Keeping bullocks beyong 30 months.

restive

Is it worth keeping bullocks (non friesian) beyond 30 months. I have a bullock LMX on 3kg meal plus silage since before XMas. He is lean. Guestimate of killout about 360 kg. I tend to shop in the bargain basement when it comes to cattle. Bought him 18 months ago as a yearling of a local farmer. So he is not a top of the line bullock.

I said

What does it matter then it all depends on when ya want to sell last yr factories severely penalised overage cattle now that cattle are scarce they dont care as much about overage cattle and aren't cutting as much of the base price

restive

But is their actual additional profit to be got from feeding these type cattle beyond 30 months.

tanko

restive wrote: »

But is their actual additional profit to be got from feeding these type cattle beyond 30 months.

Probably not, surely you would have been better off finishing him under 30 months and getting the best possible price per kilo.
3kg per day doesn't seem like a lot to be giving him, I'd imagine he'd eat at least twice that.

restive

He is 30 months on 10th may. Does it pay to feed such cattle 6kg a day?

Markcheese

Would he fatten much more on grass over the summer ? But you are locking up your return till autumn , and who knows what prices and penalties will be then - also depends how good your grass is! And what he'd be replaced with -

restive

Replacing him now will not be cheap. However he does not have a huge frame so i will probally let him go. I was going to leave buying in replacements till later in the year given the current madness.

Muckit

If this 30mth ceiling was done away with it would solve a lot of problems. 36mths is more realistic if you've an animal with a good frame that can carry weight. Hard to put grease on cattle at a young age. And I'd be with restive. I wouldn't be feeding more than 3kg a day to cattle at grass. If I was getting it off a meal tree I would, but I haven't come across one of them yet!

If most lads tried killing cattle at 20mths like the IFJ spouts on about, they'd be a pauper in no time.

I said

When is he thirty months summer grass won't harm him if he is hitting 30 months now

restive

30 months on 10th of May.

Farmer Pudsey

If grass is not an issue I would not worry about age. He must have a fair bit of a frame if at 360kgs he is still lean. If he is only FS 2+ or 3- I be holding him. On 3kgs and grass he will costs 1.1/day if I was feeding him and that is costing grass at 50c/day.

I am assuming if he is a poorer quality bullock he is only grading O+ at present if you feed him until Mid June he should feed into an R- so that is half the QA. Factory prices will rise from now to the end of May at least. Then it will be a numbers game to see if the processors can pull or we can keep the squeeze on and keep the price up there.

He should put on over 1kg/day on 3kgs of barley and soya hulls or barley alone and grass. 60%+ should be flesh so at a price of 4/kg he is making you 1.3/day. If he gains 1.2/ day LW and assuming a base of 4.4/kg the 10th of June on weight alone costing the barley but not the grass he be leaving 80 euro over costs. The QA on hin is about 45 euro. If he grades a grade higher on the scale ( however not from R- to R=) it worth 25 euro.

Killing 10th May base 4.25 O+ bullock @360kgs DW gross 1530
Killing 10th June base 4.40 R- Bullock @385kgs DW gross 1694

Killing 10th October base 4.2 R= bullock 465 DW gross 1950
base 4/kg R= bullock 465 DW gross 1860
dase 4.4/kg R= bullock 465 DW gross 2046

I do not think I be killing him in May to to collect 30 month QA

Bodacious

Farmer Pudsey wrote: »

If grass is not an issue I would not worry about age. He must have a fair bit of a frame if at 360kgs he is still lean. If he is only FS 2+ or 3- I be holding him. On 3kgs and grass he will costs 1.1/day if I was feeding him and that is costing grass at 50c/day.

I am assuming if he is a poorer quality bullock he is only grading O+ at present if you feed him until Mid June he should feed into an R- so that is half the QA. Factory prices will rise from now to the end of May at least. Then it will be a numbers game to see if the processors can pull or we can keep the squeeze on and keep the price up there.

He should put on over 1kg/day on 3kgs of barley and soya hulls or barley alone and grass. 60%+ should be flesh so at a price of 4/kg he is making you 1.3/day. If he gains 1.2/ day LW and assuming a base of 4.4/kg the 10th of June on weight alone costing the barley but not the grass he be leaving 80 euro over costs. The QA on hin is about 45 euro. If he grades a grade higher on the scale ( however not from R- to R=) it worth 25 euro.

