Mart Price Tracker

What would be best for the suckler farmer

Sell as weanlings @ €1000+, kill as U16m bulls or U24/30m as steers /heifers

Sadly lots wouldn’t have the land type to finish off grass

I do a mix of beef farming. I have a predominantly lmx suckler herd. I rear 20 dairy calves and then I would buy in stores from 12 - 20 months. I sell beef cattle to two factories (certain type of cattle seem to do better in different factories) and would also sell some of the suckler bred bullocks at 24 months in the mart & the heifers at about 16 months also in the mart.

I find the following:

My heifers usually sell for breding and are probably the most profitable animals I sell. My suckler bred bullocks, I have the most options with, I can mart them or factory them, depending on where I feel I would do best. There is a good northern trade around here & they seem to have no problem giving giving top money for anything better than an R+ grade bullock in the 650kg - 700kg bracket.

My dairy feed stock can only go 1 road and that is to the factory (Fr, Shx & AAx Kepak, anything else Liffey) if I want the best return, that ties my hands slightly. All good in good year, but if things are poor they are the ones that get the kicking. Plus generally I would buy lads in to pal the lads I reared at less than what cost me to rear them, the only issue with buying in cattle is you also buy in their problems like TB, pneumonia ect plus bad temperament. If you know & manage your costs you know which is leaving the best return. @ November 1st any year my dairy reared calves are costing me around €430 - €450 of direct costs. My suckler cow for the year is costing me around €500, key to keeping this figure down is to be very sharp with your cows, cows need to produce milk so at weaning calves are 350kgs plus, I calf in March & April generally, I don't carry empty cows, if a cow loses a calf she is culled & replaced at the cull price or less. I don't keep a bull & I try to select AI bulls to get the best out of a cow. If I was to increase my herd size my 20% it would be totally on the suckler side as I know I would get a better return on that than if I done the same on the dairy beef side.

My farm is fragmented, but is good dry land, cattle wouldn't be housed until mid -late November are now back out to grass. I aslo know that wouldn't be the situation in other parts of the country.

I was planning on taking a few heavy lada but held off after hearing how many were being sold.

Sometimes find that the special unless you have a right one can be hit and miss.

Tuned in a few times prices seemed to go up and down

Best prices for the 500 kg animals around 12 months

you'd wonder why lads took heifers there last night, they'd be well wrecked givin the hour they were sold at

Castleisland was on late enough too yesterday, anything light for age was back a bit in my eyes

Di

Did you notice any Ch cows there, maybe 650 kg?

only saw the suckler clearance sale and then the heifers,

Friday is the day for cull cows there. Had a few there yesterday myself. If she's a plain ch cow yesterday you were talking 1300-1500, abit of shape with abit of flesh between 1500-1900. Seen 1 cow go to 2500.

Surprisingly great prices for culls at the moment.

Consensus around the North East here, is young stock to factory, and culls to mart.

Not a hope, i’d say the factory wouldn’t have given you two grand for her.

Seen that in the mart two weeks ago with two lads at the ring on the phone in two other marts buying, when we are buying heifers up the country we have lads in the mart marking the lots to bid on to suit and just send the lorry to collect and pay on line.

Sold nice lim heifers in the mart last week average 485 kgs average price 1255 bit disappointed would have hoped for about 100 more on average. Would have been bought about end of September into October for average 1050 so maybe left a small bit would have been out grazing heavy paddocks for about a month before housing, dosed twice and done for lice, ate around 3 and half bales each and got no meal. Bigger disapointment or worry is they only averged 50kg weight gain so pasture quality and silage quality obviously an issue