travelling for cattle

simx

would i be right in saying people are travelling further for cattle than they did years ago? i know of a couple of lads locally that go over 100miles for weanlings some would go nearer to 200miles and they say it pays to travel because of the value,ive often thought of going to but never bothered,anyone on here travel resonable distances to buy cattle? how do you find value?

pakalasa

It's a regular thing in Ennis Mart with guys coming a long distance to buy. I think this is what causes marts to go dear at times, with lads buying away trying to fill lorries.

simx

pakalasa wrote: »

It's a regular thing in Ennis Mart with guys coming a long distance to buy. I think this is what causes marts to go dear at times, with lads buying away trying to fill lorries.

from reading mart reports from ennis mart it seems an expensive place to buy,although you cant go buy mart reports without seeing the cattle

bob charles

simx wrote: »

from reading mart reports from ennis mart it seems an expensive place to buy,although you cant go buy mart reports without seeing the cattle

the expensive can be expensive but the cheap can also be cheap, dont often hear of the cheap cattle from the mart report. Around 80 miles away is our furthest mart we buy at.

snowman707

simx wrote: »

from reading mart reports from ennis mart it seems an expensive place to buy,although you cant go buy mart reports without seeing the cattle

from what I've seen reports from ennis are not the general run of prices, usually the top 20% are listed

I know many buyers go there as they are sure of a good selection with the possibility of getting a decent number in one go, as opposed to going to number of smaller sales to get the same amount ...

simx

bob charles wrote: »

the expensive can be expensive but the cheap can also be cheap, dont often hear of the cheap cattle from the mart report. Around 80 miles away is our furthest mart we buy at.

i was actually going to say that,id imagine ennis would be a fairly good quality mart,would i be right in saying plain cattle could be picked up there cheap,does it pay to travel 80 miles bob? is it for value or quality you travel for? do you go with jeep and box or do you have lorry?

bob charles

simx wrote: »

i was actually going to say that,id imagine ennis would be a fairly good quality mart,would i be right in saying plain cattle could be picked up there cheap,does it pay to travel 80 miles bob? is it for value or quality you travel for? do you go with jeep and box or do you have lorry?

usually travel further due to quality of animals and just a good mart to do business. Ennis can be crazy for the top cattle be that anything from the fancy weanling to the serious cull cow. some of the prices just dont stack up for the buyer:rolleyes:, but like anything the plainer lads can struggle. Personally I hate a mart with a large selection of animals. Animals under too much stress and waiting around to be sold, taking forever to get animals out and loaded after the sale and a much higher disease risk.

simx

bob charles wrote: »

usually travel further due to quality of animals and just a good mart to do business. Ennis can be crazy for the top cattle be that anything from the fancy weanling to the serious cull cow. some of the prices just dont stack up for the buyer:rolleyes:, but like anything the plainer lads can struggle. Personally I hate a mart with a large selection of animals. Animals under too much stress and waiting around to be sold, taking forever to get animals out and loaded after the sale and a much higher disease risk.

do you travel with box or a larger vehicle? have you ever been to castleisland bob? im quite interesed in hearing feedback from there as its suppose to be a good place for weanlings

bob charles

simx wrote: »

do you travel with box or a larger vehicle? have you ever been to castleisland bob? im quite interesed in hearing feedback from there as its suppose to be a good place for weanlings

jeep and trailer and hire someone if buy more than a dozen depending on the mart. Dont buy cattle in the main mart in Castleisland. Personal preference;)

whelan1

went to mountrath to buy 10 cows earlier in year- would be over 100 miles and bought a bull in monasterevin, also around 100 miles away. Brought husbands lorry and gota lend of a trailer to get cows and went in jeep and trailer for the bull

kevthegaff

jes lads i wouldnt travel more than 20 miles, but theres quite a few around here and im a dairyman:), cant stand the places especially when you dont sell

bogman_bass

We only live about 15 miles from carnaross and that feels like hardship at times.
I honestly think that there are a lot of lads out there that just enjoy hardship

whelan1

bogman_bass wrote: »

