Calf price chitchat

whelan2

Dakota Dan wrote: »

Anyway back to calf prices, I sold 3 well fed 4-5 wk old friesian bull calves in kanturk last week, 6L of milk in 2 feeds every day, anyone guess how much i'll be getting in the cheque next week?

How long do you have to wait for the cheque? In Ardee you have the cheque home with you from the sale

Reggie.

whelan2 wrote: »

How long do you have to wait for the cheque? In Ardee you have the cheque home with you from the sale

Takes a week around here

whelan2

Reggie. wrote: »

Takes a week around here

I normally lodge the cheque on the way home from mart

orm0nd

Bullocks wrote: »

I asked my old fella there and he said he built the bungalow we were reared in for £8000 in 1980 . He was milking about 20 cows and selling the bullocks at about 3 and maybe 4 yrs old to a butcher and selling the heifers as calves .
He would have been supporting his parents and the home house out of that but was able to build without borrowing all the same . Now it was a very straight forward small bungalow but werent they all back then

Much same here about 7500 in 1978. I done a lot of the labour myself and we were lucky that I had some massive Douglas Fir trees that my ancestors planted, which supplied all the timber for the roof.

Bullocks

orm0nd wrote: »

Much same here about 7500 in 1978. I done a lot of the labour myself and we were lucky that I had some massive Douglas Fir trees that my ancestors planted, which supplied all the timber for the roof.

Yeah the grandfather would have done any labour possible on it aswell. Any idea what it would have cost to cut the trees into timber at the time?
I bought a small roof there and thought it dear. About 8k for timber and slates

wrangler

Bullocks wrote: »

Yeah the grandfather would have done any labour possible on it aswell. Any idea what it would have cost to cut the trees into timber at the time?
I bought a small roof there and thought it dear. About 8k for timber and slates

If I knew then what I know now I'd have left the parents in their own house and fecked off and got a job

Bullocks

wrangler wrote: »

If I knew then what I know now I'd have left the parents in their own house and fecked off and got a job

My own father would be of the same mind even though he saw plenty of good years and no more than yourself has his pension well bumped up with his payments.

orm0nd

Bullocks wrote: »

Yeah the grandfather would have done any labour possible on it aswell. Any idea what it would have cost to cut the trees into timber at the time?
I bought a small roof there and thought it dear. About 8k for timber and slates

think the guy that felled them was 100 and the sawmill over 200, we also had the runners and trusses for a 4 bay leanto, remember borrowing a low loader for drawing the lenghts to the mill.

Castlekeeper

Dakota Dan wrote: »

Anyway back to calf prices, I sold 3 well fed 4-5 wk old friesian bull calves in kanturk last week, 6L of milk in 2 feeds every day, anyone guess how much i'll be getting in the cheque next week?

If they were good square calves with some BrFr or non holstein breeding I'd say 350, if they were average Ho Fr calves -150?

cute geoge

Dakota Dan wrote: »

Anyway back to calf prices, I sold 3 well fed 4-5 wk old friesian bull calves in kanturk last week, 6L of milk in 2 feeds every day, anyone guess how much i'll be getting in the cheque next week?

Probably close enough to €100 but that price still not as disappointing as local guy who sold well fed fr yierlings last week 390 kg for €520

Bass Reeves

cute geoge wrote: »

Probably close enough to €100 but that price still not as disappointing as local guy who sold well fed fr yierlings last week 390 kg for €520

Still if he is replacing them for 30-40/head at 3-4 weeks of age inc costs they will have left a margin in the region of 150/head maybe a tad with it.

Albert Johnson

Bass Reeves wrote: »

Still if he is replacing them for 30-40/head at 3-4 weeks of age inc costs they will have left a margin in the region of 150/head maybe a tad with it.

What would your cost breakdown be on the above if you don't mind? I'm curious as to how such a margin could be achieved. Thanks.

Cavanjack

wrangler wrote: »

If I knew then what I know now I'd have left the parents in their own house and fecked off and got a job

Did you not make a good living off the land? Have you not a good bfp and earning good rent tax free off the land now? I don't know what you are renting the land for but I'd imagine You would have to have had some job to get a pension equal to what you are getting now when You count it all up.

wrangler

Cavanjack wrote: »

Did you not make a good living off the land? Have you not a good bfp and earning good rent tax free off the land now? I don't know what you are renting the land for but I'd imagine You would have to have had some job to get a pension equal to what you are getting now when You count it all up.

First twenty years were very tough, up to 20% interest on loans and the cost of a nursing home for five years, ****ed it up a bit, doing grand now alright.
Ray Mc sharrys subsidies in the nineties turned it around here

Bass Reeves

Albert Johnson wrote: »

What would your cost breakdown be on the above if you don't mind? I'm curious as to how such a margin could be achieved. Thanks.

