beef price tracker

Cavanjack

Do the honest thing and ring the factory and tell them you think they might have made a mistake

TippNorth

Brown Podzol wrote: »

I had a U grade pure Holstein bull last year. Friend said to me that there is a farmer somewhere in the country that's very disappointed with his P grade BB.:D

Ha I was thinking along those lines too when I saw the grades back from the factory!!

I should inform Teagasc, there could be a killing to be make in this rare strain of Double Muscled Friesians!!;):D

biddy2013

sent a pb aa freemartin heifer last tuesday and a fr cull cow, got cheque for cow on friday, no sign of cheque for heifer yesterday so i rang the factory agent apparently she was mud fat and they are waiting to see where she goes to see what price we get she got no meal what so ever

Farmer Pudsey

Cavanjack wrote: »

Do the honest thing and ring the factory and tell them you think they might have made a mistake

It is unlikly that a mistake like that could be made as cattle go up the line it is not until the dehiding process that the tags are removed from ears and then they are put into plastic bakes and one inserted into the ribs at each side.

Any way if it was the case the lad with the light BBX may have got paid for a 320kg O= carcasse

277U= 1115
320 O= 1260

biddy2013 wrote: »

sent a pb aa freemartin heifer last tuesday and a fr cull cow, got cheque for cow on friday, no sign of cheque for heifer yesterday so i rang the factory agent apparently she was mud fat and they are waiting to see where she goes to see what price we get she got no meal what so ever

I be ringing my agent and asking him whats the story Rory. What fat score was she

Cavanjack

There was a good jump in prices after Christmas last year. Anyone expect the same to happen this year. I've heifers and bullocks coming fit in the next two weeks.

simx

Cavanjack wrote: »

There was a good jump in prices after Christmas last year. Anyone expect the same to happen this year. I've heifers and bullocks coming fit in the next two weeks.

Hope so I'll have cows to go early January, was talking to a lad that was down with cattle in dawn last week said the place was jam packed with cattle

Farrell

simx wrote: »

Hope so I'll have cows to go early January, was talking to a lad that was down with cattle in dawn last week said the place was jam packed with cattle

Hopefully it might give the weanlings a jump too

simx

Farrell wrote: »

Hopefully it might give the weanlings a jump too

Hopefully, have couple of them to sell too

TippNorth

Farmer Pudsey wrote: »

Was he very square did he stand out as a small butty animal he may have been a BBX that was registered as a FRX. Some cattle that are done bad in this case done bad for two winters finish at light weights. What was the base price. You put about 270kgs on them.

A U= bullock would have a very square back end. What was the Base price you got.

Ya he had a square back end, very blocky shape, registered as a Fr on the card but as you say could have been a mix up when registering as a calf. Definately didn't get great conditions in their first two winters, but did pretty well I thought from when we bought them- over 1kg+/day

Base price was 3.95c/kg

Bodacious

biddy2013 wrote: »

sent a pb aa freemartin heifer last tuesday and a fr cull cow, got cheque for cow on friday, no sign of cheque for heifer yesterday so i rang the factory agent apparently she was mud fat and they are waiting to see where she goes to see what price we get she got no meal what so ever

Jees.. pb AA I take it ?

bob charles

Cavanjack wrote: »

There was a good jump in prices after Christmas last year. Anyone expect the same to happen this year. I've heifers and bullocks coming fit in the next two weeks.

not really, maybe a 10c lift at max, talking to an agent operating in another part of the country and the amount of fr bulls he has waiting to be slaughtered is :eek:

nashmach

bob charles wrote: »

not really, maybe a 10c lift at max, talking to an agent operating in another part of the country and the amount of fr bulls he has waiting to be slaughtered is :eek:

Now why doesn't that surprise me :rolleyes:

severeoversteer

bob charles wrote: »

not really, maybe a 10c lift at max, talking to an agent operating in another part of the country and the amount of fr bulls he has waiting to be slaughtered is :eek:

because every factory in the country has been delaying killing bulls for the last while because they know there may be a shortage of beef down the line and they know where the bulls are! and they'll say ''ahh we full up with cattle'',''and ''theres a massive bull kill''

