xbred dairy bull calves

[unlacedgecko]

And there they be .....

36 BB X on 60/70 acres.
View attachment 828709

What do you pay per acre?

 

[MrA.G.]

I don’t agree with calves being disposed off at a young age and would like to think if I entry dairy farming then in the likely event of being closed with tb at some stage the business should be capable of rearing the calves whether that be at a profit or loss.

Realistically I think a combination of sexed and beef with a consideration to cow type is possible coupled with the possibility of a net reduction in suckler cows. So in theory....the total beef volume of this system of lighter dairy bred carcasses will be similar to a lesser number of heavier suckler bred beef. Ultimately supply and demand will sort it.

I do believe the general public non-acceptance of disposing of calves is strong, although what I find disappointing is that when it comes to human abortion a large majority are ok with it. Life is precious, born or unborn!

 

[Cows 'n grass]

What do you pay per acre?

Close to £100/AC across that farm but some of it is grazing platform and silage ground and i claim sp on half of it.

I rent that farm for the good bits and because it joins where I live to the dairy farm. I'd like the beef job to make a profit but really it just needs to not lose money, not take much time and keep steep ground tidy.

 

[The Agrarian]

Important to note that a lot of dairy herd calves are sired by a stock bull. That fairly scuppers the sexed semen plan.

 

[jimmer]

I thought £250/ha was pretty cheap myself. That brings a grazing cost per head at £50/head per year.

What do you think the grazing cost should/could be?

It's not the rent that's the issue
Other than the odd fencing stake every now and again there needs to be minimal other costs

 

[gone up the hill]

Why do you not understand using sexed semen and beef semen?

The calves will still be utter sh!t and worthles even if you used sexed or beef semen!

 

[gone up the hill]

We breed our cows to provide the milk that the milk processor wants because that is what we are DAIRY PRODUCERS not beef calf sellers

Yes and the calves are a by product, the trouble you as a dairy farmer now have is that your milk buyer is telling you that these calves will have to be reared and the problem you have and have to find an answer to is what to do with these calves because as things stand they are worthless!

I can tell you that unless you change your breeding or get your milk buyer to drop their plans to make sure your calves are reared you are going to have a big problem on your hands because no beef farmer is going to want to rear these sh!t calves the dairy industry is currently producing because the beef farmer will lose money hand over fist if they rear these calves!

 

[gone up the hill]

Ok, I’ve done some research.

Figures quoted for stores to finishing animals are 7.5 - 6 per ha for a 180 day grazing period. Let’s be generous and say 5 per ha.

Kale is 18 stores per ha for 100 days. If I reduce that to 10 per ha for a 180 day winter to give some slack to look after the soil a bit better. It also makes the maths easier.

For my 100 cattle then, I need 20ha techno system and 10ha kale, so 30ha total.

Techno establishment £250/ha, spread over 5 years is £50 per ha per year.

Per year costs

Techno establishment £50 x 20 = £1000
Land rent for techno £200/ha x 20 = £2000
Water 10l per animal per day, 365,000l @ £1.10/1000l = £401.50
Bolus @£10/head = £1000
Worm/fluke drench @£10/head = £1000
Labour, fuel, equipment repairs and maintenance £18,000

Total £23,401.50 per year

Total per batch £46,803

Per batch costs

Mortality/disposal £100/animal x 10 = £1000
Calf purchase free
Calf rearing £100 x 100 = £10,000
Ripsoval 4 @ £10/dose = £1000
Land rent for kale £200 x 10 = £2000
Kale establishment £250/ha = £2500
Slaughter levy £4.05/ head x 90 = £364.50
Delivery Haulage £5/head = £500
Slaughter Haulage £10/head = £900

Total = £18,264.50

Grand total batch costs = £65,607.50

Total output 90 finished animals giving a cost of production per head of £722.98

A 250kg carcass at £3/kilo gives income of £750.

It’s pretty marginal. Highlights the importance of operator ability to increase stocking levels.

Your slaughter figures are well out, no way you will get them killed for £10 head! slaughter costs will be £20 head at least!

And you need to work on £2.50 kilo and not £3 because if you rear all the sh!t as well as the best NZ mongrels you will end up with a lot of p1 and underweight cattle!

So rearing 90 of these calves and doing all that work will net you £1800 net profit on your figures if your lucky and don't have a lot of bad weather in the winter/ drought in the summer/ failed kale crops etc, complete waste of time!

I don't think any of the dairy farmers on here who say beef farming is so easy and profitable would keep 90 dairy cows for 18 months to net only £1800 profit for the lot!

