Dairy Calves 2024

They're not factoring in hugely increased culling rates on farms into the back-end of the year/ late calvers that are milked on been hung up before calving also, I say you'll see less dairy cows calved next year then last year, their obviously will be the 35000 "Bobby calves" that will need to find a home but the owners of these calves will likely have to keep them till their weaned and find someone to take them, so they won't be clogging up the marts

The dumping of calves days are over in marts, if not sold farmer will have to bring them back home, Bobby man isn't their to take them anymore which was the get out of jail card for farmers/mart managers to get shot of these calves....

Off-loaded 10 culls yesterday straight out of parlour, where good solid 650kgs holstein cows lacking flesh, they avergaed 300 deadweight and came to 915 euro one screwy lady only came to 500 so messed up the averages, he had went with culls from another local lad 2 days previously high ebi light cows and they came into 290 euro, would love to know how my cows are negative for beef on their ebi and the Irish bred ladies are classed as better

Very few wanted heifer calves back then. Poor fences on farms, no injections to abort in-calf heifers etc all made them very unattractive to small operators.

I was at the Mart 2 weeks ago there was a nice run of reared calves circa 4 months. They made between €150 -€200, AAx & Fr.from Frx cows It wouldn't have paid to feed them. (Not that they appeard to have gotten too much feeding) . I was telling a friend who has good calves from a British Fr x Ho dairy herd. He said the whole JEx thing is crazy as yes he is loosing on the bonuses but he is making it back on the litres supplied plus he tells me he gets longer out of his cows.

If he adds flekvieh breeding, banding won't be a problem.

That's an interesting one. What are the improvements over the holstein Jay? Type and solids I would assume. Not stereotyping holsteins as low solids either. I have a friend with pedigree holsteins doing 3.6 + protein in peak production.

If a buyer is purchasing rats of calves from dairy farmers and they’re leaving them little to no margin that is the buyers problem. All farm types are businesses and should be treated accordingly.

If you’re a beef farmer buying in, find an animal type that suits whatever system you wish to carry out and stop complaining about poorer quality stock and just don’t buy poorer quality stock.

If a farmer isn’t making money from dairy bred stock that’s his own issue for bad decision making.

Well said, the day you purchase is the day you sell, lads buying these poor calves and cattle is sending a message to the dairy man keep producing what you’re doing and don’t improve. Buying poor cattle it’s very hard to get performance out of them and lads on here talking them up and on YouTube how great Jex are best cattle to buy and then trying to convince how great they are. When killing cattle the only thing that pays is weight. A neighbour bought FRX and Jex bull calves spring 2022 and sold 15 three weeks ago 570 average for bulls.What did they leave behind them in profit.