Hershall

severeoversteer wrote: »

because every factory in the country has been delaying killing bulls for the last while because they know there may be a shortage of beef down the line and they know where the bulls are! and they'll say ''ahh we full up with cattle'',''and ''theres a massive bull kill''

Ya spot on and after that if they scarce sure the old 3 day week trick will work!

bob charles

severeoversteer wrote: »

because every factory in the country has been delaying killing bulls for the last while because they know there may be a shortage of beef down the line and they know where the bulls are! and they'll say ''ahh we full up with cattle'',''and ''theres a massive bull kill''

I dont agree, there is a serious problem in finding a home for this product. Its now simple to test a pallet of bullock beef and reject it if there is some young bull beef shows up. I see the angus scheme are phasing out the payment on bulls over the next 12 months. Throughput is still high at the meat plants so they are slaughtering whats in demand and leaving the unwanted behind them

severeoversteer

bob charles wrote: »

I dont agree, there is a serious problem in finding a home for this product. Its now simple to test a pallet of bullock beef and reject it if there is some young bull beef shows up. I see the angus scheme are phasing out the payment on bulls over the next 12 months. Throughput is still high at the meat plants so they are slaughtering whats in demand and leaving the unwanted behind them

well then why is there a kepak agent going around the place looking for bulls for their feedlots !

please note the ad in the back of the farmers journal for the last few weeks also from kepak looking for continental bulls

bob charles

severeoversteer wrote: »

well then why is there a kepak agent going around the place looking for bulls for their feedlots !

please note the ad in the back of the farmers journal for the last few weeks also from kepak looking for continental bulls

Maybe they have found a market for them so as I didnt see there adverts, and if this is the case it will mop up allot of bulls, but at what price level will this market allow to be paid? The issue of young bulls not being wanted isnt a new phenomenal as its being flagged for well over 12 months, If farmers arent going to be prepared to adopt what the market wants then there is little point in cribbing about the low prices these animals are achieving

severeoversteer

bob charles wrote: »

Maybe they have found a market for them so as I didnt see there adverts, and if this is the case it will mop up allot of bulls, but at what price level will this market allow to be paid? The issue of young bulls not being wanted isnt a new phenomenal as its being flagged for well over 12 months, If farmers arent going to be prepared to adopt what the market wants then there is little point in cribbing about the low prices these animals are achieving

problem is bob that farmers are farmers and a lot of them tend to make poor decisions unfortunately and there is a mass exodus from bull beef in the last while, but I cannot see why its happening over factory agents b1tch1ng over the phone about will next week be ok for the bulls because we are full up this week?

factories will gladly take any cow or bull when they are short of beef and its a matter of having your bulls ready for this. and its a good time to be getting ready when you see ads by kepak looking for bulls

grain is now cheaper and its cheaper to feed animals, so in my opinion with the right animals its worth aiming for 16 months with a young bull or even 17 months, as long as they take 16 months on the grid its a good sign in my eyes.

but yes I admit you will have problems shifting bulls older than 18 months but they will take them but they will do you on weight

tanko

bob charles wrote: »

Maybe they have found a market for them so as I didnt see there adverts, and if this is the case it will mop up allot of bulls, but at what price level will this market allow to be paid? The issue of young bulls not being wanted isnt a new phenomenal as its being flagged for well over 12 months, If farmers arent going to be prepared to adopt what the market wants then there is little point in cribbing about the low prices these animals are achieving

Bob, can you tell us in your opinion, what exactly the market does want?

Cavanjack

bob charles wrote: »

Maybe they have found a market for them so as I didnt see there adverts, and if this is the case it will mop up allot of bulls, but at what price level will this market allow to be paid? The issue of young bulls not being wanted isnt a new phenomenal as its being flagged for well over 12 months, If farmers arent going to be prepared to adopt what the market wants then there is little point in cribbing about the low prices these animals are achieving

We're the factories not encouraging farmers to keep Friesian bull calves a year or two ago saying they had a market for them?

Hershall

As far as I can see factories want mostly bks and hfrs under 30 months and QA. They trying to force the bull men back to bks and hfrs. In fairness this hasn't been any secret! Hard to sell wots not wanted!

rancher

Cavanjack wrote: »

We're the factories not encouraging farmers to keep Friesian bull calves a year or two ago saying they had a market for them?

