What suckler system is making money

cacs

Just wondering what suckler system is making money. The way I see it you need to have large numbers of cows or get €1500 to €2000 per head at the time of sale or slaughter. Who is making money, the country seems to be over run with pure breads.

blue5000

Not making a pile of money, but it's swings and roundabouts, if you have big continental cows the costs will be higher and the cattle sales especially weanlings will be good. I have smallish handy aa x cows, costs are lower but to get the most out of them I take cattle to beef. If I was selling weanlings I'd be at nothing.

cacs

Thanks for that we have good strong cows mainly limxsim. They have good calfs we typically sell them at 18 months as we haven't enough housing or silage to keep them a second year. Prices are good ish we usually get them up to 550 kg for the bullocks and about 450 for the heifers but the costs to get them that far are high and there is not a whole lot left. Was thinking of cross blues with the cows to breed export calfs. But I font know if I want the hassle or the the time to deal with the diffficult calfings

tanko

blue5000 wrote: »

Not making a pile of money, but it's swings and roundabouts, if you have big continental cows the costs will be higher and the cattle sales especially weanlings will be good. I have smallish handy aa x cows, costs are lower but to get the most out of them I take cattle to beef. If I was selling weanlings I'd be at nothing.

Can you say what weights and ages you finish them at?

blue5000

This yr kept all the heifers for breeding due to tb, I graze the spring born bulls for 2nd summer and finish at 22-23 months approx average 380kg dw, U and R grades, had one O this yr out of 20.

I reckon I'll probably change to 16 mth finishing for the bulls and maybe once calved 36 months for the terminal sired heifers, but that's after I get the tb sorted. Shed space is tight, using kale for weanlings. 16mth bulls is a very tight margin, and I might be better off selling forward stores say, 500kg in the mart. Looks like there'll be a lot of O grade cheap beef from the dairy herd in a couple of years.

tanko

blue5000 wrote: »

This yr kept all the heifers for breeding due to tb, I graze the spring born bulls for 2nd summer and finish at 22-23 months approx average 380kg dw, U and R grades, had one O this yr out of 20.

I reckon I'll probably change to 16 mth finishing for the bulls and maybe once calved 36 months for the terminal sired heifers, but that's after I get the tb sorted. Shed space is tight, using kale for weanlings. 16mth bulls is a very tight margin, and I might be better off selling forward stores say, 500kg in the mart. Looks like there'll be a lot of O grade cheap beef from the dairy herd in a couple of years.

Thanks for that, are you able to get any kind of Angus bonus or do you need to kill a minimum of 50 cattle a year for that?

blue5000

No, not on bulls over 16mths, cull cows I think I get a couple of cents, maybe 5c/kg with Dawn. Only had 3 aa bulls this spring so not worth the hassle. AFAIK if you breed the cattle yourself you don't need 50/yr.

keep going

Only one system of suckling throw decent returns is double suckling fr cows, you get 6 calves reared off them in a year and money back in the kitty in 12 months

AP2014

blue5000 wrote: »

Not making a pile of money, but it's swings and roundabouts, if you have big continental cows the costs will be higher and the cattle sales especially weanlings will be good. I have smallish handy aa x cows, costs are lower but to get the most out of them I take cattle to beef. If I was selling weanlings I'd be at nothing.

Would a lad with big continental cows producing good weanlings clear 25k a year with 30 cows?

tomieen jones

blue5000 wrote: »

No, not on bulls over 16mths, cull cows I think I get a couple of cents, maybe 5c/kg with Dawn. Only had 3 aa bulls this spring so not worth the hassle. AFAIK if you breed the cattle yourself you don't need 50/yr.

is twenty for home producer and 50 for a finisher

Count Mondego

AP2014 wrote: »

Would a lad with big continental cows producing good weanlings clear 25k a year with 30 cows?

25k in costs anyway!