Killing 10th May base 4.25 O+ bullock @360kgs DW gross 1530
Killing 10th June base 4.40 R- Bullock @385kgs DW gross 1694

Killing 10th October base 4.2 R= bullock 465 DW gross 1950
base 4/kg R= bullock 465 DW gross 1860
dase 4.4/kg R= bullock 465 DW gross 2046

I do not think I be killing him in May to to collect 30 month QA

Good man Pudsey ... I always enjoy reading your detailed and informative posts on finishing animals

Farmer Pudsey

Bodacious wrote: »

Good man Pudsey ... I always enjoy reading your detailed and informative posts on finishing animals

I am only guessing, it is easy to hit a calculator you just need to make some assumptions. Cannot see base being below 4/kg much this year unless there are outside factors at work. If he was killed at FS2+ in May unlikely you would make half the QA back when he gets to FS3. finishing is a small margin game if prices are this strong at the end of the year there will be no buying of stores. Outlook is good for next 12-18 months after that we could be screwed by all the calves kept this year.

larrymiller

Farmer Pudsey wrote: »

If grass is not an issue I would not worry about age. He must have a fair bit of a frame if at 360kgs he is still lean. If he is only FS 2+ or 3- I be holding him. On 3kgs and grass he will costs 1.1/day if I was feeding him and that is costing grass at 50c/day.

I am assuming if he is a poorer quality bullock he is only grading O+ at present if you feed him until Mid June he should feed into an R- so that is half the QA. Factory prices will rise from now to the end of May at least. Then it will be a numbers game to see if the processors can pull or we can keep the squeeze on and keep the price up there.

He should put on over 1kg/day on 3kgs of barley and soya hulls or barley alone and grass. 60%+ should be flesh so at a price of 4/kg he is making you 1.3/day. If he gains 1.2/ day LW and assuming a base of 4.4/kg the 10th of June on weight alone costing the barley but not the grass he be leaving 80 euro over costs. The QA on hin is about 45 euro. If he grades a grade higher on the scale ( however not from R- to R=) it worth 25 euro.

Killing 10th May base 4.25 O+ bullock @360kgs DW gross 1530
Killing 10th June base 4.40 R- Bullock @385kgs DW gross 1694

Killing 10th October base 4.2 R= bullock 465 DW gross 1950
base 4/kg R= bullock 465 DW gross 1860
dase 4.4/kg R= bullock 465 DW gross 2046

I do not think I be killing him in May to to collect 30 month QA

Is that your guess at base prices over the year?

CloughCasey1

Bodacious wrote: »

Good man Pudsey ... I always enjoy reading your detailed and informative posts on finishing animals

+1

farm14

restive wrote: »

Is it worth keeping bullocks (non friesian) beyond 30 months. I have a bullock LMX on 3kg meal plus silage since before XMas. He is lean. Guestimate of killout about 360 kg. I tend to shop in the bargain basement when it comes to cattle. Bought him 18 months ago as a yearling of a local farmer. So he is not a top of the line bullock.

No. finishing cattle at a younger age is the way to go. they will eat alot of stuff holding that length. push them on all the time feed them right. as much as they would eat a bullock will ate every bit of it & more... what is the dmd% of your silage like? i would inclined to let him out to grass & continue with the 3kg. if silage is of low dmd 3kg is not worth a f**k to him.

Farmer Pudsey

larrymiller wrote: »

Is that your guess at base prices over the year?

I think prices will climb from now to early/mid June. Supply will dictate prices. Supply is still strong, stronger than I taught it would be. We have killed 8K less than last year over all but supply only tightened over last 4-6 weeks.

There was a lot of young cattle killed last autumn. Hard to know when shortage will impact. If supply continues to contract then prices will rise. As prices rise farmers are more inclined to hold this further strenghten prices.

I cannot see prices falling below 4/kg unless farmers start to hold back cattle and there is a glut at the end of the year. At present steer base id 4.2/kg hard not to see a rise for early may and the same for June. However it will be supply that dictates price.

I said

Well did ya sent that bullock to the factory?

restive

In the end i killed him under 30 months. It had nothing to do with his age and everything to do with the weather. Grass growth was poor in may and I was well stocked. He killed out at 371kg, so i was reasonably happy. I was three weeks behind with my first cut of silage.