beef price tracker

Cavanjack

memorystick wrote: »

Just shows how low they have been when someone considers this to be a good price.

There was plenty of cheap store bulls and bullocks bought in the back end that will leave a good turn for the finisher now at 3.60.

memorystick

Cavanjack wrote: »

There was plenty of cheap store bulls and bullocks bought in the back end that will leave a good turn for the finisher now at 3.60.

Agreed but long term it’s not feasible.

Base price

Bass Reeves wrote: »

Yes but the steaks from the he FR bull's are suitable for the UK retail market not all supermarket will take them but some will.

Steaks from the majority of dairy crosses are suitable for the Irish and UK supermarket trade.

Jb1989

Base price wrote: »

All under 30 month old bulls non QA are eligible for the Chinese market.

The reality is it doesn't matter what the situation was "not too long ago". You have to understand the situation. Fit bulls are wanted by the factories for the Chinese trade but unfortunately that market is only for the forequarter's.

Hi base, what do you mean in your first part, is their a want for under 30 bulls atm? Have a few bulls touching 30 months, either have to take a hit or cut them and go to grass for under 36.

Base price

Jb1989 wrote: »

Hi base, what do you mean in your first part, is their a want for under 30 bulls atm? Have a few bulls touching 30 months, either have to take a hit or cut them and go to grass for under 36.

WTF - you shouldn't be allowed to keep livestock :mad:

Jb1989

Base price wrote: »

WTF - you shouldn't be allowed to keep livestock :mad:

They light animals and vet will do

Base price

Jb1989 wrote: »

They light animals and vet will do

There ain't a Vet in the country that would do it.

Bass Reeves

Jb1989 wrote: »

Hi base, what do you mean in your first part, is their a want for under 30 bulls atm? Have a few bulls touching 30 months, either have to take a hit or cut them and go to grass for under 36.

While the Chinese may take forequarters there is no god priced market for rest of animal. Factories might allow 1 or 2 that were just over 24 months on a load. But trying to sell as a load is impossible.

The thrive must have been brutal if they are still light enough to squeeze.

Bass Reeves

Base price wrote: »

Steaks from the majority of dairy crosses are suitable for the Irish and UK supermarket trade.

Yes but very few dairy cross cattle are continuing on as bulls. Because if AA and HE premium the vast majority of these breeds are made bullocks of.you may have some Contenental dairy crossed but most bulls now are suckle bred or FR. I imagine if you had any bulls under 24 months with adequate FS and killing below 380 average/load you get good prices for thrm

Fireside Solicitor

We kept bulls for a few years. If you have 30 month ones fit to squeeze are you sure they are bulls? You could of course castrate them but you watch the effect it will have at that age. You'll give a lot of money to a vet to do it and keep them right. No vet here would do that.

Bass Reeves

Fireside Solicitor wrote: »

We kept bulls for a few years. If you have 30 month ones fit to squeeze are you sure they are bulls? You could of course castrate them but you watch the effect it will have at that age. You'll give a lot of money to a vet to do it and keep them right. No vet here would do that.

A lot depends on there weight and present diet. If they are sub 500 kgs and not fleshy there should be no issue. If being fed at present I would not advise

Bass Reeves

Jjameson wrote: »

Cut is not squeeze!

Nobody cuts animals any longer. I have seen animals squeezed up at near 500 kgs. If done right they shrink very slowly. TBH they should have been done six months ago. Too many lads have no understanding of the limitation of age.

Cavanjack

Bass Reeves wrote: »

Nobody cuts animals any longer. I have seen animals squeezed up at near 500 kgs. If done right they shrink very slowly. TBH they should have been done six months ago. Too many lads have no understanding of the limitation of age.

There was a world of heavy bulls cut round here last spring. 500+ types

DukeCaboom

Cavanjack wrote: »

There was a world of heavy bulls cut round here last spring. 500+ types

Down here too cutting would be popular.

locha

Had an agent call me Saturday. 3.65 base for Steers.

1373

locha wrote: »

Had an agent call me Saturday. 3.65 base for Steers.

Sent a load of o/r u24 fr bulls on Thursday and got 3.65 flat . They wanted them next morning, so they’re well able to pay when stuck

weatherbyfoxer

quoted 365 + 20c AA bonus for Angus steers for this week...seems to be great demand for Angus but not as pushed for continentals

bogman_bass

Bass Reeves wrote: »

Nobody cuts animals any longer. I have seen animals squeezed up at near 500 kgs. If done right they shrink very slowly. TBH they should have been done six months ago. Too many lads have no understanding of the limitation of age.

