Price of suckler replacements

[johnspeehs]

Went to a sale in local mart lastnight, 100 incalf hfrs from one farm. Started off looking not to bad, 1300 to 1500 but when it got to the better ones in the middle of the sale the ones I wanted were 2000 to 2900,way out of my budget, made me think a lot more of my own homebred ones I've kept. I don't see any way I could make money out of those hfrs ever at the prices they were making but there were plenty went home disappointed that they didn't get any. I sold all my more heavily muscled hfr calves in the autumn as I thought they were to extreme to make cows but these types were the ones making the most money last night. So would anyone else think they could make these pay?

 

[Wishful Thinker]

Ballymena?
I don't care how easy calving the bull was, a lot of them strong heifers won't calf naturally. I don't think I could make them pay I think £1500 would have been any amount for them.

 

[tinsheet]

Breed your own
Health status and all that
better the devil you know!

 

[Henarar]

Ballymena?
I don't care how easy calving the bull was, a lot of them strong heifers won't calf naturally. I don't think I could make them pay I think £1500 would have been any amount for them.

some don't care if they have to cut them up or not

 

[Northeastfarmer]

Everyone's trying to improve their stock which is why these are making what they are...since when in farming did the high levels of investment correlate to the returns received...cattle are no different to any other farming enterprise
But I agree at up to 3k for a bulling heifer it doesn't stack up

 

[gone up the hill]

Everyone's trying to improve their stock which is why these are making what they are...since when in farming did the high levels of investment correlate to the returns received...cattle are no different to any other farming enterprise
But I agree at up to 3k for a bulling heifer it doesn't stack up

Especially when it goes down with TB before it calves and you end up with £800 compensation.

Report the other day in the media that the Irish beef industry is in crisis and the farming unions over there are calling for a EU suckler cow reduction scheme.

 

[dannewhouse]

regards selling the best shaped heifers and keeping the poorer ones you never improve the shape of your calves (possibly reduce it?) but I can see you don't want the too extreme ones for calving difficulty but some say it makes no difference and its the pelvic area which counts?

its a bit like bull decision do you go for a better shaped one which will have more valuable calves but possibly harder calving or a planer bull but easier calving?

at them prices id want a strong calf at foot and back in calf!

 

[Northeastfarmer]

Especially when it goes down with TB before it calves and you end up with £800 compensation.

Report the other day in the media that the Irish beef industry is in crisis and the farming unions over there are calling for a EU suckler cow reduction scheme.

Reduction scheme?! They wanna be bringing suckler cow premium back!

 

[johnspeehs]

Especially when it goes down with TB before it calves and you end up with £800 compensation.

Report the other day in the media that the Irish beef industry is in crisis and the farming unions over there are calling for a EU suckler cow reduction scheme.

The French are getting one but I haven't heard of the ROI getting one.

 

[Henarar]

Report the other day in the media that the Irish beef industry is in crisis and the farming unions over there are calling for a EU suckler cow reduction scheme.

don't they have a massive over supply of beef ?

 

[cowboysupper]

The French are getting one but I haven't heard of the ROI getting one.

The money the French are using is the emergency aid money Hogan gave out in the autumn. French are using the money to reduce beef production, I think by paying farmers to produce cattle at a lower weight limit.

NI are using the EU money for BVD scheme, pig health and soil sampling I think.

 

[milkloss]

The money the French are using is the emergency aid money Hogan gave out in the autumn. French are using the money to reduce beef production, I think by paying farmers to produce cattle at a lower weight limit.

Surely this doesn't make sense. There will be a need for more breeding stock to fulfill the market for lighter carcasses?

 

[gone up the hill]

don't they have a massive over supply of beef ?

Most of it has been coming into the UK but the exchange rate has mucked that up.

 

[cowboysupper]

Surely this doesn't make sense. There will be a need for more breeding stock to fulfill the market for lighter carcasses?

I meant for example finishing the cattle at 400kg in stead of 420kg with the government compensating you for not getting paid in the 20kgs. Effectively reducing the amount of beef in circulation.

 

[GTB]

I was in a meeting with some Dunbia people a few weeks back and they were saying that they didn't want extreme conformation in lambs or cattle. They said the EUROP grid was outdated. They would much rather have all lambs at 18kg R3L and cattle at 380/400kg again R grade. E and U grade are only good for small butchers shops as they didn't fit in supermarket packaging.

So why are we so hell bent on producing E and U grades????

 

[Northeastfarmer]

So why are we so hell bent on producing E and U grades????

Who wants to look at R grade cattle in the shed...

 

[Henarar]

I was in a meeting with some Dunbia people a few weeks back and they were saying that they didn't want extreme conformation in lambs or cattle. They said the EUROP grid was outdated. They would much rather have all lambs at 18kg R3L and cattle at 380/400kg again R grade. E and U grade are only good for small butchers shops as they didn't fit in supermarket packaging.

So why are we so hell bent on producing E and U grades????

all they have to do is pay allot more for R grade and they would soon get it

 

[GTB]

Who wants to look at R grade cattle in the shed...

Nobody but if that's what the customer wants.....

They just need to alter the grid to reflect what they actually want.

 

[Henarar]

Who wants to look at R grade cattle in the shed...

ours very often end up an R and they look fine to me

 

[GTB]

all they have to do is pay allot more for R grade and they would soon get it

That's exactly what they are thinking about doing.