Dairy Calves 2024

alps

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121841380#Comment_121841380

What weight did the Ho bulls go in at?

straight

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121841380#Comment_121841380

How many litres of milk do you think they were drinking?

ginger22

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121841406#Comment_121841406

No weights displayed

alps

Got a wide range of prices for the bull calves...All 50 to 53kg...

Some made over 4 times what others made...

They ranged from €2 to €9..

The x bred lads are after pivoting very fast indeed. Some amount of BB a d HE out of JEX there today, making smart enough money. Didn't see many if any real JEX bulls, wherever they have dissappeared to....pretty lively change of direction on the sexed semen likely..

Have to hand it to them...

ginger22

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121841619#Comment_121841619

Didn't keep a record but it was mostly waste milk and I think that on normal feeding they would probably have drank more to get them to that size and weight because it would take at least another 3 weeks.

And the there was no work in them, The "Gentleman" trolley ferried the milk and they helped themselves.

Also you couldn't imagine how relaxed they were.

It is our first year with the "Power" feeder but I would highly reccomend it.

Bass Reeves

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121841674#Comment_121841674

Alps what were your mainly first crosses. 50+kgs woykd be decent enough weight for them @ 3ish weeks.

Farm365

Why would a beef farmer pay what it costs to get a calf to 8-10wks? The cost is irrelevant it’s whatever the market rate is based on supply and demand. Do the milk processors pay Dairy farmers a price based on the cost of production or the market rate? Dairy farmers want it every way and up to now have had it their own way but the realisation is starting to dawn that they need beef farmers more than ever or else they will have to rear their own calves and cut cow numbers to allow for this.

Lime Tree Farm

Very interesting watching FarmerPhil and Viv getting the calf shed ready and the arrival of their new JEX bull calves. The automation of the calf feeder readings based on the EID tags is fascinating- how times have changed.

mahoney_j

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121842186#Comment_121842186

Very smug of you ….I don’t or don’t want to get rich from beef or bull calves …I will rear them to 8/10 weeks if a buyer wants but an 8/10 week old calf will be near reared and have a lot of milk drank and the hard risky part of tearing is done …what’s so wrong with wanting what it cost in milk and meal and hay to get it there …I’ll rear it for no cost of my time …only for all this nitrates /banding /derogation shite I’d rear 80% of my calves

Bass Reeves

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121842855#Comment_121842855

Nothing wrong with it MJ. It's just beef farmers have choices like never before. There are lads making a living hanging around a mart at the moment make a living buying and killing cows straight away.

A few weeks ago on LSL I saw culls 350-400kgs ( FRX Cross cows) dry and not incalf sell form 70c to a euro a kg, 4-500 kgs and some were only 5-6 years old.

Last Wednesday night I saw yearling Fr heifers 220kgs make 240 euro in Gortalea. That is what your Friesian calves are competing against.

There is loads of options in beef now, if a lad has a bit of savvy 3-400/ acre net margin along with your SFP is achievable on owned land

Farm365

Smug is expecting a beef farmer to cover your costs. When an animal is brought to the factory can a beef farmer detail the costs and expect the factory to cover them? In a bad milk price year processors don’t care if the price is below the COP you take the price your given based on supply and demand. Unfortunately the supply of calves far outweighs the demand. Beef farmers have had enough of rearing poorly bred calves with rising costs and making a loss year after year and trying to live off the SFP. Beef farmers have more options now but ultimately these calves have to go somewhere and if live exports go it could collapse the price of beef with a glut of supply.

alps

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121841930#Comment_121841930

They're coming from 50/50 Ho/Br Friesian, calf sired by Irish high ebi (NZ background) proven.

Calving is a doddle, but were loosing size.

Knew we were in for a beating today, but had to make space where this group were camped. (Still couldn't possibly pay to invest in infrastructure to carry these for any appreciable time in any case)

One more group to go, and we can be more flexible after that about when and where we offload.

Bass Reeves

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121843641#Comment_121843641

If I am right they are completely black calves. They need to go to thirty months for finish. Grading usually O-/=, I only every had them from stores but they were OK I say they were off HO. Fierce long cattle had one about 5 years ago kill over 400kgs at just under 36 months.

