Is there any future in suckler cows ?

[Kiwi Pete]

Makes me vext when you work you butt off for something for years and then some lazy nob comes along and says it’s alright for your your lucky ! Huh fek off you make your own luck in this life to an large extent .

A lot of it comes down to a bit of a gamble, but first you have to work, to have something to lose.
Trading livestock isn't greatly different to trading any other stock - except you can't feed shares and expect a return on that extra spend.

In a similar vein you can't expect a return off growing cattle, that will pay enough to allow you to farm how you wish to farm - I think those days are long gone TBH, the risks have slowly changed for decades but now they've really swung!

 

[Bossfarmer]

Fighting against nature.

We are reducing autumn calvers. Get a lot more health issues with calves too. Using a lot of bedding when bull in with them.

Calving at 2 now, used to be 2.5 and used backenders for replacements for spring herd.

we find it helps stagger the workload, things are hectic in the spring if we were all spring calvers wed be tight for shed space, bulls, plus the cost of taking on labour would cancel out any benefit

 

[Hilly]

we find it helps stagger the workload, things are hectic in the spring if we were all spring calvers wed be tight for shed space, bulls, plus the cost of taking on labour would cancel out any benefit

I like to over winter my spring calves , I would have to build another shed if I was all spring , factor in new sheds for sucklers these days doesn’t work out , would have to use bps that better utilised in other enterprises now.

 

[Bossfarmer]

They would comfortably be gone by the time they are 23 months. Born September kept with mother till July kept growing through the winter then finished at grass by July. I have spring born heifers now that go in October after a month or so inside and are nearly finished when housed so from the same breeding should be gone easily within this timescale.

will you not have handling/mastitus issues weaning calves in july when theyre out at grass?

 

[Chae1]

we find it helps stagger the workload, things are hectic in the spring if we were all spring calvers wed be tight for shed space, bulls, plus the cost of taking on labour would cancel out any benefit

Do you outwinter your backend cows and calves?

 

[M-J-G]

we find it helps stagger the workload, things are hectic in the spring if we were all spring calvers wed be tight for shed space, bulls, plus the cost of taking on labour would cancel out any benefit

Doesn't it overlap with harvest work?
How do you find it saving housing?
I've found Autumn calves a pain to house.

How many autumn/spring calvers have you got?

 

[Henarar]

I like to over winter my spring calves , I would have to build another shed if I was all spring , factor in new sheds for sucklers these days doesn’t work out , would have to use bps that better utilised in other enterprises now.

We find the same, Autumn calves are only small in the winter so don't take up much more room than just the cows on their own, we find they do as well as the spring calves all you need is some halfway decent silage and cows that milk

 

[Hilly]

We find the same, Autumn calves are only small in the winter so don't take up much more room than just the cows on their own, we find they do as well as the spring calves all you need is some halfway decent silage and cows that milk

It spreads the work load spreads germ risk spreads risk of trade , gives you two bites of the cherry per year rather than all eggs in one basket but pros n cons as usual .

 

[Henarar]

It spreads the work load spreads germ risk spreads risk of trade , gives you two bites of the cherry per year rather than all eggs in one basket but pros n cons as usual .

worst con is bulling in the sheds

 

[Bossfarmer]

Do you outwinter your backend cows and calves?

no but i can keep them tighter in the sheds than with new born spring calves

 

[Bossfarmer]

Doesn't it overlap with harvest work?
How do you find it saving housing?
I've found Autumn calves a pain to house.

How many autumn/spring calvers have you got?

no, when i say autumn calvers i mean nov-jan, inside

 

[Samcowman]

will you not have handling/mastitus issues weaning calves in july when theyre out at grass?

Potentially but their milk will have naturally declined at that point being September calved and our grass growth is generally poorest end of July August so potential to shut them down whilst on grass.
There could also be the option to bale graze with cheap bought in round bale hay on arable stubbles for a month to give the grass longer recovery for the cows to calve onto and delay housing. Just thoughts at the moment really.

 

[Agrivator]

A split Autumn calving and a Spring calving herd has the option of calving heifers at 30 months rather than the extremes of 24 months or 36 months.
And as others have said, a good bull can be used more extensively. And whether there is a clash with other farming work is irrelevant - cows left to calve without too much interference almost always calf easier.

And we don't have good weather conditions for out wintering in the UK. Sub-zero dry conditions in Canada and elsewhere are ideal, but we only get that once in a blue moon.

 

[M-J-G]

no, when i say autumn calvers i mean nov-jan, inside

You calve Nov to Jan?
When do your spring ones start?

 

[Bossfarmer]

You calve Nov to Jan?
When do your spring ones start?

end of march

 

[M-J-G]

A split Autumn calving and a Spring calving herd has the option of calving heifers at 30 months rather than the extremes of 24 months or 36 months.
And as others have said, a good bull can be used more extensively. And whether there is a clash with other farming work is irrelevant - cows left to calve without too much interference almost always calf easier.

And we don't have good weather conditions for out wintering in the UK. Sub-zero dry conditions in Canada and elsewhere are ideal, but we only get that once in a blue moon.

Personally I'd avoid having cows calving at busy times like harvest or sowing.

Starting to pen up, tag and ring calves or sort out a jumbled up set of twins after spending 12 hours on a drill or baler isn't really my idea of efficiency.

Maybe some people don't get problems, but I do and I always try to sort them out sooner rather than later.

As for wintering, we don't have good weather for housing cattle, it's generally too mild.
On sandy land cattle can outwinter fine in the UK.

I've outwintered weaned spring born calves on sandy land and housed some on straw, and the outdoor cattle are pretty much every time the best thriving group and rarely ever need any attention.
They don't have to adapt to being housed and they don't have to adapt at turnout, they are streets ahead once they get to grass and can be put into grass as soon as possible rather than any concerns about turning housed cattle out too soon in poor weather.

As I've said housing only benefits the land and some times the staff.

 

[Agrivator]

The Moray Coast isn't representative of the rest of the UK.

 

[Dave6170]

Herd i buy bulls from calves his cows outside from february onwards on sand. So if a pedigree herd can do it way up here anywhere can

 

[Hilly]

The Moray Coast isn't representative of the rest of the UK.

Is that your location ? The uk is different all over

Herd i buy bulls from calves his cows outside from february onwards on sand. So if a pedigree herd can do it way up here anywhere can

i think we might buy bulls off same man , mr Tait ?

 

[Dave6170]

Is that your location ? The uk is different all over

i think we might buy bulls off same man , mr Tait ?

Thats him aye.