Calf price chitchat

visatorro

There seems to be a serious variation in calf prices. Tbh I'm just glad to be rid. I don't need the extra work. Talking to a fella that goes to the mart alot, he reckons good fr calves can be got for 50.

Bass Reeves

All that is happening is a price correction. There are over 200K more calves than 3-5 years ago. Dairy farmers that had beef units cesased or reduced the size of these units so this means maybe 400K+ calves extra hitting the market. The price correction has not yet reached the farm yard sales but this will correct in time as well.

Brown Podzol

Sold 16 fr bull calves, 3 to 4 weeks, in Fermoy yesterday. Average €145 before expenses. From €85 to €195.

cute geoge

I have often seen calf prices to drop with bad weather and glut on market .When the weather clears calf prices could bounce up again with smaller numbers on the market but more realistic prices

Bass Reeves

It all depend on which side of ring you are at as to a realistic price. At the moment from my view thwy are still a bit high

Cavanjack

Bass Reeves wrote: »

It all depend on which side of ring you are at as to a realistic price. At the moment from my view thwy are still a bit high

What cost to get a decent friesian bull to a year old If he was bought for €100? You are usually fairly sharp on these matters!

einn32

Circa 2 week old AA heifers 160e and AA bulls 180e same age. Sold out of the yard.

Bass Reeves

Cavanjack wrote: »

What cost to get a decent friesian bull to a year old If he was bought for €100? You are usually fairly sharp on these matters!

It would not matter if he was decent or not the cost is virtually the same.
Milk Powder 40
straw 20
Vet 15
Calf ration 40
Ration For Summer/autumn 44
Grass 36
Winter Feeding120 days @ 75c/day 80
Mortality 10
Misc 20

Say 300ish euro you might be able to squeeze the summer ration back a bit I have allowed 1kg/day from start of June to end of November. If you were doing calf to store selling in Autumn you would be reducing your average winter back 10-15 days. so another 1-2 euro there. I have allowed for mortality at 10 euro and vet (vet and medicine) at 15 and there may be 5-10 euro there or they may not be.

However You would have a calves that went to grass as a yearling at 330-380kgs not the 250kg calves some lads sell. Yes you might have a runt that got badly sick and survived but you would have right good calves averageing above 350kgs IMO

Hard Knocks

Bass Reeves wrote: »

Cavanjack wrote: »

What cost to get a decent friesian bull to a year old If he was bought for €100? You are usually fairly sharp on these matters!

It would not matter if he was decent or not the cost is virtually the same.
Milk Powder 40
straw 20
Vet 15
Calf ration 40
Ration For Summer/autumn 44
Grass 36
Winter Feeding120 days @ 75c/day 80
Mortality 10
Misc 20

Say 300ish euro you might be able to squeeze the summer ration back a bit I have allowed 1kg/day from start of June to end of November. If you were doing calf to store selling in Autumn you would be reducing your average winter back 10-15 days. so another 1-2 euro there. I have allowed for mortality at 10 euro and vet (vet and medicine) at 15 and there may be 5-10 euro there or they may not be.

However You would have a calves that went to grass as a yearling at 330-380kgs not the 250kg calves some lads sell. Yes you might have a runt that got badly sick and survived but you would have right good calves averageing above 350kgs IMO

Great info as always, but what quantity are your figures based on, would it be much more for smaller quantities (5-10)

Bass Reeves

Hard Knocks wrote: »

Great info as always, but what quantity are your figures based on, would it be much more for smaller quantities (5-10)

TBH I have not done calves in years as it si not really an option with work. Having said that I was at a discussion group meeting a few weeks ago and calf rearing was discussed. My prices are from the general discussion and from when I did calves about 10 years ago. One lad claimed milk powder was 43 euro but another lad said you can get good quality powder for 38 euro. The lad that paid 43 for it later when askled what he paid for calf ration( he bought a pallet of it) said he had not asked the price just ordered it from the merchant.

He obiviously was not pricing around. This is a big issue with some lads they just walk into the local co-op or merchant and pay up. They never price around. There are some criminal prices I have heard paid for stuff. Lad paid nearly 600 euro for 1.5 tons of urea last week end collected (400/ton) off the same places I bought it for 350ish/ton in mid Feb delivered as part of my total fertlizer purchase.

K.G.

highspeed wrote: »

Bought 12 4 to 6 week old AA heifers for €225 each
14 HR for &170 each - mixture of male/female all 4 to 5 weeks
All bought directly from yard

Also rang a neighbour who had HR heifer calves for sale - asked if he was selling - he said he did not sell from the yard and only sold through the mart

Selling from yard is a bit of a pain in the ass.because we are so far south unless we have a bunch fellas wont travel and those that do most want them for nothing and only want to take the best.so f##k that ive a fella that takes to the mart from me and can sell them as i want to too,no paper or worrying about ckecks bouncing.i see prices qouted here for calves and they would be a lot less in west cork

yewtree

K.G. wrote: »

Selling from yard is a bit of a pain in the ass.because we are so far south unless we have a bunch fellas wont travel and those that do most want them for nothing and only want to take the best.so f##k that ive a fella that takes to the mart from me and can sell them as i want to too,no paper or worrying about ckecks bouncing.i see prices qouted here for calves and they would be a lot less in west cork

I read this thread sometimes and think I am farming in a different country.
Neighbour brought 3 week old fr bull calves to the mart last week, well done €70 average.

Mooooo

Sent a share of calves off to mart. A simental x included. Big calf but the the fecker will have to make 1500 euro to cover his costs as the mother is fecked

tanko

What bull is the Sim calf off?

Mooooo

tanko wrote: »

What bull is the Sim calf off?

