Boards Beef Discussion Group

Farmer Pudsey

Muckit wrote: »

I think it's gas how bull beef was being pushed so hard for the last few years. Anyone that wasn't at it, wasn't at anything. Now only last week, a big article in the comic about castration! That bulls are out of favour because too expensive to get contentials bulls finished under 16mths without a lot of labour intensive grass management, meal and €€€€.

Also the article on showing the correct injection site locations.... a fine big CH bullock!

Feck all mention of Italy this or that now!!!!!

Your right.... who could have predicted it!! (me:D)

When other rush in one direction walk quietly in the opposite mind you I am casterating weanling fresian and light 2YO's somthing I have not done in years. It is more to reduce workload for a year or so.

just do it

Farmer Pudsey wrote: »

When other rush in one direction walk quietly in the opposite mind you I am casterating weanling fresian and light 2YO's somthing I have not done in years. It is more to reduce workload for a year or so.

Agree with you Pudsey, now may be the time to target the Italian market! Demand is the same but if everyone moves elsewhere supply will dip....






(now where are those blue straws?! )

bob charles

Muckit wrote: »

Your right.... who could have predicted it!! (me:D)

can I get in on the I told you so's aswell.

Was thinking a while back when we were at bulls around early nineties up to around 05, they used to leave a nice few quid. Why wouldnt they, as we got a premium of I think £180 and we used to be feeding them crimp barley on grass costing £100 a ton and we used to be sparing it at that price!! Grain costs per animal were probably around £60 - 70 only, compared to today costs????

rancher

Muckit wrote: »

I think it's gas how bull beef was being pushed so hard for the last few years. Anyone that wasn't at it, wasn't at anything. Now only last week, a big article in the comic about castration! That bulls are out of favour because too expensive to get contentials bulls finished under 16mths without a lot of labour intensive grass management, meal and €€€€.

Also the article on showing the correct injection site locations.... a fine big CH bullock!

Feck all mention of Italy this or that now!!!!!

Your right.... who could have predicted it!! (me:D)

Wasn't there a lot of those good weanlings on that boat out of waterford lately because the Italians didn't have the money to pay for them

leg wax

rancher wrote: »

Wasn't there a lot of those good weanlings on that boat out of waterford lately because the Italians didn't have the money to pay for them

ah NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO:rolleyes:

johnpawl

Weighed a few 11 month part bulls yesterday, 530, 528, 510 and 480 kgs, what kind of money would they make in the mart I wonder?U and R grade.
Or would I be as well to finish them myself at this stage?

blue5000

Don't know what they'd make in the mart. Could you take them in and find out? If you are not happy sure they are well on target for finishing over the summer.

moy83

johnpawl wrote: »

Weighed a few 11 month part bulls yesterday, 530, 528, 510 and 480 kgs, what kind of money would they make in the mart I wonder?U and R grade.
Or would I be as well to finish them myself at this stage?

Thats super weight ,are they getting much nuts ?

johnpawl

I've no box and I'd have to take a day off work so it's hassle for me to bring them to the mart. They're on 6 kg a day of beef nuts and off aaxbrfr cows.

just do it

johnpawl wrote: »

I've no box and I'd have to take a day off work so it's hassle for me to bring them to the mart. They're on 6 kg a day of beef nuts and off aaxbrfr cows.

Impressive weights there John. Are they far off finishing do you think?. What about getting a factory agent out to have a look at them?

johnpawl

just do it wrote: »

Impressive weights there John. Are they far off finishing do you think?. What about getting a factory agent out to have a look at them?

I haven't a clue about finishing cattle tbh, never did it. What weight would they have to be to send them to the factory? Would I let them out on good grass and keep feeding the nuts or would I keep them in the shed? Might get someone in to look at them for me alright.

just do it

johnpawl wrote: »

I haven't a clue about finishing cattle tbh, never did it. What weight would they have to be to send them to the factory? Would I let them out on good grass and keep feeding the nuts or would I keep them in the shed? Might get someone in to look at them for me alright.

Same boat here, I've never finished so not in a position to advise. Others on here will probably be along to help out

Muckit

moy83 wrote: »

Thats super weight ,are they getting much nuts ?

around these parts we don't use the phrase 'ad lib', we say that he's 'lorryin' it in to them!'

Farmer Pudsey

johnpawl wrote: »

Weighed a few 11 month part bulls yesterday, 530, 528, 510 and 480 kgs, what kind of money would they make in the mart I wonder?U and R grade.
Or would I be as well to finish them myself at this stage?

Is there a good cover of flesh on them I would imagine that there would be. Maybe there is someone near you that could advise you. Get the number of a good agent that will give you advice. Are you board bia QA they would give you the gris if you were.

Are they on the ration 6Kgs long and how much before that. These type of bulls kill 60% ish. I imagine that even at present that the 3 heavist would average above 300kgsDW. If they are fat grade 2= they would come into 1250-1300 euro. Now I am going on the type of bull and for there age they must be fairly hot. Factory price for these type of bulls will climb fast over the next month-6 weeks. 4.5/kgs looks like an attainable price in that timeframe for this type of animal.