We only live about 15 miles from carnaross and that feels like hardship at times.
I honestly think that there are a lot of lads out there that just enjoy hardship

you tell me where locally would sell a br/fr bull? have to travel to get one

simx

kevthegaff wrote: »

jes lads i wouldnt travel more than 20 miles, but theres quite a few around here and im a dairyman:), cant stand the places especially when you dont sell

wheres near you kevin? tipperary? killmallock? i have 3 relativly close,ones 12 mile,the other 13,the other 27miles,after that i could drive 27 miles or 36 miles to the next ones id be interested in going to

simx

bob charles wrote: »

jeep and trailer and hire someone if buy more than a dozen depending on the mart. Dont buy cattle in the main mart in Castleisland. Personal preference;)

what size box do you have? 14" is it? i have a 12ft,id imagine id fit 10 300kg animals if they went in right or would that be askin too much?

pakalasa

There are far more suckler cows in the west of the country. So how do these end up in the midlands and east without people travelling to buy them. I wonder what the price difference is for west versus east for the same type of weanling?

simx

pakalasa wrote: »

There are far more suckler cows in the west of the country. So how do these end up in the midlands and east without people travelling to buy them. I wonder what the price difference is for west versus east for the same type of weanling?

the usual people travelling for them is the dealers

reilig

simx wrote: »

what size box do you have? 14" is it? i have a 12ft,id imagine id fit 10 300kg animals if they went in right or would that be askin too much?

10x300kg = 3000kg + the weight of the box could run you over the max weight allowed. What is your jeep rated to pull? Bringing that 100 miles is a fair old tug. I have a 12 x 6 trailer and the most I bring in it is 7 or 8 of that weight.

simx

reilig wrote: »

10x300kg = 3000kg + the weight of the box could run you over the max weight allowed. What is your jeep rated to pull? Bringing that 100 miles is a fair old tug. I have a 12 x 6 trailer and the most I bring in it is 7 or 8 of that weight.

could be wrong now but i think 3500kg with a braked tralier

bob charles

All I would say is that far away fields arent always as green as you think. As a buyer I have to travel to get sufficient choice but if I was a seller I would be trying to do it as local as possible. Plenty of animals traveling a couple hundred miles for feeding.

An old once said to me something along the lines of "dont let the road get in your blood as if you do you will never come off it". Best gauge of how far I travel is I do around 70k km with the jeep and mostly trailer

reilig

simx wrote: »

could be wrong now but i think 3500kg with a braked tralier

But the weight of the trailer has to be included doesn't it?

JohnBoy

reilig wrote: »

10x300kg = 3000kg + the weight of the box could run you over the max weight allowed. What is your jeep rated to pull? Bringing that 100 miles is a fair old tug. I have a 12 x 6 trailer and the most I bring in it is 7 or 8 of that weight.

simx wrote: »

could be wrong now but i think 3500kg with a braked tralier

http://www.iwt.co.uk/products/livestock/ta510?tab=spec

to stay on the right side of the law you can only put 2235 kg into a 14 foot triaxle. (or 2145 for the wheels underneath model)

I know well lads put a lot more than that into them, and then pull em behind crew cabs and swb cruisers and the like.

bogman_bass

whelan1 wrote: »

you tell me where locally would sell a br/fr bull? have to travel to get one

its different if you want something special in breeding stock but for beef cattle traveling distances to buy or sell just doesnt make sense in my eyes

whelan1

bogman_bass wrote: »

its different if you want something special in breeding stock but for beef cattle traveling distances to buy or sell just doesnt make sense in my eyes

Just after dropping the 12 pb angus we sold to virginia. About an hours drive from home

bob charles

bogman_bass wrote: »

its different if you want something special in breeding stock but for beef cattle traveling distances to buy or sell just doesnt make sense in my eyes

€15 an animal will bring them a long journey over what you would be pay for a short journey, A €10 cheaper animal really helps in low margin business

bogman_bass

but that doesnt take into account your time that could be spent working at home

bob charles

bogman_bass wrote: »

but that doesnt take into account your time that could be spent working at home

Cant make any money at home, the animals do that. When did farmers ever take their time into account

Tipp Man

Travel from 8-25 miles in the tractor for marts, 3 marts per week in March/April and Sept/Oct/Nov

you get used to it

jerdee

whelan1 wrote: »

Just after dropping the 12 pb angus we sold to virginia. About an hours drive from home

Are they gone to lisduff !!!!!!!!!

simx

have heard of lads getting freasin bulls killed in donegal,whats the furthest away youve have animals killed?

bob charles

simx wrote: »

have heard of lads getting freasin bulls killed in donegal,whats the furthest away youve have animals killed?

cattle traveling 350km to be killed from around me, not mine as I dont think such a practice is worth it.

