Calf price chitchat

Mooooo wrote: »

Talking of the the beef and dairy industry being totally separate issues isn't correct either. It could be argued many beef farmers are supplementing Larry et al with the off farm job as much as anything else. Dont mean to start a back and forth between beef and dairy farmers but i don't think it is as straight forward as ye say. I sent the strongest fr bulls I had to bandon yday. Due to tb restrictions my calves can't go for export. 30 euro was all they made, as exporters didn't bid. Its the way the market is at the minute for the calves. All these calves were from big cow's. Dairy stock will always be apart of the beef industry.

Ya we blame the part time lad again. IMO there are a number of things to blame. But top of the list is the amount of ration and straights used in the finishing system. Nearly every idiot finishing cattle is throwing feed in with loaders and feed wagons. It harder to finish cattle off grass now labour wise than out of a shed. Teagasc started it by advising lads that it was more efficient to winter finish with neatly all ration and straw than with conventional silage and ration. Hey pesto8 you only needed a shed and a nitrates exemption to finish cattle. Most lads at this are handling large credit and numbers as well as machinery. Off course these are efficient operators just like efficient dairy farmers. It easier to think these lads are being bankrupted by the small lad with a job

Sacrolyte wrote: »

Fr bull calves will be scarce next year. You heard it here first.

I agree, imo there will be even more Jersey and Kiwi straws used for the first rotation this year, then back too FR/FRx/JE/JEx mop up bulls, then easy calving/short gestation/xunts of beef bred bulls thereafter.

New entrants are choosing crossbred genetics, as are many established FR/HO herds that are trying to expand and that doesn't included the already established crossbred herds of which there are numerous.

I read an article during the week (I think it was in the Indo) and it said that Jersey and Kiwi genetics are now embedded within the Irish dairy herd.

I know feck all about modern dairying techniques but most traditional dairy farmers around here have been using Jersey/Kiwi straws on some of their cows for the last few years.
The die is cast and it seems to me that crossbred cows are the future of dairying in Ireland as they are so popular.

Base price wrote: »

Ya we blame the part time lad again - TBF these are the same lads (or their agents) that are in the marts year on year outbidding exporters for FR bull calves - why wouldn't you blame them.

Teagasc started it by advising lads that it was more efficient to winter finish with neatly all ration and straw than with conventional silage and ration - I will stand correct but I think that can be laid at the door of the original KK clubs criteria.

There are loads of lads out bidding exporters for calves and weanlings. They are not necessarily part time lads. In our discussion group the lad that pays most for calves is an ex dairy farmer. In general it is Friesian that are exported as calves so in a way if you want to buy them you may have to pay 5-10 euro more/ head than an exporters.
However the biggest issue is the polish them off brigade these are lads that will not let any animal they house back out to grass. In there hands is the present crisis to do with winter feeding. There was 10k bulls more than normal slaughtered last winter. I have absolutely no sympathy for lads that dived into them stupid is what stupid dose.
While the KK club started the ration and straw feeding it was for bulls for the Italian market. Over the last 8-10 years it was promoted by Teagasc and IFJ as the way to finish cattle rather than silage and ration faster throughput higher gain etc. All very good if you make the same profit all the time. However as profit/ head declined and in the bull game turned into loss/ head it magnified the loss into stupid money.
I wonder how many lads that applauded the bold Henry's speech at the meeting in Laois were feeding cattle as above. There are a fair few specialist finishers up that direction that have a few sheds and grow grain, beet and spuds. If you lost 20-30 k feeding bulls last winter assuming you were not an idiot and factored in extra cost and a profit margin of 100/ head you need to be handling 2-300 bulls.
Most lads finishing bullock's and heifers are hit as well but losses should not be as bad. With prices back 25-40c/kg over the winter assuming DW of 330 kgs total a small profit may still have been possible provided they have factored in an profit of 100/ head off last year prices and factored in extra ration costs.
But then that is common sense it tends to be a bit uncommon

Bass Reeves wrote: »

Or else breed calves that have an economic beef value. Nobody expects 100% of calves to have an economic value however if the bobby calf number hit much above 1-2%% ( that is about 30k+ calves) I can see it staring to be an issue. If the numbers start to hit 10-15% in the region of 150-200k calves there will be huge issues for the dairy industry IMO. It would be very easy to hit that number by the dairy industry getting careless and a poor beef price as at present. If your prediction is right next year such calf numbers could hit 50k+. When you start to talk about numbers like that it gets hairy.

