Timbo
Member
- Location
- Gods County
Yes, but a good proportion of these Irish producers farm at the weekend & evenings and go out to work 5 days a week......
Finished weight lowered,
- Thread starter nelly55
- Start date
Yes, but a good proportion of these Irish producers farm at the weekend & evenings and go out to work 5 days a week......
- Location
- North Yorkshire
Maybe so but I don’t think they would turn down more money if they could get it...
Timbo
Member
- Location
- Gods County
My point is...making a profit on what they do is not always top of the tree because they have £X in their pocket from the day job!
Off topic but I wonder sometimes if that would be better life
livestock 1
Member
Probably not if you are like me and worked for yourself since 15
Timbo
Member
- Location
- Gods County
Course it bloody is ! People need to realise they are running a business, not (just) a lifestyle
- Location
- North Yorkshire
Plenty of men over here with the same attitudes at store sales I’ve been to. Something nice to look at... price seems an irrelevance. Trouble is it is their day job
Timbo
Member
- Location
- Gods County
I would sooner get the topper out to grass that's running away than buy obviously profit-less cattle, It's that simple.
- Location
- Cumbria
Yes completely agree with you, I was meaning the feedlot system, however cows that do have problems on ranges, be that Colorado or Queensland will no doubt be left to perish - it simply can’t happen here. Even the easiest calving breeds encounter dystocia.
Fully agree with your last point.
a lot of- if you don't write a cheque for it - it doesnt cost anything mentality still around - hence high store prices given then need to sell big cattle to see a margin in their eyes but cant see what it has cost them to get there though , other than the buying in and selling out price difference .
feeding cattle over that weight gets expensive though FC drops of with age and size ,
there seems to be a large supply of small dairy cross bred x Continental calves in the SW markets going for £50 or less and a demand by the abattoirs for a smaller lighter carcass to fit in the meat boxes. Anyone got a successful system that can turn these calves into a product that they want? intensive/extensive ideas?
- Location
- Mid Norfolk
That's pretty much our business model. We finish about 300 a year, bought in at 4 months reared and out to abattoir in a year with an average 320kg R4L target. Indoor, intensive grain fed. You have to watch costs, but marketing is rarely an issue at that spec.
Shep and dog
Member
But a smaller finished weight means they eat less are less time in the shed take up less space so eg you can keep more of them of the same ...
womble8350
Member
- Location
- York
But the price the finisher gives gets less so the cow man has to keep more and so on tilll no one is making anything.
- Location
- North of Perth
This subject riles me something rotten.you work so hard to rear the beast only to get shafted at the end.makes you wonder why you bother.then you remember when you were young an all you wanted to be was a farm like your dad
capfits
Member
That would be a great response if they made the biggest margin on mince, but they do not.
The steaks on bigger animals need more trimming for pack size, or are thinner ( which consumer does not like)
So no they will not make bigger premiums on heavier cattle. Sorry that is how it is in present market.
I think you've misunderstood. I am well aware of the pack size and steak thickness issues. My point is that on O- and P grade cattle like I have there isn't much hitting the shelves in a vac pac. Why should we be constrained by the limitations imposed on "better quality" cattle.