Calf buying fee 8 euro
Transport 5 euro
Bag of Milk powder 40 euro
Straw 20 euro
Calf ration 100kgs 32 euro
Grass 40 euro
Ration for autumn 20 euro
Vet & mortality 25 euro
Over wintering 100 euro
Selling fee 10 euro
Transport 10 euro

Total cost 310+ price of calf
Because Friesians in general are early calves they can do really good weight gain and they have a better tahn average weight gain compared to some of the AA around. 390 would be a massive weight for a yearling friesian but 350 average is attainable. Weanlings are easy to overwinter and 1kg of ration and silage will leave you with a decent calf. As well weanling make great use of autumn grass witha kg of artion

Albert Johnson

Bass Reeves wrote: »

Calf buying fee 8 euro
Transport 5 euro
Bag of Milk powder 40 euro
Straw 20 euro
Calf ration 100kgs 32 euro
Grass 40 euro
Ration for autumn 20 euro
Vet & mortality 25 euro
Over wintering 100 euro
Selling fee 10 euro
Transport 10 euro

Total cost 310+ price of calf
Because Friesians in general are early calves they can do really good weight gain and they have a better tahn average weight gain compared to some of the AA around. 390 would be a massive weight for a yearling friesian but 350 average is attainable. Weanlings are easy to overwinter and 1kg of ration and silage will leave you with a decent calf. As well weanling make great use of autumn grass witha kg of artion

Thanks Bass very informative as usual. Would one bag of milk replaced be enough? I have little knowledge of properly rearing sucks be I thought nearer to 2 bags would be required.
I always get sick of the suckler job at this time of year, I hate wintering cattle because of the extra labour and cost involved. We were fortunate with the mild backend that most were out until Xmas but it's still a long time until mid May.

cute geoge

Bass Reeves wrote: »

Calf buying fee 8 euro
Transport 5 euro
Bag of Milk powder 40 euro
Straw 20 euro
Calf ration 100kgs 32 euro
Grass 40 euro
Ration for autumn 20 euro
Vet & mortality 25 euro
Over wintering 100 euro
Selling fee 10 euro
Transport 10 euro

Total cost 310+ price of calf
Because Friesians in general are early calves they can do really good weight gain and they have a better tahn average weight gain compared to some of the AA around. 390 would be a massive weight for a yearling friesian but 350 average is attainable. Weanlings are easy to overwinter and 1kg of ration and silage will leave you with a decent calf. As well weanling make great use of autumn grass witha kg of artion

It would want to be a fairly short winter if €100 is all it costs to cover ration and silage and I also like the way you exclude a land charge .With figures you can manipulate any situation to suit yourself but there is only one man making money with a well fed 390 kg yierling only makes €510 and that is the man buying

kk.man

wrangler wrote: »

If I knew then what I know now I'd have left the parents in their own house and fecked off and got a job

Would you?..are you saying that?

wrangler

kk.man wrote: »

Would you?..are you saying that?

Jaysus, you do a lot of work for very little at this job.

kk.man

wrangler wrote: »

Jaysus, you do a lot of work for very little at this job.

Ah yea. Just asking because I did the opposite to you and often think how I would have faired.

wrangler

kk.man wrote: »

Ah yea. Just asking because I did the opposite to you and often think how I would have faired.

How d'ya mean opposite to me, are you parttime farm.
I've a neighbour, same age, overborrowed same as me at the start, pulled out at 20% interest in the 80s and set his land and has been ever since. he has other interests now and having a ball,
My father was always buying land but no interest in concrete, I don't know how he did what he did, we haven't a big farm but I couldn't add to it but he bought the best of land.
Have gastro entheritis at the moment so feeling more pessimistic that usual.....if that;s possible. as my OH says I haven't a hayseed left in me

kk.man

wrangler wrote: »

How d'ya mean opposite to me, are you parttime farm.
I've a neighbour, same age, overborrowed same as me at the start, pulled out at 20% interest in the 80s and set his land and has been ever since. he has other interests now and having a ball,
My father was always buying land but no interest in concrete, I don't know how he did what he did, we haven't a big farm but I couldn't add to it but he bought the best of land.
Have gastro entheritis at the moment so feeling more pessimistic that usual.....if that;s possible. as my OH says I haven't a hayseed left in me

I left for a good job and rented land for 20 odd years. I have returned some years back and often debated would I have been better off and happier had I stayed. I had good and bad tenants , the bad ones made my decision easy in the end. Am part-time as not big enough to stay full time.
Sorry to hear about your health.

wrangler

kk.man wrote: »

I left for a good job and rented land for 20 odd years. I have returned some years back and often debated would I have been better off and happier had I stayed. I had good and bad tenants , the bad ones made my decision easy in the end. Am part-time as not big enough to stay full time.
Sorry to hear about your health.

