Replacement sucklers - Calves or weanlings

jfh

HI all,
this is my 2nd year where I'm buying calves of a dairyman & bucket feeding them for replacements.
however the price for heifer calves is on the dear side this year, around 400 to 425. in fairness, they're nice simX
you'd get a decent heifers for 700 in autumn
there's a good bit of work /time & milk re placer involved in getting a calf to weaning stage.
i like the idea of buying calves as their very quiet

anyone else in the same boat, is it worth it?

greenpetrol

jfh wrote: »

HI all,
this is my 2nd year where I'm buying calves of a dairyman & bucket feeding them for replacements.
however the price for heifer calves is on the dear side this year, around 400 to 425. in fairness, they're nice simX
you'd get a decent heifers for 700 in autumn
there's a good bit of work /time & milk re placer involved in getting a calf to weaning stage.
i like the idea of buying calves as their very quiet

anyone else in the same boat, is it worth it?

Did it one year and it's a lot of work and you also have the risk of them getting sick ! No saving in buying them young! Nuts will calm them the same if buying them weaned ! I wouldn't buy them as calves again alot of money and time in milk replacer!

Fuxake

To my way of thinking, the bigger question is who you are buying them from? Sure, rearing calves is costly and involves work, maybe the best scenario was to buy fresh weaned calves but that was a lot more likely in the quota days.

If you can find out all the background to the calves, then its probably worth more than any debate about rearing costs. For instance, if you can get them all from the one herd, that's worth a bit in terms of disease resistance. Also, if you are sourcing from a dairy herd, there's a hell of a difference in the potential to make a suckler cow between Holstein, Br Fr, Jersey or Kiwi Cross or maybe Montbeliarde or Fleckvieh if you could get them.

If you buy stock in a mart in the autumn, can you be sure you are buying direct from the farm they were born on; if not should you walk away?

My ideal would be to establish a relationship with a sound dairy guy with enough beef cross heifers (if you can find one) who will be your only source for your replacements. The deal would involve seeing his herd of cows so you can have an idea of half the genetics. With quotas gone, its increasingly likely that you will have to rear the calf but you might gain a lot in terms of knowing/ influencing the beef sire used and of having the bio-security of only dealing with one herd. IF you can get the same access but to a dairy farmer who likes to bring them to a year old on an outside farm, better again, but not too easy to find these.

ganmo

I reared a batch of heifers last year, bought for 200 and sold for 600 ish 6 months later and I reckon I made money. So if you're paying 400 quid for young (as or hex) calves you're paying too much.

barnaman

Down South by me calf prices very high this year nice AAx are making 400 no bother Ganmo. Good luck to lads buying them hard see profit but what there are making.

Limestone Cowboy

barnaman wrote: »

Down South by me calf prices very high this year nice AAx are making 400 no bother Ganmo. Good luck to lads buying them hard see profit but what there are making.

They'd want more than good luck giving 400 for them.

High bike

I can buy AA x heifer calves off a dairy man near me for 250ish so ye think that's ok?

ganmo

barnaman wrote: »

Down South by me calf prices very high this year nice AAx are making 400 no bother Ganmo. Good luck to lads buying them hard see profit but what there are making.

Wouldn't of made a bob if I had to buy them at 400. I hope to do it again this year but if I can't get them closer to 200 I might have to think again, cause I don't reckon I'd get any more for them at the back end.

barnaman

http://www.midtippmart.com/data/marts/feb_1st_prices_numbers_up_feb_1st_2016_xl_1454412138.pdf

Angus bulls Ave 363
HEX Bulls Ave 334

All off Freisan cows by and large. Know of private sales too (dairy lads) and trade is strong. Would not get much more for my suckler calves.

jfh

All good points, in fairness, their simmental heifers, not Hereford or Angus so worth a hundred more.

tractorporn

We have reared a few bb x fr heifers for the last few years. Usually pay round the 300 mark for them and have them reared for 300 more. I know it's a longer game but we feel that if they are reared on our farm the will have resistance to anything that's on the farm and hopefully you don't bring in anything when they are calves. That and the fact that when you rear calves on a bucket you'll have quiet cattle, we have cows now that will come over to you and lick you in the field.

jfh

Fuxake wrote: »

To my way of thinking, the bigger question is who you are buying them from? Sure, rearing calves is costly and involves work, maybe the best scenario was to buy fresh weaned calves but that was a lot more likely in the quota days.

If you can find out all the background to the calves, then its probably worth more than any debate about rearing costs. For instance, if you can get them all from the one herd, that's worth a bit in terms of disease resistance. Also, if you are sourcing from a dairy herd, there's a hell of a difference in the potential to make a suckler cow between Holstein, Br Fr, Jersey or Kiwi Cross or maybe Montbeliarde or Fleckvieh if you could get them.

If you buy stock in a mart in the autumn, can you be sure you are buying direct from the farm they were born on; if not should you walk away?

My ideal would be to establish a relationship with a sound dairy guy with enough beef cross heifers (if you can find one) who will be your only source for your replacements. The deal would involve seeing his herd of cows so you can have an idea of half the genetics. With quotas gone, its increasingly likely that you will have to rear the calf but you might gain a lot in terms of knowing/ influencing the beef sire used and of having the bio-security of only dealing with one herd. IF you can get the same access but to a dairy farmer who likes to bring them to a year old on an outside farm, better again, but not too easy to find these.

fuxake, that what i was trying to do alright, have a contact but he uses BB on the cows that are not to friesan, have to do a bit of searching. was at a mart last saturday, was hoping to pick up one or two incalf heifers or a bulling heifer, mad prices, ranged from 1300 - 1800 these were all around 18 month to 24 months, NOT in calf!

jfh

The real question is whether it's worth breeding own replacements or buying but that's a whole other thread.
It takes at least 4 years to get a return on those calves if finishing.
Best value I saw lately, was buying older cows