I don’t know where you get that. Vets round here consider cutting by far the better option for stronger bulls

Bass Reeves

bogman_bass wrote: »

I don’t know where you get that. Vets round here consider cutting by far the better option for stronger bulls

Well local vet will use budizzer on heavy bulls. The next option is banding which is risky as set back can be massive. I have not seen a bull physically cut in 30 years and have seen bulls up to 500 kgs squeezed

Jb1989

Bass Reeves wrote: »

While the Chinese may take forequarters there is no god priced market for rest of animal. Factories might allow 1 or 2 that were just over 24 months on a load. But trying to sell as a load is impossible.

The thrive must have been brutal if they are still light enough to squeeze.

Thought that alright, ah few small framed cattle just.

Jb1989

Fireside Solicitor wrote: »

We kept bulls for a few years. If you have 30 month ones fit to squeeze are you sure they are bulls? You could of course castrate them but you watch the effect it will have at that age. You'll give a lot of money to a vet to do it and keep them right. No vet here would do that.

Yes I'm sure Yea I know they would loose weight unfortunately, trying to get away without it on this occasion.

Jb1989

Jjameson wrote: »

They’d never look back provided they were going to grass and before blowfly were about. Takes a long time for a big bull to lose the bullish features though. They never totally do.

True enough on features, and yes. If done early for grass it be OK

Jb1989

bogman_bass wrote: »

I don’t know where you get that. Vets round here consider cutting by far the better option for stronger bulls

Agreed, there a few good oldies around here that can do a very clean job, useing the stick as stitches method.

bogman_bass

Jb1989 wrote: »

Agreed, there a few good oldies around here that can do a very clean job, useing the stick as stitches method.

Other way here. It’s the young vets that are more likely to cut (all the young vets round here worked in England for a time. Don’t know if that’s a factor

Jb1989

bogman_bass wrote: »

Other way here. It’s the young vets that are more likely to cut (all the young vets round here worked in England for a time. Don’t know if that’s a factor

Ah that could be, no young vets in my practice, but there you are, more cutting happening than thought.

Count Mondego

Bass Reeves wrote: »

Well local vet will use budizzer on heavy bulls. The next option is banding which is risky as set back can be massive.

What's the risk with banding? I asked a vet a few months ago and he claimed that it's really catching on. Even said they're fine to do in the shed once they get the tetanus shot beforehand. More reliable and easier to administer than Burdizzo i would have thought.

DukeCaboom

I think vets push banding because it's alot easier for them.

Bass Reeves

Count Mondego wrote: »

What's the risk with banding? I asked a vet a few months ago and he claimed that it's really catching on. Even said they're fine to do in the shed once they get the tetanus shot beforehand. More reliable and easier to administer than Burdizzo i would have thought.

It has a limited window of application. If flies are prevelant they will lay eggs in the rotting sac. It will take the sac 6+weeks to rot away not sure if I would want that happening on slats. Cattle tend to be stiffer for longer.

Using rubber ring on Calves is grand it the banding where there is a substantial sac that is the issue

Cavanjack

1373 wrote: »

Sent a load of o/r u24 fr bulls on Thursday and got 3.65 flat . They wanted them next morning, so they’re well able to pay when stuck

Who was paying that for them? If that’s the case 3.85 should be available for u grade bulls.

Base price

Bass Reeves wrote: »

It has a limited window of application. If flies are prevelant they will lay eggs in the rotting sac. It will take the sac 6+weeks to rot away not sure if I would want that happening on slats. Cattle tend to be stiffer for longer.

Using rubber ring on Calves is grand it the banding where there is a substantial sac that is the issue

We toyed with the idea of banding c.20+/- month old FR/HEx/FRx bulls a couple of years ago. At the time I asked about it here on F&F before consulting our Vet as I thought it would be an easier option on both the animal and operator vis a vie using the burdizzo. Our Vet wasn't a fan of banding bulls that had reached sexual maturity due to the prolonged irritation of the band before the nerve endings to the sack are severed. We never discussed cutting them as it is something that I associate with prebubescent colts and I would not be in favour with selectively cutting young bulls unless there was a health or welfare issue that required same.

We lost money on that batch of bulls when they went to the factory but the BEAM scheme offset some of those losses.