Milk Price Tracker

[O'Reilly]

Brexit in the UK, with the lockdowns/furlough, people have been thinking about where their food comes from, been trying new recipes, or even trying cooking, so perhaps the volume of milk lost in catering, has been used domestically, there doesn't seem to be that much spot milk sloshing around, the big question, what will happen when we have our rebirth, in june, will catering require it's normal amounts ? Will domestic trade continue at the same volume ? Will the spring flush swamp the mkt ? From news reports, the volume of trade, from EU, has markedly reduced, is domestic milk replacing EU cheese, butter etc, tariffs on UK product to USA gone ? will that increase trade with USA ?
Not sure i would like to be forward guessing the mkt, there are to many if's and but's, the only certainty is processors will have to be dragged by the neck, to increase price !
It's nice to see FM creeping up the price list, the only one of the three originals to 'survive' ! Everybody should be pleased at the way they dragged themselves from the sewer pit, and got back on track, the pertinent point, they went right outside of the industry, to find the 'right' man to do it.

Not sure about that. They went out of the industry for Peter humphries and Richard greenhalgh, who nearly broke FM and had to be paid a fortune to leave. Would have helped if the board had spotted that it was going wrong earlier mind. There have been other examples of where people from outside the industry have dazzled farmer owners, but been no better.

 

[Headless chicken]

Don't get confused with Glanbia Ireland & Glanbia Cheese .. they would have you believe that they are two separate entities although I suspect that a lot of EU exports will now be channelled through S Ireland with Anglesey & N Ireland picking up the UK market. Hope you noted Paul mentioning "moving around product & buyers"?

Re Calves: Proper thought in to breeding policy and potential market and off they go as soon as. Why would you keep them on farm when someone else can do the rearing?

Actually, it's an interesting debate trying to find the "sweet spot" of when to move calves on ....... 10 days, 8 weeks, 4 months?

my wording was a more delicate way of my distaste towards local spring herd that aren’t using sexed and the bull calves are heading straight to slaughter. Agree that why rear them if someone elsewill. I think the greater issue is why breed them if no one will rear them

 

[Beef farmer]

my wording was a more delicate way of my distaste towards local spring herd that aren’t using sexed and the bull calves are heading straight to slaughter. Agree that why rear them if someone elsewill. I think the greater issue is why breed them if no one will rear them

Whats wrong with slaughter at 10 days old? What's the difference between that and being shot in the head at 30 months old?
Dispatched at 1 hour i do not agree with. But dogs need to be fed and the kebaby needs an elephant leg.

We are sending calves at 20 days old for meat, and I sleep easy at night knowing they are not being wasted.

 

[Headless chicken]

Whats wrong with slaughter at 10 days old? What's the difference between that and being shot in the head at 30 months old?
Dispatched at 1 hour i do not agree with. But dogs need to be fed and the kebaby needs an elephant leg.

We are sending calves at 20 days old for meat, and I sleep easy at night knowing they are not being wasted.

personal opinion I guess but it doesn’t sit right with me. From what you’ve posted in the past the majority of yours would go into rearing units? Meaning what your sending to slaughter would be unviable animals which would never become anything. That IMO is a different matter to people who choose to do nothing about their breeding policy ie no sexed and send even viable animals to slaughter. Again personal opinion and differences make the world go round. Be a boring place if we were all the same.
I would also add I’d much rather animals slaughtered at 10 days old than have to endure what those animals have on the ships which left Spain.

 

[Beef farmer]

personal opinion I guess but it doesn’t sit right with me. From what you’ve posted in the past the majority of yours would go into rearing units? Meaning what your sending to slaughter would be unviable animals which would never become anything. That IMO is a different matter to people who choose to do nothing about their breeding policy ie no sexed and send even viable animals to slaughter. Again personal opinion and differences make the world go round. Be a boring place if we were all the same.
I would also add I’d much rather animals slaughtered at 10 days old than have to endure what those animals have on the ships which left Spain.

There jersey x bulls from purchased cows.

 

[Headless chicken]

There jersey x bulls from purchased cows.

Can’t argue with that is it was not your breeding decision

 

[Jdunn55]

Whats wrong with slaughter at 10 days old? What's the difference between that and being shot in the head at 30 months old?
Dispatched at 1 hour i do not agree with. But dogs need to be fed and the kebaby needs an elephant leg.

We are sending calves at 20 days old for meat, and I sleep easy at night knowing they are not being wasted.

Disagree, with the risk of sounding like a vegan: imo we as farmers have a responsibility to give our animals a good quality of life from the moment they're born into our care until the day they die. If theyre only surviving for 10 days they havent even had a life let alone a good life. Whereas, at 18 months plus they'll have had time to live and hopefully have spent 1 or 2 summers out at grass enjoying themselves before slaughter.

