Dairy Calves 2024

I never made any claim about dairying being great, unlike your naive and petty comment about easy money, so I don’t know where that last sentence comes from “boy”.

If you look back over my very scarce comment history regarding anything to do with dairy farmers I think you’ll find I’ve never once said it was handy and I have previously defended dairy farmers and both the work and investment involved in it.

It does seem to be a trait in your posting that if someone doesn’t agree with you or questions anything you say you seem to get snappy and narky so maybe it’s more fool me for asking a question of you. It just makes no sense to me that someone would go through the hard graft and expense of dairy farming if the money is so easily made off a few calves instead.

What you said was that you sold "for" calves for €5/hd last year and you were concerned about where they ended up. I still challenge the quality of your calves if they only got a bit of €5. You also stated you had to bring one home cause it go no bid - in fairness you took it home rather than leaving it at the mart to be "rehomed" or collected for slaughter. So again I suggest you either breed a better quality calf or else don't whinge about price.

As aside, over the decades I've bought and reared more FR and dairy beef cross bull/heifer calves than most dairy farmers reading this thread will ever breed.

Nothing wrong with my calves. I see fools around the ring paying big money for calves with false dates of birth and fattened up from adlib milk. People should know better than that. I'm willing to rear my own calves and that should prove that I believe in their quality.

I sold for bull calves out of the yard a few years ago for 80 euro. Man that bought them was delighted because they did way better than other calves he bought. He wanted more calves the following year but wouldn't pay the same price because he said he could get cheaper calves. Good luck to you so I said.

I could expand the dairy herd this year as I've bought land. I'll milk an extra half row this year and keep the calves that I can't get a fair price for. I'll see how it goes. I might expand the cows a bit more next year. I usually sell my surplus replacements at about 8 weeks for 4 or 5 hundred euro so I just keep the minimum of them.

I like the idea of having a few dry cattle about the place but sure we'll see how it goes. I'm after giving a fr bull calf to each of my children and they can have the money out of them when they sell them. Figured I might as well gift them to my children as gifting them to a stranger.

We always kept the calves growing up and my father made good money out of them he swears.

Or maybe you are just paranoid 🤔.

It's an amazing reaction to just saying that I was keeping my fr bull calves this year instead of giving them away.

@straight That was my reaction to what you said, a very simple and straight forward question.

Nothing paranoid, no reference to dairy farming being handy, no reference to any issue with mixed farming.

You seem to make a hobby out of starting arguments over nothing here so I’m out at this stage, I don’t have the patience for child’s play like that.

If we’re to take you at your word and your calves are as good as you say, and can make as much easy money as you say yet still end up being sold for €5 or not even getting a bid then just maybe the attitude is the problem? Lads buying calves in the marts all the time get to know the sellers so once the name comes up on the board it could be the issue.

I looked at a few FR/FR bull calves online on Saturday from Carrigallen and they norm was from €40 to €60 for 20 to 25 day old calves. There were exceptions with some making €100+. I didn't see Carnaross yesterday.

Or what I have been trying to tell people, you will buy a good FR calf for €80 or AAx at €200, bring them all to slaughter and they will leave €200 - €300 more than the calf at €5. But it would cost nearly the same to bring all to slaughter & maybe even more for €5 lad as they are poor converters of feed to beef. Lads see a FR bullock making a good price & they think all FR should make the same. There is a massive difference in the quality of FR male cattle available. Its only when you are killing them you realise it. A good one at the right money can turn a nice profit. Bad ones too dear will break you.

And the good Fr for the hook at 24 months get as rare as hen's teeth. In a batch of 20 average For bull calves, there will be about 2-3 that will turn a good margin. The same batch will have 6-10 that will just ....... Take forever due to genetics, is the kind way of putting it. The more crude way is break you in costs and time. Last year sample of slaughtering of 2020 spring Dairy bred stock started in late Feb and finished in mid Dec. 95% were killed from Feb to mid August. The last to go were the poor quality FRs in Dec.

The problem is the tale end in calf quality is just too big. The sooner we have DNA reg of calves at birth with a CBV value and the beef sub index the better. This will change the attitude on EBI to breeding.

Oh right. So because I decided to keep a few of my own calves it means I have a problem with a beef man making money. 🤔🤔.

Not a teagasc man or a numbers man. Just interested in carrying on the way my father farmed before me with a bit of mixed farming for a while.

I am producing good calves and I will do fine out of them. Not sure what everyone is getting so excited about.

We breed Angus, agreed there are some shockingly bad Angus bulls out there. I know of one pedigree breeder selling stock that shouldn't be getting papers for them at all.

A genomic result takes the guts of 2 weeks, sire will be verified in a couple of days

I can't understand myself, why lads go mad for AA calves from the dairy herd. As far as i can see, they stay small little runts. A neighbour bought some a few years back and he sold them for €200 as weanlings in October These came straight from a farmer and got meal all summer. Never again, he said.

I've another neighbour that buys the best whitehead he can and gets on very well.

I can see it in stock at the moment. Approx 30-40 kg difference in DW at the moment. That's €160-220 difference in output.

I only singled out AA as it's the 2nd most popular after fresian. I'm well aware of othe example in other breeds.

Remember that better grading animals always weight more on the scales 90% of the time.

I do think that twins/multiples and calves to heifers should be noted on the blue card. This is both for dairy and sucklers