Count Mondego

Suckler to beef here and it leaves a bit. Finish the bullocks to 420 - 450 dw with just grass and around 2kg nuts for last six weeks for the lighter ones. Heifers 350 - 400 with same. All Rs and Us own bred and the odd R and O of bought in calves.

farawaygrass

Count Mondego wrote: »

Suckler to beef here and it leaves a bit. Finish the bullocks to 420 - 450 dw with just grass and around 2kg nuts for last six weeks for the lighter ones. Heifers 350 - 400 with same. All Rs and Us own bred and the odd R and O of bought in calves.

What age would they be at killing count?

AP2014

Count Mondego wrote: »

25k in costs anyway!

Would ya hit 20k profit on 30 cows? Producing good weanlings, taking away a few loses maybe and replacement cows.

Then ya would have sfp, das, glas and maybe new suckler scheme to top up income.

20k too optimistic?

C0N0R

AP2014 wrote: »

Would ya hit 20k profit on 30 cows? Producing good weanlings, taking away a few loses maybe and replacement cows.

Then ya would have sfp, das, glas and maybe new suckler scheme to top up income.

20k too optimistic?

Doesn't it cost something like €600 a year to keep a suckler cow? To achieve your 20k profit you would need to sell 30 weanlings for €38000 so your looking at weanlings making over €1300.

To clarify I know sfa about this it's just figures I've heard.

AP2014

C0N0R wrote: »

Doesn't it cost something like €600 a year to keep a suckler cow? To achieve your 20k profit you would need to sell 30 weanlings for €38000 so your looking at weanlings making over €1300.

To clarify I know sfa about this it's just figures I've heard.

Feck that, was looking more at €900 - €1000 for weanling sales.

onyerbikepat

You would be doing very well to leave a margin of €300 over variable costs. As for fixed costs, you're not allowed mention them. They don't exist ok. Like CAP payments to Coolmore, nepotism in the civil service, under the counter payments to GAA managers.
Nobody saw nothing ok, Johny Tight Lips and all that.

Count Mondego

farawaygrass wrote: »

What age would they be at killing count?

30 months.

Count Mondego

AP2014 wrote: »

Feck that, was looking more at €900 - €1000 for weanling sales.

Problem with weanling is that you might have a few good ones that hit that, but the average won't. Can't comment in the profit from weanling sales as I've never done it. The cost of a cow over a year varies greatly from framer to farmer.

I know a lad at it part-time and he spends absolutely nothing, never vaccinates, hires in a bull etc. His cost per cow is nowhere near 600 quid.

_Brian

Count Mondego wrote: »

Problem with weanling is that you might have a few good ones that hit that, but the average won't. Can't comment in the profit from weanling sales as I've never done it. The cost of a cow over a year varies greatly from framer to farmer.

I know a lad at it part-time and he spends absolutely nothing, never vaccinates, hires in a bull etc. His cost per cow is nowhere near 600 quid.

The problem with that system is he's storing up expence for future years..

Probabll spending nothing on land maintenance, poor dosing regeim, no vaccinations, probably never services machinery, no buildings maintenance, little fencing done etc

Cutting all these out will definitly drop the cost per cow down well, it will allow a fella sell weanlings for maybe €700 and have €200 for his pocket..

But his farm is going to pot.. Machinery depreciation will be high, sheds will be falling down, fencing will ALL need attention at some stage rather than a bit every year, land will become fallow through neglect..

So after maybe 8-10 years of his "no spend" system the farm is unproductive and even at low stocking rates it isnt fit to be worked..

Machinery will need replacing sooner, and with less/no trade in value in existing machinery..

And, my bet would be that mortality/fertility rates on such farms is a bigger problem than it should, another hidden cost.

Miname

I've been mulling over this for a while and reckon you'd need around seventy good cows and run a very tight show and allowing in subs of around 12000 just to turn 35000 a year on a weanling system.