Look you have averaged nearly 1.4/kgs per day so far they will be starting to slow down. How much is your ration costing and how much ration are the eating. These bulls off do not get there value in the mart. I imagine that they are putting on nearly a kg of flesh every day. So it is unlikly that you are losing money feeding them.

If in 6 weeks time the killout 340 kgs at 4.5.kg this comes into nearly 1500 euro I imagine that it will cost about 130 euro to get them to that maybe a bit less. They may kill a bit more or less so take this with a health warning.

johnpawl

Farmer Pudsey wrote: »

Is there a good cover of flesh on them I would imagine that there would be. Maybe there is someone near you that could advise you. Get the number of a good agent that will give you advice. Are you board bia QA they would give you the gris if you were.

Are they on the ration 6Kgs long and how much before that. These type of bulls kill 60% ish. I imagine that even at present that the 3 heavist would average above 300kgsDW. If they are fat grade 2= they would come into 1250-1300 euro. Now I am going on the type of bull and for there age they must be fairly hot. Factory price for these type of bulls will climb fast over the next month-6 weeks. 4.5/kgs looks like an attainable price in that timeframe for this type of animal.

Look you have averaged nearly 1.4/kgs per day so far they will be starting to slow down. How much is your ration costing and how much ration are the eating. These bulls off do not get there value in the mart. I imagine that they are putting on nearly a kg of flesh every day. So it is unlikly that you are losing money feeding them.

If in 6 weeks time the killout 340 kgs at 4.5.kg this comes into nearly 1500 euro I imagine that it will cost about 130 euro to get them to that maybe a bit less. They may kill a bit more or less so take this with a health warning.

Thanks for the reply.
They're on 6kg since mid jan, 4kg from Dec on and 2 kg when they went in. They're costing me e1.96 a day each on beef nuts, that's buying by the bag but I'd go to the mill if finishing (8.20 per bag of beef nuts is what I'm paying).
If I decided to finish them, how wouldI approach it? How mang kgs. Should I feed straw instead of silage? What live weight should I let them off at? That's a pic of one there
http://imageshack.us/a/img15/3526/photomar10175649.jpg

Farmer Pudsey

johnpawl wrote: »

Thanks for the reply.
They're on 6kg since mid jan, 4kg from Dec on and 2 kg when they went in. They're costing me e1.96 a day each on beef nuts, that's buying by the bag but I'd go to the mill if finishing (8.20 per bag of beef nuts is what I'm paying).
If I decided to finish them, how wouldI approach it? How mang kgs. Should I feed straw instead of silage? What live weight should I let them off at? That's a pic of one there
http://imageshack.us/a/img15/3526/photomar10175649.jpg

That bull looks like he has a good level of finish on him. Forget about live weight or dead weight, how long are you willing to feed them for. The other factor is that these cattle are in since at least November so will be becoming stale ( not reacting to feed ) at some stage soon. I would increase the nuts slowly to about 8 kgs/day and leave it at that with silage. Allow them access to straw what ever amount they will eat. Keep silage fresh in front of them.

Beyond 8kgs/day you have to be carefull anything can go wrong acidosis would be the main worry. I watch for the price and sell them flat to avoid some smart aleck of an agent boning you on fatscore. However that lad looks about 2= at present.

mf240

Maize meal is good value at present(relatively speaking) if you could collect a load of it and feed it with the nuts for the last few weeks it is great to put a cover of fat on bulls, maize is kind to the rumen at high meal levels.

Farmer Pudsey

mf240 wrote: »

Maize meal is good value at present(relatively speaking) if you could collect a load of it and feed it with the nuts for the last few weeks it is great to put a cover of fat on bulls, maize is kind to the rumen at high meal levels.

Would not disagree with that especially if you bull nut is above 14% protein. 2kgs with the nuts unless there is a lot of maize in the nuts (1st or 2nd ingredient on the list) .

PS remember to let us know how they get on

johnpawl

Farmer Pudsey wrote: »

Would not disagree with that especially if you bull nut is above 14% protein. 2kgs with the nuts unless there is a lot of maize in the nuts (1st or 2nd ingredient on the list) .

PS remember to let us know how they get on

I will and thanks for the advice. One last thing, how long would you keep them if it was yourself?

Farmer Pudsey

johnpawl wrote: »

I will and thanks for the advice. One last thing, how long would you keep them if it was yourself?

The longest would be the end of May but if you get a substancial price increase in the next few weeks 25+cent/kg I be temped to let the heaviest go. Also you will be dictated to by how long it is before they become stale ( slowing down there intake) but by the sounds of the way you have fed them there is no fear of that for 6ish weeks maybe even late May. By the looks of it they are puting on more flesh than it costs to feed them so I would not worry. If you get to mid May I be looking to move them then anyway.

