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Cattle below base price

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  • 13-03-2018 2:14pm
    #1
    MrManny
    Registered Users Posts: 9 ✭


    Hi all, I`m new to the farming and am just after sending my first 10 whitehead steers to the factory for slaughter. My question is that the agent for the factory gave me a base price of €4/kg but when the cattle were slaughtered the most I got was €3.88/kg. Im just wondering why this is, is it to do with them not scoring well in fat and condition, I assumed that the €4/kg base price was as little as I could get and it couldnt go below that. Thanks Its probably a stupid question but Im still fairly green at the farming.
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    #2
    wrangler
    Registered Users Posts: 11,057 ✭✭✭✭wrangler


    MrManny wrote: »
    Hi all, I`m new to the farming and am just after sending my first 10 whitehead steers to the factory for slaughter. My question is that the agent for the factory gave me a base price of €4/kg but when the cattle were slaughtered the most I got was €3.88/kg. Im just wondering why this is, is it to do with them not scoring well in fat and condition, I assumed that the €4/kg base price was as little as I could get and it couldnt go below that. Thanks Its probably a stupid question but Im still fairly green at the farming.

    No, base price isn't the lowest price, I don't have cattle but I think that the base price is the the price of a GRADE R3 or R4,
    O and P are worth less, and E and U are worth more
    The numbers are the fat score, 3 or 4 is the optimum, I'm not sure of the penalties for being above or below.

    Here's a better explanation.
    https://www.slaneyfarmers.com/qps-grid


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    #3
    MrManny
    Registered Users Posts: 9 ✭MrManny


    wrangler wrote: »
    No, base price isn't the lowest price, I don't have cattle but I think that the base price is the the price of a GRADE R3 or R4,
    O and P are worth less, and E and U are worth more
    The numbers are the fat score, 3 or 4 is the optimum, I'm not sure of the penalties for being above or below.

    Here's a better explanation.
    https://www.slaneyfarmers.com/qps-grid

    Thanks, that explains a lot, I’ll just have to do better with them next time ðŸ‘


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    #4
    Muckit
    Registered Users Posts: 11,174 ✭✭✭✭Muckit


    MrManny wrote: »
    Thanks Its probably a stupid question but Im still fairly green at the farming.

    Firstly, no such thing as a stupid question.

    Chalk it all down to experience. You now know the type and conformation of the animals you sold and what way they grade in rhe factory. You need to be aiming to buy cattle that will finish better than this now the next time. You may have bought whitehead calves out of dairy cows off a dealer who may or may not have taken advantage of your inexperience? Not that there is anything wrong with dealers in general or wh calves out if dairy stock, it's just picking the right ones.

    I've a neighbour grew up in the town and bought a few acres. He always gets screws of yokes off a dealer that nobody could finish. Then spends a small fortune on meal trying to turn them into cattle, which inevitably never happens. I've offered a few times to go with him to the mart and help him buy a few but l was never taken up on it. Not that l claim to know it all, but you know when you couldnt do any worse!!

    Anyways, what age/ weight were they when u sent them? What influenced your decision to send them now? What have you been feeding them on? It's 10 times easier to kill cattle off grass.


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    #5
    cute geoge
    Registered Users Posts: 2,848 ✭✭✭cute geoge


    i killed a 28 month he steer last week and all i got for him was €3.76 .He graded o-3+ 297kg x 3.76 = €1117 @3.90 base +10 cent he bonus .He was probably an average animal out of fr cow wondering should i have fed him on another month and would he have come into o+ grade and qa bonus.would he become overfat in a months time getting 6 -8 kg of barley/maize mix ,it is some joke the way o- cattle are penalised


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    #6
    Cavanjack
    Registered Users Posts: 2,542 ✭✭✭Cavanjack


    cute geoge wrote: »
    i killed a 28 month he steer last week and all i got for him was €3.76 .He graded o-3+ 297kg x 3.76 = €1117 @3.90 base +10 cent he bonus .He was probably an average animal out of fr cow wondering should i have fed him on another month and would he have come into o+ grade and qa bonus.would he become overfat in a months time getting 6 -8 kg of barley/maize mix ,it is some joke the way o- cattle are penalised
    He probably wouldn't come over fat in a month (if he hit 4= You'd lose another 6 cent) but he mightn't move up two grades. He was lightish for his age, probably better let him back to grass and kill under 36 months and forget about the bonuses.
    If You sent him the day before, the day after or to a different factory he might have moved up a grade.
    I think these typ of cattle are over priced in the marts. Lads are chasing bonuses that are hard to get. You were one grade away from the 12cent quality bonus.


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