Kevin1150

bogman_bass wrote: »

its different if you want something special in breeding stock but for beef cattle traveling distances to buy or sell just doesnt make sense in my eyes

5hr round trip to buy beef calves is paying dividends here. As bob said, 15€ a head will cover transport and also the benefit of a greater selection.

simx

Kevin1150 wrote: »

5hr round trip to buy beef calves is paying dividends here. As bob said, 15€ a head will cover transport and also the benefit of a greater selection.

if you dont mind me asking where are you travelling to kevin?
was talking to lads from the midlands that travelled to ennis for calves

simx

pakalasa wrote: »

There are far more suckler cows in the west of the country. So how do these end up in the midlands and east without people travelling to buy them. I wonder what the price difference is for west versus east for the same type of weanling?

do you see many lads that come from midlands,east to buy around you?

jay gatsby

Some of the bigger beef men around Laois/Offaly direction certainly head down the South and West to get weanlings. A lot of dealers cattle sold in Midland marts are also from these areas so a lot of people obviously think its worth the haul.

I have heard stories about local buyers in these marts (Ennis/Castleisland are 2 I think) being quite aggressive toward OUTSIDERS. Dunno how true that is though.

pakalasa

jay gatsby wrote: »

..I have heard stories about local buyers in these marts (Ennis/Castleisland are 2 I think) being quite aggressive toward OUTSIDERS. Dunno how true that is though.

I've never seen or heard about any of that in Ennis. I suppose if you didn't know certain individuals were full of sh1te, you might be intimidated by their arm flapping and barking. I know of a few that buy in the 1,000s every year and you wouldn't even notice them buying. A lot of hot air around the ringside.

epfff

I have heard stories about local buyers in these marts (Ennis/Castleisland are 2 I think) being quite aggressive toward OUTSIDERS. Dunno how true that is though.[/QUOTE]

i traveled to those and others a few times and found myown local dealers and their buddies very agressave rother than locals
reckon it is to stop me going home talking about the value i picked up and encouraging any of their customers to go there themselves

jay gatsby

pakalasa wrote: »

I've never seen or heard about any of that in Ennis. I suppose if you didn't know certain individuals were full of sh1te, you might be intimidated by their arm flapping and barking. I know of a few that buy in the 1,000s every year and you wouldn't even notice them buying. A lot of hot air around the ringside.

You do see some amount of muppetry around the ring and like you say a lot of the very serious buyers are very discreet. I've never gone down the country to a mart so I haven't a clue but definitely a fair few lads do head down this time of year.

simx

epfff wrote: »

I have heard stories about local buyers in these marts (Ennis/Castleisland are 2 I think) being quite aggressive toward OUTSIDERS. Dunno how true that is though.

i traveled to those and others a few times and found myown local dealers and their buddies very agressave rother than locals
reckon it is to stop me going home talking about the value i picked up and encouraging any of their customers to go there themselves[/QUOTE]

and do you reckon it was worth your while?

epfff

simx wrote: »

i traveled to those and others a few times and found myown local dealers and their buddies very agressave rother than locals
reckon it is to stop me going home talking about the value i picked up and encouraging any of their customers to go there themselves

and do you reckon it was worth your while?[/Quote]
Not first trip
but they back off if you come back unfazed they eventually back off a bit
biggest problem is they are like flys tring to sell ya bunches of cattle they put together

simx

epfff wrote: »

and do you reckon it was worth your while?

Not first trip
but they back off if you come back unfazed they eventually back off a bit
biggest problem is they are like flys tring to sell ya bunches of cattle they put together[/QUOTE]


i had a simalar occuarance in a mart in the south west once,dealers didnt give me a chance,not going to put me off though

simx

simx wrote: »

Not first trip
but they back off if you come back unfazed they eventually back off a bit
biggest problem is they are like flys tring to sell ya bunches of cattle they put together

i had a simalar occuarance in a mart in the south west once,dealers didnt give me a chance,not going to put me off though[/QUOTE]


some lads are as ignorent,was in a local mart on saturday and was bidding on a couple weanling heifers,was a dealer bidding on a few and was non stop staring, ya would swear he owns the place,just pretended didnt notice and bidded to what i thought they were worth