S3011. Technically a fleckvieh. Have 3 heifers and that bull and they all carried 1 week minimum. One of the heifers came backwards and I had to jack her, head was still in the cow when I got to the end of the jack. Long legs on the feckers but the bodies fill out to match. Last time using him anyway

jaymla627

Mooooo wrote: »

tanko wrote: »

What bull is the Sim calf off?

S3011. Technically a fleckvieh. Have 3 heifers and that bull and they all carried 1 week minimum. One of the heifers came backwards and I had to jack her, head was still in the cow when I got to the end of the jack. Long legs on the feckers but the bodies fill out to match. Last time using him anyway

Have a easy calving fleck bull here and delighted with him, have 25 calves from heifers and only jacked two, destroyed heifers the previous 2 years with "easy calving" Freisian bulls, its gas the genomic figures for the imported fleck where spot on re calving ease and the Irish ones were completely wrong

mahoney_j

jaymla627 wrote: »

Have a easy calving fleck bull here and delighted with him, have 25 calves from heifers and only jacked two, destroyed heifers the previous 2 years with "easy calving" Freisian bulls, its gas the genomic figures for the imported fleck where spot on re calving ease and the Irish ones were completely wrong

You forgot the ebi is ****e bit there jay

jaymla627

mahoney_j wrote: »

jaymla627 wrote: »

Have a easy calving fleck bull here and delighted with him, have 25 calves from heifers and only jacked two, destroyed heifers the previous 2 years with "easy calving" Freisian bulls, its gas the genomic figures for the imported fleck where spot on re calving ease and the Irish ones were completely wrong

You forgot the ebi is ****e bit there jay

Simple observation is all both fr bulls where less then 2% cd, jacked 17 out of 19 heifers with last years lad and was 14 out of 17 the year before, on cows it was nearly 50% that needed assistance, 65 kilo plus monsters of bull calves was a absolute nightmare....
Lost 3 of last years first calvers down to it due to damage at calving along with a very poor conception rate to first serve on the remainder of heifers

Mooooo

jaymla627 wrote: »

Have a easy calving fleck bull here and delighted with him, have 25 calves from heifers and only jacked two, destroyed heifers the previous 2 years with "easy calving" Freisian bulls, its gas the genomic figures for the imported fleck where spot on re calving ease and the Irish ones were completely wrong

Used a different one last year no problem bar the calves came black and white. Haved served all heifers here to genomic hol/ fr here with a number of years haven't jacked one. Jack has been only used on the fleckvieh this year, a dead fr last year and few Hereford in previous years. I find the short gestation of Irish bulls has them rel safe. Of course a few can go the other way but mammy has an influence too

Mooooo

jaymla627 wrote: »

Simple observation is all both fr bulls where less then 2% cd, jacked 17 out of 19 heifers with last years lad and was 14 out of 17 the year before, on cows it was nearly 50% that needed assistance, 65 kilo plus monsters of bull calves was a absolute nightmare....
Lost 3 of last years first calvers down to it due to damage at calving along with a very poor conception rate to first serve on the remainder of heifers

Did you use just one bull each year on the heifers? Better using a few to spread the risk

jaymla627

Mooooo wrote: »

jaymla627 wrote: »

Simple observation is all both fr bulls where less then 2% cd, jacked 17 out of 19 heifers with last years lad and was 14 out of 17 the year before, on cows it was nearly 50% that needed assistance, 65 kilo plus monsters of bull calves was a absolute nightmare....
Lost 3 of last years first calvers down to it due to damage at calving along with a very poor conception rate to first serve on the remainder of heifers

Did you use just one bull each year on the heifers? Better using a few to spread the risk

Clean-up stock bull,do one round of sexed ai on heifers and bull cleans up, usually get 55% holding to sexed so the rest are caught by the stock bull, zero-issues calving ai bulls

Mooooo

jaymla627 wrote: »

Clean-up stock bull,do one round of sexed ai on heifers and bull cleans up, usually get 55% holding to sexed so the rest are caught by the stock bull, zero-issues calving ai bulls

Ah fair enough, were they genomic tested or parent average? Calves landing from.cows from a homegrown stock bull I had last year and are bigger as well but longer dry period prob has an effect as well

Pidae.m

jaymla627 wrote: »

Simple observation is all both fr bulls where less then 2% cd, jacked 17 out of 19 heifers with last years lad and was 14 out of 17 the year before, on cows it was nearly 50% that needed assistance, 65 kilo plus monsters of bull calves was a absolute nightmare....
Lost 3 of last years first calvers down to it due to damage at calving along with a very poor conception rate to first serve on the remainder of heifers

Sounds awful wouldn't wish it on worst enemy.

Pidae.m

Poor calf trade today in bandon. Only things that held it own was the fr bull. He heifers the worst. Smashers but young sold for €60. Mainly 130 ish do.

Mooooo

My man didnt have his book to hand when I rang him but he thinks my 5 fr bulls made 100, 4 weeks old and the sim something over 200 same age. Bandon as well

Pidae.m

Mooooo wrote: »

My man didnt have his book to hand when I rang him but he thinks my 5 fr bulls made 100, 4 weeks old and the sim something over 200 same age. Bandon as well

One lad bought 5 beautiful her heifers for €50 at the end of the sale.

Mooooo

50 for Hereford, never heard of them that low before

Timmaay

Mooooo wrote: »

50 for Hereford, never heard of them that low before

I'll definitely be hanging onto rest of mine so.

tanko

Pidae.m wrote: »

One lad bought 5 beautiful her heifers for €50 at the end of the sale.

What were they making earlier in the sale?

Pidae.m

tanko wrote: »

What were they making earlier in the sale?

130 was the go mainly. €200 for nearly reared ones but they were scarce.