Just my opinion I know you all on here think I'm insane anyway but I couldnt live with knowing I'm not giving my calves half a chance at a decent life.

 

[Sid]

Disagree, with the risk of sounding like a vegan: imo we as farmers have a responsibility to give our animals a good quality of life from the moment they're born into our care until the day they die. If theyre only surviving for 10 days they havent even had a life let alone a good life. Whereas, at 18 months plus they'll have had time to live and hopefully have spent 1 or 2 summers out at grass enjoying themselves before slaughter.

Just my opinion I know you all on here think I'm insane anyway but I couldnt live with knowing I'm not giving my calves half a chance at a decent life.

I guess you don't eat standard Chicken then?

 

[Beef farmer]

Disagree, with the risk of sounding like a vegan: imo we as farmers have a responsibility to give our animals a good quality of life from the moment they're born into our care until the day they die. If theyre only surviving for 10 days they havent even had a life let alone a good life. Whereas, at 18 months plus they'll have had time to live and hopefully have spent 1 or 2 summers out at grass enjoying themselves before slaughter.

Just my opinion I know you all on here think I'm insane anyway but I couldnt live with knowing I'm not giving my calves half a chance at a decent life.

You start running a business tomorrow.
Pay me 40ppl and I will rear a jersey bull to 18 months.
Our calves 20 days they want for nothing. Never cold, wet or hungry.

 

[Jdunn55]

I guess you don't eat standard Chicken then?

I do and you're right in that it does make me somewhat of a hypocrite but if I want to eat chicken I have little choice. In addition, I'm not the one rearing those chickens and nor would I ever be.

 

[Jdunn55]

You start running a business tomorrow.
Pay me 40ppl and I will rear a jersey bull to 18 months.
Our calves 20 days they want for nothing. Never cold, wet or hungry.

I dont need to be paid 40ppl (although that would be nice!) A: I'm milking friesians so should have very little issue selling bull calves, but B: I'll be using sexed semen or continental beef breeds.

 

[Beef farmer]

I dont need to be paid 40ppl (although that would be nice!) A: I'm milking friesians so should have very little issue selling bull calves, but B: I'll be using sexed semen or continental beef breeds.

Talking like a man clear of tb

 

[Beef farmer]

I dont need to be paid 40ppl (although that would be nice!) A: I'm milking friesians so should have very little issue selling bull calves, but B: I'll be using sexed semen or continental beef breeds.

Will you sell calves in Truro market?

 

[Jdunn55]

Talking like a man clear of tb

Tb is one of those things that forces you into corners you would rather not be in. I wouldnt want to send them to slaughter if I was down with tb but sometimes you have no option and that is very much different.

 

[Jdunn55]

Will you sell calves in Truro market?

No

 

[Big_D]

Not sure about that. They went out of the industry for Peter humphries and Richard greenhalgh, who nearly broke FM and had to be paid a fortune to leave. Would have helped if the board had spotted that it was going wrong earlier mind. There have been other examples of where people from outside the industry have dazzled farmer owners, but been no better.

I'd gladly chip in for a hitman to hunt down those two turds

 

[LTH]

I couldn’t send calves to slaughter can’t say I like it when stores go, but we wouldn’t be in the job we do and new calves wouldn’t be born if others didn’t go. A trip to the local slaughter house is probably better than being sent on ships to rearing units in mainland Europe.

 

[Sid]

I do and you're right in that it does make me somewhat of a hypocrite but if I want to eat chicken I have little choice. In addition, I'm not the one rearing those chickens and nor would I ever be.

I am afraid it does.
You have a choice, free range, organic.
These birds can have longer more enriched lives.

Also being shut down with Tb massively restricts options to market.

Tb is one of those things that forces you into corners you would rather not be in. I wouldnt want to send them to slaughter if I was down with tb but sometimes you have no option and that is very much different.

6 months of being able to trade and then 6 months of being shut down doesn't help.

Using sexed semen is great but then you have a bunch of beef calves to make something of.

 

[betweenthelines]

I've always found it quite strange differently we perceive a good life span for the animals were rear

For instance, I wouldn't be able to eat veal slaughtered at 4 months, but have no problem with 2 month chicken or 4 month lamb or pork.

 

[Buford T. Justice]

I couldn’t send calves to slaughter can’t say I like it when stores go, but we wouldn’t be in the job we do and new calves wouldn’t be born if others didn’t go. A trip to the local slaughter house is probably better than being sent on ships to rearing units in mainland Europe.

I was fortunate to go to one of those calf finishing farms in Europe a number of years ago and the facilities and management were top class despite them operating on a razor thin margin.
I would have zero issues with calves being exported but the major issue with exports is the standard of labour employed in the chain between farms and finishing farms.
The minimum wage paid and the workers, in a lot of cases, not having any training or experience of managing or interacting with livestock, are issues the supply chain will have to confront at some stage and the sooner that happens, the better for all involved.