AP2014

Miname wrote: »

I've been mulling over this for a while and reckon you'd need around seventy good cows and run a very tight show and allowing in subs of around 12000 just to turn 35000 a year on a weanling system.

35k including sfp and the likes? For boosting your balls day and night calving cows. You'd turn over more in mcdonalds doing shift work.

blue5000

AP2014 wrote: »

35k including sfp and the likes? For boosting your balls day and night calving cows. You'd turn over more in mcdonalds doing shift work.

I don't anyway, bought a pr of calving ropes last spring and never opened them. Assisted 1 heifer with bb breeding last year. Hard calving costs in a lot of ways; mortality, fertility, dopey calves etc.

Miname

AP2014 wrote: »

35k including sfp and the likes? For boosting your balls day and night calving cows. You'd turn over more in mcdonalds doing shift work.

I wouldn't enjoy working in McDonald's.

onyerbikepat

Miname wrote: »

I wouldn't enjoy working in McDonald's.

I suppose you'd be better off at the start of the production line rather than the end.:D

AP2014

Miname wrote: »

I wouldn't enjoy working in McDonald's.

Thanks true hard work, so is up all night with cows calving and your hand up their hole. Guess if ya can get the calving period short it mightn't be too bad.

For the figures you are quoting for 70 sucklers would ever think of switching to dry stock? Surely wouldn't be much of a finance difference and easier work load.

Sam Kade

AP2014 wrote: »

35k including sfp and the likes? For boosting your balls day and night calving cows. You'd turn over more in mcdonalds doing shift work.

So calving cows boosts your balls :eek: Does it make them grow bigger or just give them a general boost?

Buster100

Poobably both for some.

AP2014

Sam Kade wrote: »

So calving cows boosts your balls :eek: Does it make them grow bigger or just give them a general boost?

Huge, ya will be bulling the cows yourself sam after a year or two calving them, no need for A.I.

onyerbikepat

AP2014 wrote: »

Thanks true hard work, so is up all night with cows calving and your hand up their hole.....

That's where you're going wrong for starters. :rolleyes:

Farmer Pudsey

It is very hard to know what is the most profitable suckler system. However it is easy to pick out the loss making ones. These generally are the lads that have a weaning rate of 80% or less to cows put to the bull. The lads that carry cows/heifers to next season that have lost a calf or something happened to him.

Costs are a minefield and lands are often not able to see the wheat from the chaff. Any lad who's cows cost more than 500/year in direct costs should exit unless the calves are averaging over 1K each year on year. Know a lad that runs a suckler system where his costs are back at around 300/cow. his main failing is he keeps them as bulls to 16-18 months and then either finishes or sells, his calves are BB export type calves. Made big money on heifers the year they were over 4.5/kg. IMO he should be selling his bull calves at sub 400kgs at 2.5-3 euro/kg and if he wants to finish the heifers well and good.

Lads doing export type calves are making a bob.Lads that do traditional breed calves unless they are shrewd in general lose money on these systems. However if you were using a large framed cow LMXFR or SIXFR anf breeding to either a good AA or HE with a good weight gain/day you could average 1530 at slaughter accross bullocks and heifers if running a tight ship. Hard to see some lads that sell calves at sub 700 euro making money

50HX

AP2014 wrote: »

Would ya hit 20k profit on 30 cows? Producing good weanlings, taking away a few loses maybe and replacement cows.

Then ya would have sfp, das, glas and maybe new suckler scheme to top up income.

20k too optimistic?

From Agriland and like all things with Taeeegasc not a bad guide but to be taken with a dose of salt:D

https://www.agriland.ie/farming-news/actually-cost-keep-suckler-cow-year/

josephsoap

Farmer Pudsey wrote: »

It is very hard to know what is the most profitable suckler system. However it is easy to pick out the loss making ones. These generally are the lads that have a weaning rate of 80% or less to cows put to the bull. The lads that carry cows/heifers to next season that have lost a calf or something happened to him.