And your figures are for a very low cost grazing system and they still don't add up so I think the dairy industry has a very big problem brewing about what will happen to these calves!

 

[unlacedgecko]

Your slaughter figures are well out, no way you will get them killed for £10 head! slaughter costs will be £20 head at least!

And you need to work on £2.50 kilo and not £3 because if you rear all the sh!t as well as the best NZ mongrels you will end up with a lot of p1 and underweight cattle!

So rearing 90 of these calves and doing all that work will net you £1800 net profit on your figures if your lucky and don't have a lot of bad weather in the winter/ drought in the summer/ failed kale crops etc, complete waste of time!

I don't think any of the dairy farmers on here who say beef farming is so easy and profitable would keep 90 dairy cows for 18 months to net only £1800 profit for the lot!

And your figures are for a very low cost grazing system and they still don't add up so I think the dairy industry has a very big problem brewing about what will happen to these calves!

I agree.

 

[Will Blackburn]

The calves will still be utter sh!t and worthles even if you used sexed or beef semen!

You are a moron.

 

[Cows 'n grass]

The calves will still be utter sh!t and worthles even if you used sexed or beef semen!

I seem to be repeated myself somewhat here, but as the only one here who already rears blues out of the smallest, leanest dairy cows you can find, I can fully assure you that they will comfortably reach 300+ off grass. With a bit of barley 330-350 should be easily achievable.

 

[gone up the hill]

You are a moron.

Well put your head in the sand but that wont help you come 12 months time!

You need to listen to the people who will be buying/ rearing these calves and act on it instead of telling them you know best and they are wrong!

 

[gone up the hill]

I seem to be repeated myself somewhat here, but as the only one here who already rears blues out of the smallest, leanest dairy cows you can find, I can fully assure you that they will comfortably reach 300+ off grass. With a bit of barley 330-350 should be easily achievable.

But you don't rear ALL your calves including the very worst ones do you??

You only keep the best and rear but do it with the bottom 20% as well and you wont be getting anywhere near 300 kilos dead!

And anyway if all these poor calves are reared for beef they will swamp the market and prices will collapse to even lower levels than currently and the figures for even the best rubbish wont stand up then, let alone the very worst calves!

 

[Cows 'n grass]

No, I keep the first 40. No other criteria. I think there were two sets of mixed twins in the ones I kept this year.

 

[PaulNix]

I do believe the general public non-acceptance of disposing of calves is strong

I honestly believe the general public don't give a sh!t or don't even realise that so many rubbish dairy calves are killed at birth.
This is just pressure from the supermarkets wanting to show they are better than the other supermarkets to gain a edge, if every one of them said "yep this happens but it is because the calves are purely a byproduct and 80% of them would lose the farmer money if reared so, unless you raise the pay more for your beef then they will have to carry on being killed. " Then there won't be any more fuss apart from a few virtue signallers on FB and the usual limp wrist Vegan activists.

 

[Will Blackburn]

Well put your head in the sand but that wont help you come 12 months time!

You need to listen to the people who will be buying/ rearing these calves and act on it instead of telling them you know best and they are wrong!

I’ve sold calves in the past month through a market, to Buitilaar, and to several private buyers. Some of the private buyers retail their produce. I’ve got a bit more of a handle on calf selling issues than you.

 

[gone up the hill]

I’ve sold calves in the past month through a market, to Buitilaar, and to several private buyers. Some of the private buyers retail there produce. I’ve got a bit more of a handle on calf selling issues than you.

You have no idea if you have more of a handle on calve selling then me!

You just think your always right and everyone else is always wrong if you disagree with them and then resort to throwing insults which means you have lost your argument!

 

[Will Blackburn]

You have no idea if you have more of a handle on calve selling then me!

You just think your always right and everyone else is always wrong if you disagree with them and then resort to throwing insults which means you have lost your argument!

You’re the first person I’ve intentionally insulted on here, I’m waiting for the red card.

 

[In the pit]

Yes and the calves are a by product, the trouble you as a dairy farmer now have is that your milk buyer is telling you that these calves will have to be reared and the problem you have and have to find an answer to is what to do with these calves because as things stand they are worthless!

I can tell you that unless you change your breeding or get your milk buyer to drop their plans to make sure your calves are reared you are going to have a big problem on your hands because no beef farmer is going to want to rear these sh!t calves the dairy industry is currently producing because the beef farmer will lose money hand over fist if they rear these calves!

You haven't a clue of what my cows look like or how good or bad my calves are.
You seem to have a massive bee in your bonnet though

 

[In the pit]

Our milk buyer hasnt put any rules in place governing what we do with our calves anyway