As in suck calves for rearing?
Wouldn't touch them in a mart tbh
How long should 12 weanlings take to eat a Bale of Silage? They are getting a bag of meal as well!
Do a search on the icbf for the sire of the calves.
Maybe 4 or 5 days, depending on the bale and the age if the weanlings
Thats what I thought... sires not recorded on probably 90-95%
Friesians are very unforgiving. They is a huge difference between selling them slightly underfinished and with a bit of finish on them. You can lose grade, weight and QA( on 1 out of 3)
Friesians are preforming badly this year compared to last year. Last bunch of 5-6 I sold were brutal grass is starting to be excellent for me at present.
I have half my replacements bought so far. Ya they have taken a bit of a hammering over the last 10 days but a 430kg FR is too light to finish over the winter rations ate 400-450/ton. A 430 kg friesian fed for 150 days (50-60 3kgs+ silage and 6-8+ for the rest) will struggle to kill 300 DW. Ration alone is 350-400 euro alone.
If the lad that bought them got them for sub 50/ head and had a good system he might have 150/head out of them
If I was buying calves I would like to be buying them off a farmer I know where he/she would share the details of the bulls / straws used.
The right job is calves that could be finished well under the 30 months off grass or minimal meal.
Yea that’s the ideal but hard in practice.
If I was going the calf to beef road I’d definitely use that approach.
What base price is being quoted at the minute?
Silage going a savage price in Cork, lad bought bales in North West Cork , 45 and 15 to deliver and it was a long, long haul.
One might make more selling some of it in a months time than feeding.
I can't believe the amount of Cattle in Irish Marts which have such dismal liveweight in relation to their ages. Surely they aren't fed and left to survive on fresh air and their wits!
What breeds are we talking?
Could be an idea to generate a few bob in January if you had 50 spare bales. A couple of grand would be handy for cash flow.
There is no money in cattle that are kept long term. If anyone is serious about the calve to beef job they must spend money on a very good calf house with all the bells and whistles. Calves die or are poor thrivers if not properly done.
The most only way I see to make a few Bob out of that game is 21 month finish. Less sheds, more stock and out the gap asap.
I agree with you there. One winter and gone early.
That’s why the 30 month fellows don’t make sense to me. Say on 50 cattle, keeping them an extra say 6 months. It’s like holding an extra 25 cattle
I’ve been saying that for a long time on here.
I cannot understand all the fuss over the 30 month old age limit. There should be only a small minority of cattle that ever see it anyway.
And I think its obvious why trying to get them out under 21 months is not the way to go
investment in those facilities mentioned
inputs required
The above come with huge risk particularly the second one if prices go down but you've put in money ....
If you look at the bigger picture, more overall production so price goes down
And to cap it off I think its not necessarily good for the environnent to encourage lower age limits and more intensive production despite what the "experts" say....I've yet to meet one with a coherent answer when questioned re:points above....if younger age limits are such a good idea for the farmer they should be able to swat a guy like me away like a fly...
Now if an animal that fattened naturally off grass in 21 months and left a margin behind was widely available I'd be less doubtful....although having said that I'd still wonder about price direction if everyone was at it too.
Off a dairy cow only the jan and feburary aa/wh calf are the only calves suitable for finishing under 21 months and even at that is it profitable ,you wouldn't hear of many bullock finished at 21 months either
It can be done. A lot of those calves are mineral deficient. A lot to be said for a couple of mineral doses for those kind of yearlings when you buy them
An Angus out of a handyish dairy cow should finish sub 24 months.
30 months is some age to finish stock at in my opinion
I've been at calf to beef for 30/40 years now. Fr males usually - always bought in marts. 35% her or AA in recent years. Rented land in the old days and as a result had a substantial SFP. Couldn't finish stock at 24 months; Fr males were often sold just on 30 months. No meals fed third year, but always gave 1/2 kgs over Winter primarily to stretch silage. System was reasonably profitable before sfp. Stocked at 220.
Hereford, Angus Friesian some over 2 years old weigh less than 500 kgs.
In a mart yesterday I seen an Angus bullock 28 months old only weigh 350 kgs surely there is something wrong here.
Switched from continental sucklers selling weanlings to dairy calf to beef here 10 years ago,we kill all calves as bullocks and heifers before there second winter.They are a mix of AA and HE.Dead weights usually average 270kg for heifers and 315kg bullocks
Main thing is i have a good relationship with the dairy farmer I buy off,he let's me pick the ai straw for his beef calves before breeding,he has no Jersey blood in the herd at all,all calves are bought in the region of €150 flat rate bulls and heifers +3 weeks old,it works well so far but if I had to go back buying in marts from unknown herds I wouldn't bother rearing calves
I see ABP Demo Farm slaughtered a O- Heifer with just a carcase weight of 201 kgs with an adequate fat finish. This Heifer was produced from a low Genetic Bull.
One day the bull gats the blame and the next the cow will get the blame .What does drafting an underweight animal for the factory prove only they will clean you .She would have come into r grade if left until proper factory weight so someone tot up what that brain fart cost
I was cutting the lawn earlier and looking for a podcast to listen to when I chanced upon the Teagasc BeefEdge one.
The host was talking to a dairy-beef lad who buys 100+ calves every year and finishes them all. He buys them from his brother who’s milking cows. He sounds like he’s doing a great job on them in fairness but not once did the host ask him what type of cow was the brother milking. The only talk was the DBI of the bull. It’s almost like Teagasc have decided the cow has no impact on the calf so drive on with the extreme types.
Anyway, bottom line from the podcast was buy better calves and feed them more meal in their first year. Who’d have thought, eh?
She would have come into 880 euro and that is depending on no penalty for low carcass weight. Kepak had proposed a penalty on light cattle of 20-50/kg depending on how far below 230kgs DW she was. She would probably be hit with 30-40c/kg so another 60-80 below that if there was an underweight penalty.
If you slaughtered her next June at 280+kgs and as an O+ grade she would hit over 1400 at the same price. However June price is usually 30-50c/kg above autumn price so 1500-1550 euro.
The only thing next year is the proposed slaughter premia for U24 months of 100 euro however I see there is hints of 24-26 months of age
Madness killing the likes of her. €200 would probably keep her from now until next June and as you said probably get €1400 for her.
any prices for this week ie week commencing 19th Sept
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