Costs are a minefield and lands are often not able to see the wheat from the chaff. Any lad who's cows cost more than 500/year in direct costs should exit unless the calves are averaging over 1K each year on year. Know a lad that runs a suckler system where his costs are back at around 300/cow. his main failing is he keeps them as bulls to 16-18 months and then either finishes or sells, his calves are BB export type calves. Made big money on heifers the year they were over 4.5/kg. IMO he should be selling his bull calves at sub 400kgs at 2.5-3 euro/kg and if he wants to finish the heifers well and good.

Lads doing export type calves are making a bob.Lads that do traditional breed calves unless they are shrewd in general lose money on these systems. However if you were using a large framed cow LMXFR or SIXFR anf breeding to either a good AA or HE with a good weight gain/day you could average 1530 at slaughter accross bullocks and heifers if running a tight ship. Hard to see some lads that sell calves at sub 700 euro making money

Pudseys, do you think if a suckler farmers loses a calf should he (a) cull the cow and replace her with an incalf heifer, to keep up numbers or (b)just cull the cow and bank the money and just use it finance a few bills on the farm.

From my experience I find my continental cull cows make ~ €1,000 in the mart and its €1,700 for any decent continental incalf heifer.

Farmer Pudsey

josephsoap wrote: »

Pudseys, do you think if a suckler farmers loses a calf should he (a) cull the cow and replace her with an incalf heifer, to keep up numbers or (b)just cull the cow and bank the money and just use it finance a few bills on the farm.

From my experience I find my continental cull cows make ~ €1,000 in the mart and its €1,700 for any decent continental incalf heifer.

Read my post about having a replacement policy in place. And yes if I was at sucklers I would cull any cow that loses a calf. especially a heifer as cows that lose a calf will in general have issue's again like case above.

Continental cull cow make good money fattened again culling policy in place. In general good contenintal culls will exceed 350DW and most will be either side of 400Kg DW. A cow killing 380kgs DW @3.75c/kg will come into over 1400 euro. It is all about having a system in place. Most suckler farmers wait until something happens to a cow before replacing her. This leads to buying expensive heifers incalf or cows with calf at foot that someone else is often culling as they have an issue with them.

In the Derrypatrick trials LMXFR there heifer prodgney(3/4LM) have out preformed all other cows with SI crosses not far behind and I expect that some CHXFR are good as well. If you purchassed these as calfs at 250 what would it cost to carry them to incalf at 24 months 550 euro? So you would have a replacment in place for 800 euro and as well his heifers would make ideal replacments as well. It all about having a system in place.

Sorry post about replacments was in dead calf thread

cacs

Farmer Pudsey wrote: »

Read my post about having a replacement policy in place. And yes if I was at sucklers I would cull any cow that loses a calf. especially a heifer as cows that lose a calf will in general have issue's again like case above.

Continental cull cow make good money fattened again culling policy in place. In general good contenintal culls will exceed 350DW and most will be either side of 400Kg DW. A cow killing 380kgs DW @3.75c/kg will come into over 1400 euro. It is all about having a system in place. Most suckler farmers wait until something happens to a cow before replacing her. This leads to buying expensive heifers incalf or cows with calf at foot that someone else is often culling as they have an issue with them.

In the Derrypatrick trials LMXFR there heifer prodgney(3/4LM) have out preformed all other cows with SI crosses not far behind and I expect that some CHXFR are good as well. If you purchassed these as calfs at 250 what would it cost to carry them to incalf at 24 months 550 euro? So you would have a replacment in place for 800 euro and as well his heifers would make ideal replacments as well. It all about having a system in place.

Sorry post about replacments was in dead calf thread

Thanks for that. You have your head in the game. I completely agree it's all about a system.
I am just in the point of taking over a small part time farm from my father. I know there is money is not in it but i will do thebest I can all the same .
We always kept limx a couple of simx. They turn out good calfs but no good for export. I want to breed a more classy animal and sometimes you don't get the shape even though we have good cows. Not massive milkers but not bad all the same. I want to cross in something to put more shape in the calfs I am reluctant to is bb as I part time farm and I difficult calfings are are hassle . We normally sell them off as forward stores at 18 and they are usually good cattle . We typically get 1200 for the bullocks and 1100 for the heifers. Still at this rate the profits don't cut it for me.