Some of the factories organised a trial with dairy beef, but that's all it was.
I know anytime we met the factories in the last two years they were warning us to make sure you had a market for your bulls before you fed them and the specifications of it.
For the british trade it seems to be under 30mths, under 400kg, QA, and not bulls. That's the best market

Cavanjack

rancher wrote: »

Some of the factories organised a trial with dairy beef, but that's all it was.
I know anytime we met the factories in the last two years they were warning us to make sure you had a market and the specifications of it

Have ye met with them lately and asked how there is such a price difference between beef price here and the uk? The IFA have been very quiet on this IMO

rancher

Cavanjack wrote: »

Have ye met with them lately and asked how there is such a price difference between beef price here and the uk? The IFA have been very quiet on this IMO

Hard to pin them down on what percentage is going to UK, They claim that they're making nothing selling to Europe. Not really my remit, you'd need to ask your livestock rep. See tomorrows journal has something about farmer anger at beef prices, probably means a protest, will there be support!!!!!!

severeoversteer

rancher wrote: »

Hard to pin them down on what percentage is going to UK, They claim that they're making nothing selling to Europe. Not really my remit, you'd need to ask your livestock rep. See tomorrows journal has something about farmer anger at beef prices, probably means a protest, will there be support!!!!!!

the only protest against meat factories would be to boycott them for a period,

and even that wouldn't work as they'd make out they are full up of cattle after the boycott ends

most farmers just roll into the factory with their animals and accept the price whether its good or bad because they are short of money, and that's the weakness the cattle buyers abuse since the whole industry began

the only control the farmer has is what stock he produces and how cheap he can produce it.

ultimately I reckon farms will close up and farms will get bigger and bigger somewhat like the rest of Europe and it will become a economies of scale game, farming at the moment is treated as a hobby by to many people

the only way to keep going in beef is if you have plenty of land, grow all your own feed, have good management, know when to buy and sell, have good contacts and preferably produce your own calves from your own cows and finish them

theres a lot more I could say here but for the minute I need a slash and a cup of tea :cool:

Cavanjack

rancher wrote: »

Hard to pin them down on what percentage is going to UK, They claim that they're making nothing selling to Europe. Not really my remit, you'd need to ask your livestock rep. See tomorrows journal has something about farmer anger at beef prices, probably means a protest, will there be support!!!!!!

That's the problem. When they are fit you have to kill them and take the best of what is offered. Not sure if we want a protest like there was ten odd years ago.

rancher

Cavanjack wrote: »

That's the problem. When they are fit you have to kill them and take the best of what is offered. Not sure if we want a protest like there was ten odd years ago.

That won't happen again, It'd cost too much.... what are the options, every one says you have to do something, factories are experts at what they do, they seem to be able to manipulate supply and demand and cattle are only fit for a short time so as you say you have to go and it's even harder with our lambs, a week can make 25c/kg difference if he goes overfat

tim04750

rancher wrote: »

what are the options, every one says you have to do something,

Have the factories access to the cmms limited, easy win a poker game when you know where the cards are.

Farmer Pudsey

Bulls are definately getting to be a tougher trade. Factory's have an agenda. They are trying to force farmers away from older bulls, and from heavy (over 400kg and maybe less even) carcasses.

However on one hand I cannot see the glut of cattle out there that factory's are predicting. The kill was 2K less last week than the same period last year. Factory's usually have a shortage of cattle from now to end of January and for May/June. Usually this was filled by heavy bulls/cows facctory's are trying to change this kill.

However looking back to September/October this year there was a strong trade in AA/HEX cattle rumour was that Factory's were filling there feedlots of them, there is no news of these being slaughtered yet, were these bought to fill the post Christmas slump. Heard a story about lads taking 3/kg for over 24 month bulls.

Where do we go from here I do not know but if there is no price rise in the next while a lot of lads will get there fingers burnt.

The other thing is a lot of suckler farmers and small time rearers have over the last year started finishing cattle will these be able to stand the heat if they cannot we may all get a bit of a burning

bob charles

Farmer Pudsey wrote: »

will these be able to stand the heat if they cannot we may all get a bit of a burning

considering we are all getting a bit of a burning for the last few months, we will be dry roasted during the next few if things dont swing. Nothing unusual for us I suppose. Play with fire, get burnt with fire.