What cattle to buy?

bouli73

Be grateful for any advice

I farm 20 acres for my father in law. Generally buy in 15 to 20 store bullocks in March and sell in Oct/Nov. Not in receipt of SFP nor is there a shed on site so margins are tight as you can appreciate.

Cost of cattle is crazy htis year. Its fine if prices are maintained until next Oct when i am selling but i wonder about that.

What other alternatives would people suggest? Buy in heifers etc?

Grateful for any advice

49801

really difficult one tbh.
not sure what type of cattle represent value at todays prices!

price at the factory does seem fairly steady and as there is a cattle shortage its likely to stay that way. but who's to say it wont be half that in Oct:o

keep mowing it till next year:mad: or might be the year to do some reseeding?
later on in the year cull cows might be an option.

bouli73

49801 wrote: »

really difficult one tbh.
not sure what type of cattle represent value at todays prices!

price at the factory does seem fairly steady and as there is a cattle shortage its likely to stay that way. but who's to say it wont be half that in Oct:o

keep mowing it till next year:mad: or might be the year to do some reseeding?
later on in the year cull cows might be an option.

I suppose that is exactly my question, what animal represents value at the moment?

Reseeding and mowing not an option tbh. I have enquired off local farmers who i know and are decent if any wanted to take a cut of silage from one of the fields. Answer was that they have ample left over from this year and that seems to be teh case elsewhere also.

Def looking to buy animals but i am not alone in that

reilig

49801 wrote: »

really difficult one tbh.
not sure what type of cattle represent value at todays prices!

price at the factory does seem fairly steady and as there is a cattle shortage its likely to stay that way. but who's to say it wont be half that in Oct:o

keep mowing it till next year:mad: or might be the year to do some reseeding?
later on in the year cull cows might be an option.

I'd agree on holding back a bit on it - maybe mowing it, reseeding it or perhaps selling silage on the stem.

Cull cows are a risky enough option. They are a serious price at the moment and unless you have a good set up, they can be trouble. You get plagued with bad feet, cows in heat, cows calving that shouldn't be calving and mastitis. When beef prices fall, the cull cow will be the first one to hit the floor.

Hedging your bets is often the best solution. Buy a few that you can afford, don't go overboard. Sell a couple of meadows of grass if you can. Take some of the land out for reseeding.

Its a tricky situation for farmers. There are loads of prospects that beef will hold its price - yesterday's indo had an article about US markets opening up for top quality stock. There's a lot of talk about China, Egypt, and Germany. the more markets taht we can go into, the better for sustaining long term prices.

blue5000

What some ppl call runners are better value than calves atm, 200-250 kg weanlings that didn't get a great do over the winter. They should put on a kg a day over the next 6 months if managed well. Where do you normally buy?

bouli73

blue5000 wrote: »

What some ppl call runners are better value than calves atm, 200-250 kg weanlings that didn't get a great do over the winter. They should put on a kg a day over the next 6 months if managed well. Where do you normally buy?

normally buy in kilmallock or ennis. Generally weanlings i would buy

Muckit

• If your intent on buying, I'd be buying the plainer ones that nobody else wants. Hang on later at evening sales etc. No point bidding against 10 lads for the fancy ones. You could have more out of them.

• Pray for a good summer and make bales of hay of some? It may/may not suit your circumstances.

Unless someone has a crystal ball, there's going to be as much certainity about any of the answers given here as placing your money on a horse at cheltenham!! (No I'm not Joe Healy in the farming indo )

MfMan

bouli73 wrote: »

Be grateful for any advice

I farm 20 acres for my father in law. Generally buy in 15 to 20 store bullocks in March and sell in Oct/Nov. Not in receipt of SFP nor is there a shed on site so margins are tight as you can appreciate.

Cost of cattle is crazy htis year. Its fine if prices are maintained until next Oct when i am selling but i wonder about that.

What other alternatives would people suggest? Buy in heifers etc?

Grateful for any advice

Is it in one block or can it be grazed in rotation? A few medium - forward stores might be your best bet, c. 580Kg+. Contrary to what others may say, try to get them as fancy as you can. They will cost more but still have a better chance of leaving a greater margin than plainer sorts. Feed them meal for 4-6 weeks prior to sending them for slaughter later in the summer. If you're buying lighter sorts,<=500Kg, they may not be fit in time in the back end, plus the price of cattle *may* start to slide by that stage.

jerdee

these are the best value at moment bought pen of ch x 335 this morning 850
offered fr x 250 for 620 but very p[lain reckon chx will leave more after summer grazing..

Muckit

Just to clarify by 'plainer' I didn't mean FR, I meany plainer cont !! We're talking beef, not dairy here

PMU

what about sowing barley

Tipp Man

Muckit wrote: »

Just to clarify by 'plainer' I didn't mean FR, I meany plainer cont !! We're talking beef, not dairy here

Often Fr leave more money for less capital invested;)

Tipp Man

PMU wrote: »

what about sowing barley

Possibly the best option

Pharaoh1

Difficult to know.
Sowing a cereal sounds good but will you be able to get a contractor/farmer to fertilise and spray it throughout the year when and then harvest it when all these jobs need to be done - it is not plain sailing.

I see lots of people repeatedly taking silage cut off land and not putting back in the nutrients that are coming out - its like driving the car without ever changing the oil - eventually it will catch up with you.
If you were to put back in the P and K required or pay for imported slurry or both it would hardly be worth it.

I've bought the good quality light continental weanling bulls for summer grazing. I think buying the better quality is the best insurance against falling prices.

bbam

I see advice on buying forward stores, tbh the average Joe isn't well enough in at the factory to risk this, where the general feeling is that the regulars at the factory would be surer of their prices, maybe I'm way off thinking that but lots round here think likewise.

Buying lighter weanlings would be a better option and is what were doing.

Bulls will do well bit make sure you have great fencing, come August they will be bonny lads to keep control of.

Were buying in some heifers to run along with what we have. Get at the ring early or hang on late. Have a max price and get the best stock you can but stick to your price.

pakalasa

Well don't put out fertiliser for starters and keep less stock. Cattle do seem to be scarce worlwide and that's something that won't be rectified overnight. You would want dry cows gone by July the latest. From then prices tend to slip.

Bodacious

It may not suit you due to work/time restraints but if I had additional grass at the minute I'd be buying up top quality 16-19 mt suckler heifers and puttin a straw in them

bob charles

work off a floor beef price of 3.50kilo for the fall, ouch:rolleyes:

Arrow in the Knee

I'm in the same position.

Have sheep but don't have enough of them to control grass in the summer.

Plenty of hay from last year.

At todays prices you won't get much with 10,000 to spend.

Light weanlings/calves are very pricey:


It's a sellers market!

simx

jerdee wrote: »

these are the best value at moment bought pen of ch x 335 this morning 850
offered fr x 250 for 620 but very p[lain reckon chx will leave more after summer grazing..

where was this? heifers i presume

richie123

bouli73 wrote: »

Be grateful for any advice

I farm 20 acres for my father in law. Generally buy in 15 to 20 store bullocks in March and sell in Oct/Nov. Not in receipt of SFP nor is there a shed on site so margins are tight as you can appreciate.

Cost of cattle is crazy htis year. Its fine if prices are maintained until next Oct when i am selling but i wonder about that.

What other alternatives would people suggest? Buy in heifers etc?

Grateful for any advice

Would leasing be an option?150 euro an acre it should make on a year to year basis thats 3000 in your back pocket no costs!!I wouldnt buy cattle prices are crazy and ive an awful feeling theres gonna be a huge price crash in 6 or 8 months time leaving a lot a lads with very expensive cattle!