Count Mondego

_Brian wrote: »

The problem with that system is he's storing up expence for future years..

Probabll spending nothing on land maintenance, poor dosing regeim, no vaccinations, probably never services machinery, no buildings maintenance, little fencing done etc
.

You're gone to the other end of the spectrum there Brian, but I see the point your making. This guy does reinvest but just very astute about variable costs. I'm the opposite, bolus, working programme, vaccination for as much as I can. I could be wasting money with some of the preventative measure and still lose stock too. Over a ten yr period he might be the better farmer.

onyerbikepat

Cathal, a lot of people make the mistake of thinking that they can breed the weanling they see selling for good money in the mart. I know I did when I started suckling. The reality is a bit different. Even the cow that produces the good weanling may not produce near as good the following year from the same bull.
A lot of the time it's down to the small things, cow that calves easily, good milk and goes back in calf again. It often takes a few years to spot these type of cows.
I find even calving down at 2 years to an easy calving bull is a big help too. So too for early turnout, paddock grazing, culling late calvers, all the usual things that add up to help profits.

Limestone Cowboy

onyerbikepat wrote: »

Cathal, a lot of people make the mistake of thinking that they can breed the weanling they see selling for good money in the mart. I know I did when I started suckling. The reality is a bit different. Even the cow that produces the good weanling may not produce near as good the following year from the same bull.
A lot of the time it's down to the small things, cow that calves easily, good milk and goes back in calf again. It often takes a few years to spot these type of cows.
I find even calving down at 2 years to an easy calving bull is a big help too. So too for early turnout, paddock grazing, culling late calvers, all the usual things that add up to help profits.

Agreed with that. Fertility is the most important thing. Have a few youngish cows going this year for that reason and they are nearly the pick of the bunch confirmation wise but a waste of space around the place. Lose a month or two calving every year no matter what you do with them.

Count Mondego

Limestone Cowboy wrote: »

Agreed with that. Fertility is the most important thing. Have a few youngish cows going this year for that reason and they are nearly the pick of the bunch confirmation wise but a waste of space around the place. Lose a month or two calving every year no matter what you do with them.

I'd be the same, always used to say that a bitch calving in may, I'd get her back to April the following year, and so on. My hole.

ellewood

I know a lot wont agree with me but the most profitable according to the better farm programme is by far the under 16 mth old bull beef from sucklers
IMO if ya breed a good u grade bull its the only use for him, its akin to a lad with a high yielding Holstein cow leaving her off set stocked for the summer in high white grass, squeezing and storing a good u grade bull is the same if ya breed them well - feed him well and keep him flat out till he is 400kgs dead, bull calf should wean 400kgs on 01 Nov go into shed and the next time he leaves it he is going up the ramp to factory, stock the place to its potential dont keep ANY passengers, make the best silage ya can, (ya can dilute with straw for dry cows to reduce winter costs) keep a tight calving pattern with an average calving date of 15 Feb, grow as much grass as can and get cows and calves out as soon as can in spring. Heifers gone at 20 mths
Maximum output with a good handel on costs = maximum profit Simples

cacs

ellewood wrote: »

I know a lot wont agree with me but the most profitable according to the better farm programme is by far the under 16 mth old bull beef from sucklers
IMO if ya breed a good u grade bull its the only use for him, its akin to a lad with a high yielding Holstein cow leaving her off set stocked for the summer in high white grass, squeezing and storing a good u grade bull is the same if ya breed them well - feed him well and keep him flat out till he is 400kgs dead, bull calf should wean 400kgs on 01 Nov go into shed and the next time he leaves it he is going up the ramp to factory, stock the place to its potential dont keep ANY passengers, make the best silage ya can, (ya can dilute with straw for dry cows to reduce winter costs) keep a tight calving pattern with an average calving date of 15 Feb, grow as much grass as can and get cows and calves out as soon as can in spring. Heifers gone at 20 mths
Maximum output with a good handel on costs = maximum profit Simples

