beef price tracker

nashmach

bob charles wrote: »

back another 10c and still plenty being slaughtered. Beef is now back 50c in 5 weeks maybe a little longer, €150 - €200 a head on most animals. Hope everyone has this factored in, unlikely.

And trying to pull back more for next week again!

whelan1

Farmer Pudsey wrote: »

Beef sales have fallen through the floor due to hot weather I do not think people took out the barbque's this year it was too hot.

most of our local supermarkets where sold out of burgers anytime i went in....i thought there was a hell of a trade for them, local agent said factories didnt make a penny in may and are making up for it now by dropping the price they are paying

rancher

bob charles wrote: »

back another 10c and still plenty being slaughtered. Beef is now back 50c in 5 weeks maybe a little longer, €150 - €200 a head on most animals. Hope everyone has this factored in, unlikely.

Prices usually come under pressure this time of the year, farmers would be foolish not to expect the price to drop.
Most of my lambs are sold Aug/Sept and I don't expect June price

Farmer Pudsey

rancher wrote: »

Prices usually come under pressure this time of the year, farmers would be foolish not to expect the price to drop.
Most of my lambs are sold Aug/Sept and I don't expect June price

Rancher all finishers expect a price drop in late June/early July. Just like we expect the same in October/November. However the drop this year is very severe usually20-30 cent through July is the norm August steadies before another from Mid September. However this year we see a 50cent drop in about four weeks. Yes the cattle kill is still only around 27K what if it was 30K/week.

Bulls and cows are hit harder lots of farmers are under pressure feeding cattle inside still because of the spring.

mf240

coming off a very high base but yes the price cut is heartless.

Suckler cows will be culled hard after this year.


I am thinking of cutting well back on cattle and drinking a bit more, would be easier on the pocket.

yupyupyup

Killing 3 cows this week, one got mastitis and the flesh literally started to fall off her, good big young lim cow, only killed into circa 350kilo.
We had the other 2 booked in for Friday but the agent is saying now there full up so we may have to hold them for next week, and he says the price is coming back more.
Anyhow we were offered 3.20 for o's and 3.40 for r's this week.
Annoying thing is we've been feeding the cows for the past 9weeks, they were eating uptp 5kg a day each, circa 300kg of nut gone into them and they were prob worth as much when they were store cows nine weeks ago!

Oh the joys of farming

freedominacup

whelan1 wrote: »

most of our local supermarkets where sold out of burgers anytime i went in....i thought there was a hell of a trade for them, local agent said factories didnt make a penny in may and are making up for it now by dropping the price they are paying

I was talking to a guy who works for a meat trading firm over the weekend (at a barbeque nach:rolleyes:). His firm would be working in a space more familiar to kowtow than the rest of us, price goes up, price goes down all the one to them, they're looking for a margin between what someone has for sale and what someone wants to buy. He hasn't much of an axe to grind on the farmgate price of beef. He reckoned the factories did very well last year but their margins have been under pressure since the turn of the year hence the severe price cuts.

There's a graphic in the back of the comic most weeks showing Irish beef prices compared to various other exporters and it makes sobering reading. Our price has gone from very low to extremely high and it's starting to look like the property bubble. You don't want to be the one with the shed full of expensive cattle when the tide goes out. The only thing that might save us is the British supermarkets paranoia about getting caught with a product linked to a food scare where traceability of supply isn't up to scratch coupled with the British consumers mistrust of supplies from sources they aren't that familiar with.

Farmer Pudsey

freedominacup wrote: »

I was talking to a guy who works for a meat trading firm over the weekend (at a barbeque nach:rolleyes:). His firm would be working in a space more familiar to kowtow than the rest of us, price goes up, price goes down all the one to them, they're looking for a margin between what someone has for sale and what someone wants to buy. He hasn't much of an axe to grind on the farmgate price of beef. He reckoned the factories did very well last year but their margins have been under pressure since the turn of the year hence the severe price cuts.

There's a graphic in the back of the comic most weeks showing Irish beef prices compared to various other exporters and it makes sobering reading. Our price has gone from very low to extremely high and it's starting to look like the property bubble. You don't want to be the one with the shed full of expensive cattle when the tide goes out. The only thing that might save us is the British supermarkets paranoia about getting caught with a product linked to a food scare where traceability of supply isn't up to scratch coupled with the British consumers mistrust of supplies from sources they aren't that familiar with.

Irish Cattle have all this year still traded at 150 euro/head cheaper than UK cattle. Yes we are more expensive than most of the rest of Europe however you are comparing prime beef R3 young steer they still are picking up cheap beef in certain area's. Bulls are still compeditive as are cows.

