Calf price chitchat

Water John

It's the old KISS formula. Keep it simple stupid. The advisor is taught that way and he uses the same with the farmer. One list of instructions.

Bass Reeves

Water John wrote: »

It's the old KISS formula. Keep it simple stupid. The advisor is taught that way and he uses the same with the farmer. One list of instructions.

And the farmer should adapt the same principle. Maybe the advisor is right maybe the farmer has 35%+ of his herd calving after March 1st.

I suspect here the farmers is unsure about the advice. He needs a second opinion. Here is where discussion groups come into play. But you need lads to speak up and not get offender by criticism.

The farmers has to look at what is sustainable for him. Is his system capable of maintaining an earlier mean calving day. He should look at %of cows calving in 14day periods after march 1st. What replacement rate will it require to remove these cows from the system and what rate to maintain it.

The cost of a replacement is the cost of bringing replacement heifer to calf down minus cull cow value and beef calf value. Most farmers seem to be costing a replacement heifer at 1400euro, is a good cull worth 550out of the parlour in November. Is the beef bull calf over the FR bull worth 100extra and the beef heifer instead of Fr heifer another100euro. If so net replacement cost is a bit with 1k.

The 200/cow in extra milk value is maybe 150net of extra feed costs so a 7year pay back. However if you were only culling April cows the payback might be 350/cow leaving it as a three year pay back timeframe.

What you really look at is how high do you push your cull rate to achieve optimum return. There is no point in being a busy fool

yewtree

Farming in mayo here so not the earliest part of the country. I still want to calve as many cows in February as possible. I much perfer to be busy for a shorter period of time. Always find april calves the hardest work. Will calve 130 here this year myself and some relief help. 75% will calve in February and if it was possible i would perfer the whole lot to calve in February. I would be well set up with calving and calf shed, we use to have a spread out calving pattern and i found it a lot harder work

Sheep breeder

yewtree wrote: »

Farming in mayo here so not the earliest part of the country. I still want to calve as many cows in February as possible. I much perfer to be busy for a shorter period of time. Always find april calves the hardest work. Will calve 130 here this year myself and some relief help. 75% will calve in February and if it was possible i would perfer the whole lot to calve in February. I would be well set up with calving and calf shed, we use to have a spread out calving pattern and i found it a lot harder work

Fair play to you, everybody has to set targets for their farm and system, as an old lecturer in ag college use to say every farmer is outstanding in his own field.

whelan2

See a lad offering a 3 day old limx bull calf for 400 euro on one of the farming facebook groups. Surely no one would pay that ????

farming93

The uncle got €390 for a lmx fr calf in the mart less than two weeks ago.. €210 for a red limo heifer that I wouldn't of given €70 for. If I hadn't of seen what cow she was off I would of that she was a Jersey cross she was that narrow.

Mooooo

Got 130 for 3 week old aa heifers both came off the cows. One more square than the other but nice calves

Panch18

Neighbour got 125 for a nice Fr bull only 2 weeks old

WH made 120, not sure of age but quality wasn’t great now

whelan2

Any prices recently?

Bass Reeves

Mooooo wrote: »

Got 130 for 3 week old aa heifers both came off the cows. One more square than the other but nice calves

Hate to buy calves that come off cows especially if gone beyond two weeks if age. It brutal trying to get them to change over to either nippke feeders or buckets.

Mooooo

Bass Reeves wrote: »

Hate to buy calves that come off cows especially if gone beyond two weeks if age. It brutal trying to get them to change over to either nippke feeders or buckets.

Fair point but They were bottle fed their first 3 feeds, first one was better quality biestings I had frozen as cow's weren't long dry. Left a bit hungry at 3 weeks they should remember fast enough. They were used to me walking around so they were used to people as well so hopefully next fella/ lady got on ok with them.

Anto_Meath

whelan2 wrote: »

Any prices recently?

Carnaross last Monday FR bulls made from €10 - €185 with AAx bulls from €205 - €165 with heifers from €160 - €90. Anything cont bred made from €385 - €200.

stanflt

Had 3 calves in Carnaross this morning all Holstein Fresian bull calves
155
135 and 120
Great trade for calves

whelan2

What are blacks making?

atlantic mist

exporter in the yard yesterday - export price 50 euro
stronger calves in ross averaging 80 last week

stanflt

whelan2 wrote: »

What are blacks making?

120-180

Anto_Meath

whelan2 wrote: »

What are blacks making?

Heifers €70 - €305 Majority around €220
Bulls from €145 - €310 Majority around €235

Mooooo

stanflt wrote: »

Had 3 calves in Carnaross this morning all Holstein Fresian bull calves
155
135 and 120
Great trade for calves

Age?

Reggie.

stanflt wrote: »

Had 3 calves in Carnaross this morning all Holstein Fresian bull calves
155
135 and 120
Great trade for calves

Ya just couldn't wait could ya

Reggie.

Mooooo wrote: »

Age?

Around 42 days

Mooooo

Reggie. wrote: »

Around 42 days

Was there many out at the 3 to 4 weeks bracket?

Farney Farmer

whelan2 wrote: »

What are blacks making?

Sold a few last week. Heifers 160-170. Bulls 190-200. 2-3 wks old.

High bike

What would 10 day old blue heifers off fr cows be worth??

Anto_Meath

High bike wrote: »

What would 10 day old blue heifers off fr cows be worth??

Depending on quality but around €250 -€300 is the run of them at the minute.

morebabies

Any calf sales on tomorrow around the midlands does anyone know, or slightly further afield?

whelan2

Carnaross?

DukeCaboom

Don't take calves to the mart tomorrow. Exporters were pesermistic yesterday about sailing with the storm.... Should be value if u wer looking for a few.

morebabies

Looking to buy heifer calves 4 weeks old EDIT

whelan2

morebabies wrote: »

Looking to buy heifer calves 2-3 weeks old

What breed?

morebabies

whelan2 wrote: »

What breed?

4 weeks old meant to say, looking for a mart tomorrow with HEX or AAX heifer calves.