If the lad that buy them carry them to finish there is a twist off them. I like to see any off a decent square BF or HO cow

Edit: I think there is bluey grey ones as well. One nearly got me in a field 10-12 years ago. Cowardly ba***rd, he used to dance in front of me ,I would hit him a swipe of the stick and go back 10 steps facing him. He come back at me so I hit him a swipe again. It took me 6-8 goes to get to the ditch.

He did not seem to be a rig no neck no stone.

mf240

Unique selling point

Castlekeeper

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121841380#Comment_121841380

Good prices for the BS, I saw a few selling that didn't make that kind of money.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121841619#Comment_121841619

In my experience they'd average about 9l/day on an ad lib feeder over the 3 weeks, but they do put on the weight so as Ginger said, it works out the same, except with less time and labour.

straight

I got tired of giving away calves last year. Hence, I have a few here as yearlings now and I might take them to the mart shortly enough. I wonder what are they worth.

Fr bulls about 300 kg,

Aa bulls about 280kg,

Aa heifers about 250kg.

Just eyeballing the weights like. They are nice and fleshy

Jack98

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121845136#Comment_121845136

Currently I’d say 575, 775, 700 and you’d be going well, price of cattle gone well back last few weeks, if you can hold onto them for a bit longer and the weather turns some bit in the coming weeks there will be farmers out then looking to buy you’re at a hiding to nothing going to the mart at the moment very little farmers out understandably.

straight

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121845189#Comment_121845189

Ya, they're giving me no trouble where they are at the moment anyway. I was only getting 5 euro for them 12 months ago so I can't lose.

Base price

I was looking at Cahir, Carrigallen and Tipperary town marts over the last few days and there is great value in good quality square FR bull calves. I saw lots of them sold c. 20 days old for €20 to €30. There has to be a rational for buying them to make a bullock rather than an Angus or BWH costing €250 to €350 if your keeping them either finish or forward stores.

Grueller

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121845189#Comment_121845189

That's €2.75/kg for the Angus there. I don't see it getting much better than that even if the weather turns.

Murang

I see hex 305kg making 900 yesterday in Macroom bullocks

Grueller

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121845409#Comment_121845409

€2.95/kg. Not long ago only u grade cattle made that

morphy87

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121845189#Comment_121845189

I was in Thurles last Monday and I saw some great fresians selling, 338 kgs made €820, 334kgs €800,270kgs €650, all bullocks, but Thurles is a good place to sell fresians

morphy87

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121845418#Comment_121845418

275 kgs Angus made €840 in Thurles last Monday which is which is 3.05 a kilo, savage money

mf240

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121845374#Comment_121845374

They would be way better value than the "free " calves.

Possibly 200 or more kg liveweight heavier when mature and with a good grading good enough to get qa.

Base price

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121845576#Comment_121845576

They are better value and will make better carcass weights than AAx, HEx, BBx, SPx and whatever other breed you can throw into the mix outta JEx and Kiwi FR dams.

Jack98

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121845368#Comment_121845368

Exactly you can pick holes in the value I mentioned but you’ve a years work out in them and if they’re well done that’s the least you should be expecting. Have 60/70 weanlings here will probably sell a shot of them in the next 6 weeks and finish the remainder nitrates might put a finish to that in the next 2 years. Nice to get a twist out of them when you have the grass to do so.

Reggie.

20240226_123302.jpg

Anyone else having calves coming large this year?

Lots of big AA coming through this year.

Tileman

Have only had sheep here for last number of years. One of my sons is mad to get a few calves to rear. Have a lad in the gaa club who has AA heifer calves. He would be sound. But what would be a fair price for them 3 week old . I’m out of the loop on calf prices .

Also how long does it take to reactivate the herd number or the fact that I have the sheep will that do with dept?

funkey_monkey

If you bought in fr bulls, do you need to take them the whole road yourself or is there any way out to sell them to a finisher without losing out?

Haven't finished any here. Usually sell as stores to finishers but might change system with the Lim calves we bought in last year.