Muckit

John Shirley has an interesting article in the Indo today..

Suckler farmers look away now

pakalasa

Muckit wrote: »

John Shirley has an interesting article in the Indo today..

Suckler farmers look away now

Go on. Give us the gist of it! Save me going to the shop on the way home.:mad:

moy83

pakalasa wrote: »

Go on. Give us the gist of it! Save me going to the shop on the way home.:mad:

Factory your cows , buy fr bull calves and double your margin

freedominacup

moy83 wrote: »

Factory your cows , buy fr bull calves and double your margin

Who'd want fr bull calves at €70/head they're only value@ closer to€200 and every f**ker fighting each other to bid on them:rolleyes:

moy83

freedominacup wrote: »

Who'd want fr bull calves at €70/head they're only value@ closer to€200 and every f**ker fighting each other to bid on them:rolleyes:

Shirley will drive the price of the fr calves up another few bob for the dairy boys , ye are pulling it in every side freedom

reilig

Muckit wrote: »

John Shirley has an interesting article in the Indo today..

Suckler farmers look away now

I think it's a great article. Probably one of the most sensible articles in agricultural journalism press in this country ever. You may recall that several months ago I was slated on here when I wrote that farmers who were selling weinlings at below the cost of production should be encouraged to take this route.

It's common sense. Some suckler farmers are selling weinlings at less than it cost to keep the suckler cow for the year. If these guys were clearly able to see that they are spending large proportions of their SFP on rearing weinlings and feeding suckler cows, then a low cost system like this where they don't need to keep a suckler for 12 months to produce 1 calf is a no brainer. It's easier to see where money is being spent in a system like this and (fingers crossed) these guys might be able to produce cattle that aren't costing them their SFP. It would take the glut out of the system. It would mean that finishers wouldn't be able to buy cattle that were produced using some if not all of the producer's SFP.

I don't see the article as saying that suckler farming has no future. I think that there will always be some money to be made from producing quality sucklers at some sort of a profit, but if those that are currently producing weinlings and selling them at below the cost of production are taken out of the system and enter into a less costly system, then those that remain in the suckler system may be able to command higher prices for quality animals which reflect the cost of production and the need to make some profit in such a system.

rancher

reilig wrote: »

I think it's a great article. Probably one of the most sensible articles in agricultural journalism press in this country ever. You may recall that several months ago I was slated on here when I wrote that farmers who were selling weinlings at below the cost of production should be encouraged to take this route.

It's common sense. Some suckler farmers are selling weinlings at less than it cost to keep the suckler cow for the year. If these guys were clearly able to see that they are spending large proportions of their SFP on rearing weinlings and feeding suckler cows, then a low cost system like this where they don't need to keep a suckler for 12 months to produce 1 calf is a no brainer. It's easier to see where money is being spent in a system like this and (fingers crossed) these guys might be able to produce cattle that aren't costing them their SFP. It would take the glut out of the system. It would mean that finishers wouldn't be able to buy cattle that were produced using some if not all of the producer's SFP.

I don't see the article as saying that suckler farming has no future. I think that there will always be some money to be made from producing quality sucklers at some sort of a profit, but if those that are currently producing weinlings and selling them at below the cost of production are taken out of the system and enter into a less costly system, then those that remain in the suckler system may be able to command higher prices for quality animals which reflect the cost of production and the need to make some profit in such a system.

Dawn meats did some trials on dairy bull calves, never saw any results, does any one know how they went, calves wouldn't need to be any dearer than they are now

Muckit

reilig wrote: »

I think it's a great article. Probably one of the most sensible articles in agricultural journalism press in this country ever.

I find John Shirley a journalist that talks a lot of sense.

They were very impressive figures, figures that could be no way matched by even the most efficient suckler farmers on the best of land. My understanding from the article and accompanying photos, was that these were pure FR dairy animals the farmer was rearing. Can you imagine if they had a bit of beef genetics in them?

Perhaps post 2015 the dept of Ag or the EU might consider giving a small subsidy to dairy lads for every live calf they produce using selected beef straws.

blue5000

Can anyone post a link to indo?

reilig

Muckit wrote: »

I find John Shirley a journalist that talks a lot of sense.

They were very impressive figures, figures that could be no way matched by even the most efficient suckler farmers on the best of land. My understanding from the article and accompanying photos, was that these were pure FR dairy animals the farmer was rearing. Can you imagine if they had a bit of beef genetics in them?

Perhaps post 2015 the dept of Ag or the EU might consider giving a small subsidy to dairy lads for every live calf they produce using selected beef straws.

No doubt it was on some of the best land in the country with 10 week winters, calves knee deep in grass for 9 months of the year etc. ?

I suppose don't knock it till you try it.
Would it suit many part-timers to have to mix up milk morning and evening?
It kinda brings you back to work load of the dairy farmer - twice a day for several months of the year. The day of going away with the wife and kids for a night would be lost. At least with a suckler you only have to be around when she's calving - which is quite often at night!