Thats good advice. Thanks

cacs

onyerbikepat wrote: »

Cathal, a lot of people make the mistake of thinking that they can breed the weanling they see selling for good money in the mart. I know I did when I started suckling. The reality is a bit different. Even the cow that produces the good weanling may not produce near as good the following year from the same bull.
A lot of the time it's down to the small things, cow that calves easily, good milk and goes back in calf again. It often takes a few years to spot these type of cows.
I find even calving down at 2 years to an easy calving bull is a big help too. So too for early turnout, paddock grazing, culling late calvers, all the usual things that add up to help profits.

Thanks for that. I want to get a paddock grazing system in place at the minute we let around 30 cattle have a run over 30 acres of good grass. I have thought it was a waste for a while.

Farmer Pudsey

TBH I think anyone suckling producing a calf at weaning that is less than 300kgs is wasting there time. Yet according to teagasc the average weaning weight is sub 300kgs and when you factor in 0.8 calves /cow it is below 250kgs. Teagasc costs/cow are hairy with fixed costs taking up over half the costs and a vets bill of 50/cow.

https://www.agriland.ie/farming-news/actually-cost-keep-suckler-cow-year/

So where is that leaving the average suckler farmers. Most it seems have no plan or system in place. It a case of repeat last years mistake this year and next year. Passed a place recently where a few He cows and calves were trying to skin an already bare field. They had the run of 20 acres. Yearling running with the cows were 280kgs and FS1. Cannot see much profit there.

It is not all about producing a shapely export type calf. 3/4 bread weanling bulls weighting 400kgs will make in excess of 2.5/kg most years. These are well suited to finishing at sub 16 months or at 22 months of age as bulls or bullocks. Most suckler producers seem to have an inability to finish there prodgney even if on good land. But the biggest issue sems to be an inability to produce a calf above 300kgs at weaning and to have a 0.95 calves/cow put to bull each year.

ellewood

Farmer Pudsey wrote: »

TBH I think anyone suckling producing a calf at weaning that is less than 300kgs is wasting there time. Yet according to teagasc the average weaning weight is sub 300kgs and when you factor in 0.8 calves /cow it is below 250kgs. Teagasc costs/cow are hairy with fixed costs taking up over half the costs and a vets bill of 50/cow.

https://www.agriland.ie/farming-news/actually-cost-keep-suckler-cow-year/

So where is that leaving the average suckler farmers. Most it seems have no plan or system in place. It a case of repeat last years mistake this year and next year. Passed a place recently where a few He cows and calves were trying to skin an already bare field. They had the run of 20 acres. Yearling running with the cows were 280kgs and FS1. Cannot see much profit there.

It is not all about producing a shapely export type calf. 3/4 bread weanling bulls weighting 400kgs will make in excess of 2.5/kg most years. These are well suited to finishing at sub 16 months or at 22 months of age as bulls or bullocks. Most suckler producers seem to have an inability to finish there prodgney even if on good land. But the biggest issue sems to be an inability to produce a calf above 300kgs at weaning and to have a 0.95 calves/cow put to bull each year.

Id agree and every suckler should finish their stock lad in our dg is part of the teagasc family farm income survey each year and he sais the lad doing the survey has said for many years that the lads finishing their own stock are consistently the most profitable keep less cows and finish stock - some lads seem afraid of finishing stock tho!

The lads weaning 0.7 calves per cow at 250 kgs and fs1 are just keeping the place green for the tourists because they are deffo not in it for the profit

cacs

thanks Blue

Farmer Pudsey

I would not worry about export type cattle you really need to be around alot to look after them. Bull beef is all the flavour this year however remember last year. Next year will be ok. However I not want heavy bulls or bullocks in 2017.

