Is there any future in suckler cows ?

[Hilly]

It's not for them with the ambition and will to see it through.

Don’t waste your time use your time do something that will earn you some money sucklers will break you .

 

[unlacedgecko]

Don’t waste your time use your time do something that will earn you some money sucklers will break you .

Haven't they bought your farm?

 

[Bossfarmer]

We used to finish them at around 25/28 mths but sold the last lot as stores at 22 mths which I think paid better. They really want to go on a maize ration to put a nice finish on them which we don't do . After all costs they probably leave around £250/£280 a head which is not a big earner but it's the right side on the books .
All the calves receive 15 m of hexasol on arrival and pneumonia doesn't seem to be a problem but we only buy a batch in Aug / Sept . When we reared calves on milk we would only be buying in May/ June so health problems were easier to mange .
To answer the OP I still think the sucker cow system has a good future but you have to be on top of the management of it . I think the last autumn has shown that in a tough time it's quality that sells and it's been difficult with the 'dairy' bred beef cattle .
You can feed dry cows very cheaply which helps the job .

decent enough margin though, i take it you dont get beef calves that have come from dairy cows then? too plain?

 

[som farmer]

for those u tube watchers, watch 'our Wyoming life', the price of calves, and sorting calves for weaning. Both from last October, might be American, but well worth watching, probably well worth doing the sums yourself, they reckon they get 15cents, out of every $1 end value. So, not a lot difference to us here. His costings are interesting, slightly different way, but..

 

[Hilly]

for those u tube watchers, watch 'our Wyoming life', the price of calves, and sorting calves for weaning. Both from last October, might be American, but well worth watching, probably well worth doing the sums yourself, they reckon they get 15cents, out of every $1 end value. So, not a lot difference to us here. His costings are interesting, slightly different way, but..

i shall watch it now, 15 cents be quite good I’d think , would that be 300 pounds out of 1000 ?

 

[HarryB97]

for those u tube watchers, watch 'our Wyoming life', the price of calves, and sorting calves for weaning. Both from last October, might be American, but well worth watching, probably well worth doing the sums yourself, they reckon they get 15cents, out of every $1 end value. So, not a lot difference to us here. His costings are interesting, slightly different way, but..

Definitley one of the best channels on Youtube

 

[beefandsleep]

i shall watch it now, 15 cents be quite good I’d think , would that be 300 pounds out of 1000 ?

150 out of 1000

 

[Hilly]

150 out of 1000

Oh, would t want any less ! 300 felt much better ?

 

[Hilly]

Climate friendly beef plan

THERE ARE new plans afoot to rejuvenate Scotland’s suckler beef herd and transform it into a ‘world leader’ in the movement against climate…

www.thescottishfarmer.co.uk

What do you think of this ?

 

[Sharpy]

Climate friendly beef plan

THERE ARE new plans afoot to rejuvenate Scotland’s suckler beef herd and transform it into a ‘world leader’ in the movement against climate…

www.thescottishfarmer.co.uk

What do you think of this ?

Cannot be any worse than the Beef efficiency scheme.

 

[unlacedgecko]

Cannot be any worse than the Beef efficiency scheme.

Never underestimate the ability of the authorities to make things worse

 

[Hfd Cattle]

decent enough margin though, i take it you dont get beef calves that have come from dairy cows then? too plain?

Yes , all the weaned calves are normally beef sired calves from dairy cows .

 

[Chae1]

Cannot be any worse than the Beef efficiency scheme.

It says its a continualtion of it?

What harm has it done you?

 

[Hilly]

Cannot be any worse than the Beef efficiency scheme.

I wouldn’t know I didn’t do the beef ES

 

[Stuart J]

Cannot be any worse than the Beef efficiency scheme.

Nothing wrong with the BES. Very little work required.

 

[Andrew1983]

Climate friendly beef plan

THERE ARE new plans afoot to rejuvenate Scotland’s suckler beef herd and transform it into a ‘world leader’ in the movement against climate…

www.thescottishfarmer.co.uk

What do you think of this ?

My wife was having a conversation with another vet who is a researcher rather than a practicing vet. She is developing a bolus for cows which consumes methane. She is looking for funding just now to trial it. Sounds like a promising way to shut up the environment brigade ?

 

[Hilly]

My wife was having a conversation with another vet who is a researcher rather than a practicing vet. She is developing a bolus for cows which consumes methane. She is looking for funding just now to trial it. Sounds like a promising way to shut up the environment brigade ?

It dose that !

 

[Andrew1983]

Nothing wrong with the BES. Very little work required.

It would have been ok if they paid for every year you have to do the work and also take into account increasing herd size.

 

[Hilly]

It would have been ok if they paid for every year you have to do the work and also take into account increasing herd size.

I probably would have done it if the money was every year, it’s a absulote load of sh!t the money should have just went on the calf sub .

 

[Sharpy]

It says its a continualtion of it?

What harm has it done you?

Harm no. Things like we were promised information about our stock as part of the scheme, we have received none, but in the meantime the bureaucracy/professionals involved have been doing rather better out of it than the farmers involved. E.g £500 for the carbon audit? For about 90mins work filling out a form that we provided all the info for? It's not in the spirit of the scheme we were asked to support, a method of getting pillar 2 money to active farmers, not giving it away to folk in offices.