Cost of Beef

If anything they will weigh more, limmys are not renowned for weight and if they spit there dummys which they do regular the weight drops off them like sna off a dyke.Dams are almost 3/4 Angus.

No dehorning is another bonus, that always knocks them back a few weeks too!
 

bobk

Member
Location
stafford
I have just weaned 50 claves today, shed the off in handling pens the walked them very sensibly around farm steading and into there winter housing with no fuss what so ever, when I used to keep 3/4 lims this was a nightmare of a job they would end up all over the farm, thank god I changed to angus bulls.

Want to sell em @Hilly ? ;)
 

Poorbuthappy

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
Devon
In a period of rising inflation, there's no such thing as 'reducing your costs'. They are, and will continue, to go up.

Next question.

I think the phrase is 'in real terms' !
Yes of course prices need to go up in line with inflation. Although what inflation figures you use is debatable.

How do you propose to make it happen beyond inflationary rises, because if you start from the premise there's no / not enough money in beef, it has to.
Saying beef farmers have cut production in response to prices being too low suggests a coordinated approach, whereas in reality people have either had to get out or cut their costs if they want to make a profit which is what I said above. What is the alternative please?
 

Walterp

Member
Location
Pembrokeshire
What does "out of spec" really mean in practice and isn't that part of the problem?
That's a huge topic, and one that I'd not be qualified to say much about - not least because I'm not sure what is best: weight? or in-spec?

Neither, it seems to me, are other people - years ago, I recall Mr David Smith/Richard Haddock of Triple S saying that their in spec cattle were only 45%; earlier this year in Ireland, only 37% were completely in-spec for weight/grade. Maybe the problem is, in some respects, not being resolved?

I'd like to think that the next few years will help UK beef farmers make up their minds whether they are grass cattle producers (in spec cattle reared mainly on grass and forage) or corn-fed cattle (heavier, younger and housed) in perhaps the same way that the UK dairy job is going down the same intensive/extensive choice of system.
 

Walterp

Member
Location
Pembrokeshire
How do you propose to make it happen beyond inflationary rises, because if you start from the premise there's no / not enough money in beef, it has to.
Saying beef farmers have cut production in response to prices being too low suggests a coordinated approach, whereas in reality people have either had to get out or cut their costs if they want to make a profit which is what I said above. What is the alternative please?
People aren't making a profit because they've cut their costs - they are making a profit because the price has tripled in fairly short order due to shortfalls in supply, coordinated by EU policy that transferred ag income support from headage payments to the SFP.

The beef cycle being what it is, it'll take years to get back to market equilibrium. As I understand the pig cycle, it's a conventional analysis, but of course with no guarantee that the industry does recover its equilibrium.

I'd regard it as being coordinated by Adam Smith...
 

Walterp

Member
Location
Pembrokeshire
Why don't you grow some to cereals to lessen the straw bill each year and consequently feed the grain with a bit oomhp in the creep
My son is putting 23 acres back into oats next Spring, along with a field of stubble turnips or swedes next Summer.

I'd like to say that it'll make the job more efficient, but I'd be less than frank - Wales has a new enviro scheme that'll pay £5,300 annually to do this, for the next five years. I think the English have a ELS/HLS scheme, which we don't have in a general format. I'm used to the AAP, where we grew SB at breakeven and received the subsidy as 'profit' - does that mean nothing's really changed?

It'll be interesting to see how useful it'll be; at the moment, my feeling is that the £5,300 will be a lot more useful than the corn and roots, but we'll see.
 

bobk

Member
Location
stafford
My son is putting 23 acres back into oats next Spring, along with a field of stubble turnips or swedes next Summer.

I'd like to say that it'll make the job more efficient, but I'd be less than frank - Wales has a new enviro scheme that'll pay £5,300 annually to do this, for the next five years. I think the English have a ELS/HLS scheme, which we don't have in a general format. I'm used to the AAP, where we grew SB at breakeven and received the subsidy as 'profit' - does that mean nothing's really changed?

It'll be interesting to see how useful it'll be; at the moment, my feeling is that the £5,300 will be a lot more useful than the corn and roots, but we'll see.

Well your lad will soon learn.... maybe @Thick Farmer will cut em for you after his own.
But seriously this straw situation is to me untenable for suckler men, therefore it's imperative you produce as much home grown feed as possible
 

Poorbuthappy

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
Devon
Practically impossible on most family-run farms.

Next question.
You're a clever chap if you've perfected you're inputs to a point they cannot be improved.
Surely any industry continually strives to produce more for less. If they don't, the next man will and so undercut them? More efficient systems, better technology, sourcing better or cheaper raw materials or components. ...
 

a.birt

Member
Inflation has nothing to do with input costs. Meal is down £50 on last year fertilizer back £100 on two years ago. Thats against the trend of 2.5% inflation per year. The price of inputs on the world market is influicing my costs...
My question for you is-
With cost of production at around £4 per kg of beef produced have i not got a better chance of reducing costs by a few pence here and there rather than influicing world price on the 3 F's
 

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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