As Limestone says it is all about fertility and early calving. Cows that calf in January/February and have plenty of milk for a big calf at grass all summer that when weaned will be in excess of 330kgs and with a bit of creep be up above 360kgs these calves will always leave money regardless of finishing or selling as weanlings.

I always found that when I bought goodish suckler weanlings in mid August that it was easy enough to put 50-80 kgs on them between that and late November with 1kg of rartion minerals and a bit of hay or straw. A 320kg weanling would be nearly 450 exiting the shed in March. However you have a lot of money tied up in them nowadays.

blue5000

josephsoap wrote: »

Pudseys, do you think if a suckler farmers loses a calf should he (a) cull the cow and replace her with an incalf heifer, to keep up numbers or (b)just cull the cow and bank the money and just use it finance a few bills on the farm.

From my experience I find my continental cull cows make ~ €1,000 in the mart and its €1,700 for any decent continental incalf heifer.

Another option I've heard, but not tried yet when a young cow loses a calf is to take the calf off an old (10 yrs) cow and put the calf on the young cow. Then fatten the old cow. Makes more sense than killing a young cow and risking an old cow go down at calving the next year.

Miname

Farmer Pudsey wrote: »

I would not worry about export type cattle you really need to be around alot to look after them. Bull beef is all the flavour this year however remember last year. Next year will be ok. However I not want heavy bulls or bullocks in 2017.

As Limestone says it is all about fertility and early calving. Cows that calf in January/February and have plenty of milk for a big calf at grass all summer that when weaned will be in excess of 330kgs and with a bit of creep be up above 360kgs these calves will always leave money regardless of finishing or selling as weanlings.

I always found that when I bought goodish suckler weanlings in mid August that it was easy enough to put 50-80 kgs on them between that and late November with 1kg of rartion minerals and a bit of hay or straw. A 320kg weanling would be nearly 450 exiting the shed in March. However you have a lot of money tied up in them nowadays.

Lads are mad looking for that 300-340 kilo bull the last while it's actually cheaper in most cases to go to 450kg around me anyways.

onyerbikepat

There's a strange logic in what people are saying about finishing their own weanlings. I know cattle thrive better on the farm they are born, but if it makes sense to finish the 400Kg bull weanling, why not get rid of the cows and just buy in all the 400kg bulls. It's like you could divide the farm in two, producing the 400kg weanling and finishing the animal. Which side is more profitable?
A lot of suckler farmers working of farm so keeping things simple, with less work is a big thing too.

blue5000

onyerbikepat wrote: »

There's a strange logic in what people are saying about finishing their own weanlings. I know cattle thrive better on the farm they are born, but if it makes sense to finish the 400Kg bull weanling, why not get rid of the cows and just buy in all the 400kg bulls. It's like you could divide the farm in two, producing the 400kg weanling and finishing the animal. Which side is more profitable?
A lot of suckler farmers working of farm so keeping things simple, with less work is a big thing too.

Buying the 400kg weanling in autumn 2013 wasn't that profitable, but the calf born in 2013 and suckled was profitable in 2015! I think you'd need to be finishing huge numbers full time, most of these are a father and son op where one is out buying 3-4 days a week and the other is full time feeding cattle.

A lot of ppl have got rid of the cows and now they are around the ring driving up prices of calves/weanlings/cull cows.

Sam Kade

I read an article a few years ago where the farmer had June calving and said he was making more profit out of suckling. He weaned the calves in dec-Jan and they hit the ground running on early spring grass. He didn't have to feed too much meal to them during the winter as they were getting milk as well. I suppose it makes sense when you think about it they would be coming up to 500 kg at a year old. If you could have the calves out on grass in February you could put serious weight on them also there would be less demand for grass for the cows as they would be dry.