Kevin1150

simx wrote: »

i had a simalar occuarance in a mart in the south west once,dealers didnt give me a chance,not going to put me off though

some lads are as ignorent,was in a local mart on saturday and was bidding on a couple weanling heifers,was a dealer bidding on a few and was non stop staring, ya would swear he owns the place,just pretended didnt notice and bidded to what i thought they were worth[/QUOTE]

haha yeah I see that as well. hate lads/dealers claiming cattle before they come in the ring and trying to stop everyone around them. One lad in particular polled me into 950+ for a calf I knew he had no interest in. He got left with it at a "good" price!

bob charles

Kevin1150 wrote: »

haha yeah I see that as well. hate lads/dealers claiming cattle before they come in the ring and trying to stop everyone around them. One lad in particular polled me into 950+ for a calf I knew he had no interest in. He got left with it at a "good" price!

im sorry but i dont understand why someone is bidding something up to a price they consider uneconomic unless they know otherwise. I think he was just able to pay more for the animal than you, end off.

pakalasa

I'd agree with Bob on this. No offence, but I think a lot of the intimidation is imagined. Most dealers and experienced farmers know the value of every animal that comes into the ring. Now, they may be puffing them for a mate, but the only way to deal with this is know your limit and just drop out.
Say there are on average 5 bidders per animal, then on average you can expect to only get 1 out of 5 animals you bid on. Same for exeryone else. You need lots of patience to get good value.

nashmach

simx wrote: »

some lads are as ignorent,was in a local mart on saturday and was bidding on a couple weanling heifers,was a dealer bidding on a few and was non stop staring, ya would swear he owns the place,just pretended didnt notice and bidded to what i thought they were worth

See that here at times too but why should it bother you - you know your price and that is it - your business, not theirs.

When bidding my focus is only on two places, the auctioneer and the information board.;)

Kevin1150

bob charles wrote: »

im sorry but i dont understand why someone is bidding something up to a price they consider uneconomic unless they know otherwise. I think he was just able to pay more for the animal than you, end off.

First off, he only took into bidding for the calf when he seen me at him..not unusual ok...then stares across continously and waves hand frantically as calf goes up in price..then calf goes over perceived market value..he ends up with a dear calf in my view. This happened for a few similar calves in close sucession. He has never expressed the same interest in that type of animal when i see him bidding! Lads can try intimidation tactics when someone different bidding as I think was the case. Maybe he can afford to give more for the calf especially if he's paying with someone elses chequebook, fair enough. But not imagined imv

Figerty

I saw in it Ennis atwo years ago. A guy down from Donegal was getting stick from the 'boys' around the ring, in fairness to him he just bid on what he wanted and won some and lost some.
To answers Bobs question... it's a bit of auction fever!
I had to ask what was going on and I was told the regular buyers didn't like competition but there was no fear of the Donegal lad as he knew how to deal with them.... I got great prices for weanlings that day!

bob charles

Figerty wrote: »

I saw in it Ennis atwo years ago. A guy down from Donegal was getting stick from the 'boys' around the ring, in fairness to him he just bid on what he wanted and won some and lost some.
To answers Bobs question... it's a bit of auction fever!
I had to ask what was going on and I was told the regular buyers didn't like competition but there was no fear of the Donegal lad as he knew how to deal with them.... I got great prices for weanlings that day!

Yes but all wasnt fair in the bidding as that Donegal man left a serious dog lying after him. Its very hard to buy cattle against a guy who isnt going to pay for some percentage at the end. No wonder marts loose good paying customers when this sort of ****e is happening.

richie123

bogman_bass wrote: »

We only live about 15 miles from carnaross and that feels like hardship at times.
I honestly think that there are a lot of lads out there that just enjoy hardship

god you hit the nail on the head as regards this dicussion!!!

tkehoe

was very interested in this thread and got me thinking so last week i worked it that id have tuesday off work as i usually have monday off and tipped on down to fermoy to see are they any cheaper,wasnt in local mart in a while now,(from kk/border) thought they were slighlt cheaper but i dont know were they bargains maybe im far off the mark since last time i was in mart around home, few familiar faces there alright one i have seen him in kk anytime i was there hes a fairly big dealer from what i gather,must be worth his while to go? maybe he only needs small margin on each animal?lads from south do ye see many non local faces/dealers from midlands in your local mart? how could there be that much difference in such a small country?