Everyones different I suppose, but life goes by so quick you don't need to be too busy. Time off is a huge bonus in the off farm job, I was out with a group last week where one said he had six weeks off now, I just thought 'you lucky bugger'.
Even to get a week off here it was a job, not that simple to get someone to look after the place, either part time farmers that had enough to do or dairy farmers that definitely had enough to do.
I always say if I come back I won't be self employed.

Bass Reeves

Albert Johnson wrote: »

Thanks Bass very informative as usual. Would one bag of milk replaced be enough? I have little knowledge of properly rearing sucks be I thought nearer to 2 bags would be required.
I always get sick of the suckler job at this time of year, I hate wintering cattle because of the extra labour and cost involved. We were fortunate with the mild backend that most were out until Xmas but it's still a long time until mid May.

I was working off the figures of a yearling sold now in the mart at 520 euro and of calves sold at 3-4 weeks of age. yes a bag of milk powder would be enough. Some lads wean as early as 6 weeks. however I would keep a little milk in the diet until about 12 weeks of age.

cute geoge wrote: »

It would want to be a fairly short winter if €100 is all it costs to cover ration and silage and I also like the way you exclude a land charge .With figures you can manipulate any situation to suit yourself but there is only one man making money with a well fed 390 kg yierling only makes €510 and that is the man buying

Weanling can stay out on grass longer than other cattle it would always be early December before housing. The calf was sold mid March. My own cost to winter weanlings is around 80-90c/day when I was at it. 1.25kg of ration at 280/ton is 35c/day. Bale silage costs me 25/bale I expect a bale to do a pen of 20 friesian bulls 3 days. My silage tends to be very dry that is why it last that long so it costs 42c/day. Mins, vits and calcium on top of the ration about 3.5c/day. That makes wintering costs 80.5c/day.

The yearling was sold early march so he was housed form early mid December to early march about 90 days. Wintering costs are 72.5 euro( i will give you the 5c for inefficiency). He could even have topped up the ration to 3kgs/day for the last 50 days to bring it to 100 euro even.

Timmaay

wrangler wrote: »

Everyones different I suppose, but life goes by so quick you don't need to be too busy. Time off is a huge bonus in the off farm job, I was out with a group last week where one said he had six weeks off now, I just thought 'you lucky bugger'.
Even to get a week off here it was a job, not that simple to get someone to look after the place, either part time farmers that had enough to do or dairy farmers that definitely had enough to do.
I always say if I come back I won't be self employed.

It's one reason why I was very happy to push on towards 120cows here over the 80/90 we had went I started out, if the profits from them extra cows goes fully into wages but I get afew weeks off then that's money extreamely well spent.

whelan2

Timmaay wrote: »

It's one reason why I was very happy to push on towards 120cows here over the 80/90 we had went I started out, if the profits from them extra cows goes fully into wages but I get afew weeks off then that's money extreamely well spent.

The only thing keeping me going this last few weeks is the countdown to when I escape next

Timmaay

whelan2 wrote: »

The only thing keeping me going this last few weeks is the countdown to when I escape next

Yeh I'm looking at escaping for 4/5days mid/late April before breeding season starts again, hard enough to fit it in around the athletics/coaching (a nice complaint in fairness). I had to scrap a stag weekend start of this month, terrible timing in fairness, even the farm allowed me to escape I'd of been way too knackered to go on the beer for a solid 48hrs ha.

Base price

Albert Johnson wrote: »

Thanks Bass very informative as usual. Would one bag of milk replaced be enough? I have little knowledge of properly rearing sucks be I thought nearer to 2 bags would be required.
I always get sick of the suckler job at this time of year, I hate wintering cattle because of the extra labour and cost involved. We were fortunate with the mild backend that most were out until Xmas but it's still a long time until mid May.

As someone who rears a few calves every year I would also include essential vaccines - pneumonia @ c. €7/hd and coccidosis @ €2/hd.

I would like to know the ingredients of the €40 bag of milk replacer - I presume it comprises non dairy ingredients.

farisfat

wrangler wrote: »

Everyones different I suppose, but life goes by so quick you don't need to be too busy. Time off is a huge bonus in the off farm job, I was out with a group last week where one said he had six weeks off now, I just thought 'you lucky bugger'.
Even to get a week off here it was a job, not that simple to get someone to look after the place, either part time farmers that had enough to do or dairy farmers that definitely had enough to do.
I always say if I come back I won't be self employed.

I've travelled a lot and worked direct and self employed in other industries....i started farming full-time five years ago and regret I didn't start sooner.

alps

farisfat wrote: »

I've travelled a lot and worked direct and self employed in other industries....i started farming full-time five years ago and regret I didn't start sooner.

Huge and critical message here....you've experienced the "outside" world..

It would do anyone intent on staying home farming, the power of good, to spend 10 years away at other industries or enterprises...

It's not all a bed of roses in the other side..