The UK takes about 50% of our cattle and it is all prime beef. They more than likely have good margins on cows to France and Belgian. The gap will have opened wider over the last 4 weeks and they will have huge margins during October/November,

At present cattle are grading better in NI than here is it the same in Italy. I remember the time when 50% of whitehead cattle and most Angus all graded ''R''. Very few grade that way now it is the exception for dairy bred cattle to go into R. Cattle are killing heavier than 5 years ago as people are no longer chasing subs but grades are not as good.

The factory's have cut prices by 40cent/kg equivalent to nearly 150 euro/head. So we more than likely at or near the rest of the EU and way behind the UK

freedominacup

Farmer Pudsey wrote: »

Irish Cattle have all this year still traded at 150 euro/head cheaper than UK cattle. Yes we are more expensive than most of the rest of Europe however you are comparing prime beef R3 young steer they still are picking up cheap beef in certain area's. Bulls are still compeditive as are cows.

The UK takes about 50% of our cattle and it is all prime beef. They more than likely have good margins on cows to France and Belgian. The gap will have opened wider over the last 4 weeks and they will have huge margins during October/November,

At present cattle are grading better in NI than here is it the same in Italy. I remember the time when 50% of whitehead cattle and most Angus all graded ''R''. Very few grade that way now it is the exception for dairy bred cattle to go into R. Cattle are killing heavier than 5 years ago as people are no longer chasing subs but grades are not as good.

The factory's have cut prices by 40cent/kg equivalent to nearly 150 euro/head. So we more than likely at or near the rest of the EU and way behind the UK

I couldn't argue with a single thing you are saying Pudsey. I was just recounting something that was said to me over the weekend. Admitedly not much better than pub-talk but the guy I was speaking to would have a handle on the trade beyond the factory gate and had nothing to gain by saying what he said to me.

whelan1

i am assuming their margins are under pressure after the horsemeat scandal as beef actually now has to go into beef products

nashmach

whelan1 wrote: »

i am assuming their margins are under pressure after the horsemeat scandal as beef actually now has to go into beef products

That was not a widespread practice apart from some cheaper products so not a relevant arguement.

Farmer Pudsey

nashmach wrote: »

That was not a widespread practice apart from some cheaper products so not a relevant arguement.

It is but in another way is the reason that cows and bulls and out of spec cattle are hit so hard that the factory's now have to actually put in the pack what they say.

Were some of them actually replacing heifer meat with young bull meat. Was Tesco beef actually under age prime steer and heifer meat. The mince you got in Supermarkets was it prime beef thrown in the mincer or was it cow or again bull beef

leg wax

when they were putting horse meat in human foods ,i wounder what the hell was left to put in the pet food:D:D:D:confused:,also i was at a barbe at weekend and als burgers were on the menu,some lads noticed that they were not green any more when frozen but they were red like meat.

freedominacup

leg wax wrote: »

when they were putting horse meat in human foods ,i wounder what the hell was left to put in the pet food:D:D:D:confused:,also i was at a barbe at weekend and als burgers were on the menu,some lads noticed that they were not green any more when frozen but they were red like meat.

Still only like meat though?:eek:

whelan1

sent a pb aa cow to the factory on tuesday, she was 5 years old, had a dead calf in march and got no meal
cold weight 432.7kg
R5
3.5 euro/kg
came in to 1514 euro

RaggyDays

whelan1 wrote: »

cold weight 432.7kg

Is this liveweight??

dzer2

RaggyDays wrote: »

Is this liveweight??

No dead weight and cold what you get paid on.

whelan1

RaggyDays wrote: »

Is this liveweight??

no dead, she was a big lump

Bodacious

whelan1 wrote: »

sent a pb aa cow to the factory on tuesday, she was 5 years old, had a dead calf in march and got no meal
cold weight 432.7kg
R5
3.5 euro/kg
came in to 1514 euro

Great lump of a cow Whelan and nice money too!

at 5 are you penalised for fat or is it just trimmed off of her?

Im wondering as I send usually one cull a year and have had fat scores of 4+ and wondered am I keeping them a month too long if I went into a 5 or does it all weigh? into the 432.7kg that you got paid for

bob charles

Bodacious wrote: »

Great lump of a cow Whelan and nice money too!

at 5 are you penalised for fat or is it just trimmed off of her?