This is mainly a dairy industry issue not a beef industry issue. As well it may only be the farmers producing these calves that get hit. The government could put a levy on slaughtered calves to prevent it or even the EU or some processors could stop collecting milk from producers who slaughter a large percentage of calves. Such producer's would then have to find another milk processors and I am sure there would be some processors willing to process it but the milk price could be 3-10c/L below the industry norm. The government,the PLC's and the Co-op's will do what ever it takes to keep the show on the road.

Lads finishing u grade stock of their own sucklers cows are losing money......dairy calves are looking more like a byproduct.

Willfarman wrote: »

A wet spring and milk price of less than 20 cent
is all that will cure their belligerence!

Don't think we are gonna see 20c/l anyday soon, however if we were it would be the solids of that little je who would add 6 or 7c/l and let many lads stay afloat.

Have the worst calves in the mart and they are in last, what could possibly go wrong. The dealers will be mad to fill the trailers I'd imagine!

aa bull 100
aa heifer 100
small aa heifer 30
over 100 calves in Ardee which would be a massive sale for there, not enough buyers there. Was a few lovely fr heifer calves, genuine stock think the best made 270 . wh bulls to 320- which imo was madness.

Bass Reeves wrote: »

Or else breed calves that have an economic beef value. Nobody expects 100% of calves to have an economic value however if the bobby calf number hit much above 1-2%% ( that is about 30k+ calves) I can see it staring to be an issue. If the numbers start to hit 10-15% in the region of 150-200k calves there will be huge issues for the dairy industry IMO. It would be very easy to hit that number by the dairy industry getting careless and a poor beef price as at present. If your prediction is right next year such calf numbers could hit 50k+. When you start to talk about numbers like that it gets hairy.

This is mainly a dairy industry issue not a beef industry issue. As well it may only be the farmers producing these calves that get hit. The government could put a levy on slaughtered calves to prevent it or even the EU or some processors could stop collecting milk from producers who slaughter a large percentage of calves. Such producer's would then have to find another milk processors and I am sure there would be some processors willing to process it but the milk price could be 3-10c/L below the industry norm. The government,the PLC's and the Co-op's will do what ever it takes to keep the show on the road.

Would this lady make the pay-grade, off a planned cull but to go with this blue bull accross the herd you’d be asking for trouble

whelan2 wrote: »

4 calves in local sale. Aa bull just under 3 weeks €220. Aa heifer 5 weeks old 185. Fr bull 7weeks old 120!!!! & Aa heifer calf 2 weeks old a good bit of white on her 80 euro. Was jex in after mine 5 to 25 euro. Sale started at 2. I am home with my cheque now

Many calves there?

Was close on 1500 in bandon yday. Trade a bit better. Sold 4 to 5 wk old fr bulls made 80, aa bulls and heifers 3 weeks old 140 or so. Mine can't go for export so others may have made more

WCC again.

whelan2 wrote: »

A bit late in the year now.

Ya it's shoving on. But it's funny the late calves usually find buyers. They look fairly narrow don't they.

Probably bought by the job lots and these are the runts/failures by department inspection now for export since it's gotten more serious.

orm0nd wrote: »

Getting late in the year for fr heifers. Saw 6 smashing wh bulls bought in Bandon y/day. Great length and square must be a month old. Think he said avg 280 including fees.

I was only getting that for massive 5 week old BB bulls last year.

Pidae.m wrote: »

Macroom very dear today. Shippers flying.

What kind of prices Pidae?