn out like, nothing difficult, just regular routine.

we have just sold 9 stirks 3-6 months old, all sold singly, as none 'matched' anything else we have about. Sold fairly well, dec born ch steer, £490 was the best. If it had been a matching pen of calves, av price would have been +£40/50 head.

that is why you should try and buy calves, that will make a decent pen, all matching, in mkt.

Sort of money are they making ?

 

[som farmer]

Sort of money are they making ?

how long is a piece of string ?

bb's sell the best, this years top price for us, £610, for 5/6 month steers, in jan. Today, they would be £150 more, they have grown ! But we have had slightly younger hereford steers, no sire, to £590, same day.

how we do it, is we sell the very best, and run the rest around. We also try and sell before they start eating 5/6 +kg of conc a day, that rapidly alters figures. At the same time, you have to keep a 'shine' on their coats, otherwise you get knocked on price.

we aim to make a £200 profit a calf, but we don't buy milk powder, we feed our own stored, acidified colostrum, waste milk, and a bit of powder if short. £70 saving. And a difference between our own calves, and bought in calves.

the price is very much down to breed, how they look in the ring, and what buyers want, we tend to stick to blues, AAx and herefords, lims if we can source enough to make a bunch. That simplifies things, like the 150+ AAx, which we will get, from 1 farm, by 1 bull.

the market is difficult to judge, seems to jump up, every week, but, if you sell as stirks, the better they look, the greater the competition to buy them. They need to have a 'shine' on their coats, and look good. Yearlings make the worst prices, unless out of sucklers. They tend to lose that shine, look hairy etc, also offer a chance of a good profit, if you get it right. Hard.

not much help with prices, but they are all over the place, at the moment.

l think trade will stay good, a lot of stores from the south west, go north for finishing, less breeding stock about, dairy or beef, could be short supply come the autumn. Markets are reporting record numbers through, week on week, they can only be sold once, autumn numbers will be lower than average. Conc will need to be watched, could go high, with a poor harvest, milk price will rise, so powder will as well.

that's our thoughts, and we are going to buy as many calves as we can fit in, without the deadly sin, of over crowding ! Got 200 about now, go to 500? All depends on calf prices, its also quite a big gamble, but that's just farming !!!!!

 

[Hilly]

how long is a piece of string ?

bb's sell the best, this years top price for us, £610, for 5/6 month steers, in jan. Today, they would be £150 more, they have grown ! But we have had slightly younger hereford steers, no sire, to £590, same day.

how we do it, is we sell the very best, and run the rest around. We also try and sell before they start eating 5/6 +kg of conc a day, that rapidly alters figures. At the same time, you have to keep a 'shine' on their coats, otherwise you get knocked on price.

we aim to make a £200 profit a calf, but we don't buy milk powder, we feed our own stored, acidified colostrum, waste milk, and a bit of powder if short. £70 saving. And a difference between our own calves, and bought in calves.

the price is very much down to breed, how they look in the ring, and what buyers want, we tend to stick to blues, AAx and herefords, lims if we can source enough to make a bunch. That simplifies things, like the 150+ AAx, which we will get, from 1 farm, by 1 bull.

the market is difficult to judge, seems to jump up, every week, but, if you sell as stirks, the better they look, the greater the competition to buy them. They need to have a 'shine' on their coats, and look good. Yearlings make the worst prices, unless out of sucklers. They tend to lose that shine, look hairy etc, also offer a chance of a good profit, if you get it right. Hard.

not much help with prices, but they are all over the place, at the moment.

l think trade will stay good, a lot of stores from the south west, go north for finishing, less breeding stock about, dairy or beef, could be short supply come the autumn. Markets are reporting record numbers through, week on week, they can only be sold once, autumn numbers will be lower than average. Conc will need to be watched, could go high, with a poor harvest, milk price will rise, so powder will as well.

that's our thoughts, and we are going to buy as many calves as we can fit in, without the deadly sin, of over crowding ! Got 200 about now, go to 500? All depends on calf prices, its also quite a big gamble, but that's just farming !!!!!

I think thats why she was fancyimg
The warrendale thing , takes alot of the gamble away ….

 

[unlacedgecko]

I think thats why she was fancyimg
The warrendale thing , takes alot of the gamble away ….

Not what has been said on Facebook

 

[Woolless]

I think thats why she was fancyimg
The warrendale thing , takes alot of the gamble away ….

It might be worth giving Farmstock Scotland at Selkirk a ring. They sometimes have folk on their books with calves looking for a reader or even just to provide a nice level bunch off one farm. @Bill dog may know more.

 

[Keithy1394]

I think thats why she was fancyimg
The warrendale thing , takes alot of the gamble away ….

I may be wrong but i always thought those sort of schemes work on waights and your payed accordingly so have a bad batch you make nothing as such... ive always thought better having less but them being all yours than rearing lots for someone else and them taking a draw

 

[Bill dog]

@Hilly , I used to rear calves for a lad from Wigtownshire who supplied everything and I got a flat rate for weaned calves sold . Farmstock did all the marketing for him , so the farmer could get on with his own business.
I’ve since looked at the Warrendale thing , and if you want Alistair Black’s details ( Warrendale rep up here) I’ll send you them . Finance available through Oxbury bank should you wish .
You buy the calves, then Warrendale guarantee to buy them back off you at a pre arranged price, all set by the weight they have gained .
But just remember a healthy wagyu calf looks like a normal Angus cross calf that is riddled with pneumonia, and 20 minutes from snuffing it !
But credit to Warrendale, they are really pushing the job up here !
Whether it’s for me , I’m still on the fence !