Im wondering as I send usually one cull a year and have had fat scores of 4+ and wondered am I keeping them a month too long if I went into a 5 or does it all weigh? into the 432.7kg that you got paid for

everything outside a fat score of 3 or 4 is usually penalised heavily. I was cut a €1 a kilo for a 2- earlier in the week. Thankfully its along time since I had a 2-. had a heifer 480 kilos cold this week aswell:cool:, she caused a bit if a fuss

whelan, was your cow killed a few miles down the road?

whelan1

bob charles wrote: »

everything outside a fat score of 3 or 4 is usually penalised heavily. I was cut a €1 a kilo for a 2- earlier in the week. Thankfully its along time since I had a 2-. had a heifer 480 kilos cold this week aswell:cool:, she caused a bit if a fuss

whelan, was your cow killed a few miles down the road?

ye a few miles from me. if it was my cow she would have been gone a while ago when price was better... he still has another young cow and a free martin heifer fit ti go, will be interesting to see what they make. He will probably wait til price goes back up. He is saying" sure we have plenty of grass":rolleyes:

micky mouse

Any of ye know what do good continential cows kill out

yupyupyup

thats some effort putting a beast into a fat class of 5 with no meal, incredible really considering she's a huge animal, she must have been on some seriously leafy grass.

Mickey i usually assume a 50% kill out for cows

leg wax

yupyupyup wrote: »

thats some effort putting a beast into a fat class of 5 with no meal, incredible really considering she's a huge animal, she must have been on some seriously leafy grass.

Mickey i usually assume a 50% kill out for cows

no he asked about good continential cows.

yupyupyup

it varies depending on age, level of feeding, time of the year, grade of the cow, breed of the cow. there's no one answer you can give, but as a rule of thumb i always leave cows around the low 50's

Farmer Pudsey

With cows it depends on breed and how much flesh cover they have. from what i understand Fresian can be in the low-mid 40's depending on fat cover, traditional breeds again from low-high 40's with continental cows for mid 40's to low 50's. yes you will get cows killing outside these specs such as some Continental but also very old cows will kill less. Cows are a hard trade you think you are buying value but time tells you different. Also it is all about price there are fellas crying about cows that should have been killed 5 weeks ago.

Remember for small lots cows have fell 70-80 cent/kg compare to early june. You would have been better taking a 45%K/O rather than naybe 48% now. Cows of all cattle are about price, price you buy them at and the price you sell them at and this means targeting the market.

whelan1

yupyupyup wrote: »

thats some effort putting a beast into a fat class of 5 with no meal, incredible really considering she's a huge animal, she must have been on some seriously leafy grass.

Mickey i usually assume a 50% kill out for cows

we where doing there feet today and 2 of them wouldnt fit down the crush, serious condition on them

bob charles

where to now old chums. time for many I would think with grass cattle to not bother feeding them grain and ride this storm. or is grain too attractively priced to not use it.

Farmer Pudsey

bob charles wrote: »

where to now old chums. time for many I would think with grass cattle to not bother feeding them grain and ride this storm. or is grain too attractively priced to not use it.

It depends on cattle and on what way you think the trade will be from now to november. If you have cattle that a bit of grain will get them to grade into the QA grid before 30 months it may well pay to feed. For instance March/April born 2011 catttle such as AA and WH or good fresians that will grade in September will more than likly pay to feed. 12 cent on 333kgs steers is 40 euro.If they go from fat class 2+ to 3 it is another 20 euro and if they go up a grade from O= to O+ it is another 20 euro. Targeted feeding always pays. If they will not finish until after that I be slow feeding as October/November is factory controlled time.

TBH price of ration has little bearing on profitability of summer grazing cattle. Feeding 3kgs for even 7 weeks is 150kgs. At 300/ton this costs 45 euro at 200/ton it costs 30 euro. So the difference is only 15 euro. Even if feeding double the amount of ration it is a 30 euro difference minf you costs go to 60 and 90 euro respectivly. So in my opinion price of ration is not what determines if you feed a bit to cattle during the summer.

The biggest issue I see at present is that I think it is harder to get cattle to fat score 3 than previously and that they go from fatscore 3 to fat score 4H faster than before. I wonder are the factories saving themselves money by having a tighter in spec area.

Another thing that amazes me is the amount of farmers that feed cattle in sheds for the summer to compete with grass fed cattle. Fella feeding bulls ration to finish from now on taking 30-50 cent a kg less than grass fed bullocks. This is crazy unless you have a cast iron price for them before you start

bob charles

Reason I mention grain is that it will push them to finish earlier, which may not be a good thing at the moment and if I had these type animal I might be inclined to hold off feeding if your only doing one twist of cattle a year.

Do you find cattle thriving well at grass this year, everyone I talk to around here think not like myself and an cattle killed off grass have killed very very poorly, main reason why have allot of animal indoors. Costing a euro more indoors but defiantly doing 0.25kgs cold per head extra which covers cost. This a funny old year still, and now facing August grass growth it doesnt bold well for the back end.