 

[som farmer]

I think thats why she was fancyimg
The warrendale thing , takes alot of the gamble away ….

these schemes look good, but, to achieve the margins they quote, you have to hit every target that is set.

as many will attest, no-one gets anything 100% correct, they are weighted in favour of the buyer.

l don't know of any who have stuck it out, although there obviously is some.

auctioneers can be very helpful, if you have a good relationship with them, they know the farms to buy from. We are pushing numbers right up, and they are matching us to decent big herds, so can buy off farm, through them.

when we were buying out of mkts, there were 4 dairies on one estate, calves from 3, sold for decent money, the other went for peanuts. Looked the same, but our, and dealer experience, told us the calves were diers, no colostrum, no tlc, and it showed. Estate manager used to get quite uppity over it, and wouldn't listen.

 

[Woolless]

@Hilly , I used to rear calves for a lad from Wigtownshire who supplied everything and I got a flat rate for weaned calves sold . Farmstock did all the marketing for him , so the farmer could get on with his own business.
I’ve since looked at the Warrendale thing , and if you want Alistair Black’s details ( Warrendale rep up here) I’ll send you them . Finance available through Oxbury bank should you wish .
You buy the calves, then Warrendale guarantee to buy them back off you at a pre arranged price, all set by the weight they have gained .
But just remember a healthy wagyu calf looks like a normal Angus cross calf that is riddled with pneumonia, and 20 minutes from snuffing it !
But credit to Warrendale, they are really pushing the job up here !
Whether it’s for me , I’m still on the fence !

At least Wagyus are consistent. They just look like a bad Angus at every stage

 

[Hilly]

Not what has been said on Facebook

Oh whats been said ?

 

[HarryB97]

Oh whats been said ?

They can be slow shifting weaned calves and young cattle. I’ve reared 200 for them since last September and overall very pleased. Good to deal with, fairly relaxed and helpful and no targets regarding weight or age etc so it’s just like rearing them for your self.

 

[Hilly]

They can be slow shifting weaned calves and young cattle. I’ve reared 200 for them since last September and overall very pleased. Good to deal with, fairly relaxed and helpful and no targets regarding weight or age etc so it’s just like rearing them for your self.

Have they been slow moving stock for you ? Or just others ? Od have thought if paid bu weight just keep pumping it i to them and get paid more ??

 

[Hb21]

Have they been slow moving stock for you ? Or just others ? Od have thought if paid bu weight just keep pumping it i to them and get paid more ??

If I remember correctly the baby calves you'll be buying in from them will be £230 each, you'll be able to buy natives (Angus, Hereford) male/female for average £110/120 elsewhere

 

[HarryB97]

Have they been slow moving stock for you ? Or just others ? Od have thought if paid bu weight just keep pumping it i to them and get paid more ??

I keep all mine till they are 450kg so it hasn’t been an issue for me, but it’s a problem they have openly admitted to me they have. The bigger they are the more you get paid. If you have the space and don’t desperately need the cash an extra month isn’t to bad!

 

[Hilly]

I keep all mine till they are 450kg so it hasn’t been an issue for me, but it’s a problem they have openly admitted to me they have. The bigger they are the more you get paid. If you have the space and don’t desperately need the cash an extra month isn’t to bad!

What live weight do they slaughter them at ?

 

[som farmer]

its another 'niche' mkt product, demand for niche markets, is always 'limited'. If food inflation occurs, which looks likely, that mkt decreases.

but its quite simple, farming is a gamble, in itself, its up to individual farmers, as to the amount of risk, we personally find acceptable.

 

[Hilly]

its another 'niche' mkt product, demand for niche markets, is always 'limited'. If food inflation occurs, which looks likely, that mkt decreases.

but its quite simple, farming is a gamble, in itself, its up to individual farmers, as to the amount of risk, we personally find acceptable.

I agree, i dont know if we will go ahead , the wagyu thing sounds comfortable but probably wont be , im 60 mile from a mart that has calf sales not practical to have to hang around
Mart for a few calves etc i think i might just forget about it and think of something else.

 

[som farmer]

I agree, i dont know if we will go ahead , the wagyu thing sounds comfortable but probably wont be , im 60 mile from a mart that has calf sales not practical to have to hang around
Mart for a few calves etc i think i might just forget about it and think of something else.

no friendly dairy farmer closer, you could buy off ? 60 miles to mkt, sure some dairies would be happy to sell direct, to avoid the hassle of taking them to mkt.

having said that, the three mkts we use are, 70mls, 56mls and 32mls away, and taking calves from 9 mls further than the 70ml mkt.

we do buy calves, at one 18 mls, but will not sell there. Odd barrener perhaps, but we have never really 'got on' selling there, that goes back 40/50 yrs

 

[HarryB97]

What live weight do they slaughter them at ?

Anything over 22 or 24 months, can’t quite remember. No deductions for grade or being over age. Paid on the marbelling score.