Beef price tracker 2

Turnover may save some of the dairy men. Beef feedlots will be under pressure. However most will have rolling contracts with processor's. High leasing rates will come under pressure as pushing out put will not be an option.

What may catch some larger dairy men is if they have to much milk in fixed price deals. If they drop output they still have to supply the number of litres at a fixed price. Co-ops are trying to sort something out for lads that entered these fixed price contracts in the last twelve months.

Lads ways taught these were a sure bet with little risk on the top side. They had not factored costs escalating. Very few beef men will be on longer than 3 months contracts. However the real catch for these lads is can they maintain output and still make a margin.

Most are dependent on buying straights, maize, root crops and straw with a bit of silage. In the last 2-3 years straw has doubled on price. Straights and rations have gone up by 70% in the last five year with most of that in the last twelve months. In one way processor's want these lads. However they were being used to keep a lid in seasonal variations. The processor's had managed to keep the risk period from April to June, however last year the risky period for them was July/August.

We are at present nearly the lowest priced beef in Europe so there is plenty of meat on the bone still to go around

Ballina Mart, few lads around said they're going even more the Saturdays in Dowra.

That talk has been going on some time began. Big feed lots are either financed by the processors or independent. The ones linked directly to the processor (which are the majority) don't 'own' the stock not as exposed there. I know of a big independent in the midlands who has a very good credit facility in a few marts. I doubt he owes a shilling to anyone except credit. All these guys know their stuff and some can even take a hit every so often.

The dairy guys were always looked after by a decent price. I remember early eighties they took a hit with interest rates, they was a bad price for a couple of years in the nineties and then again around 2014 ish. They bounced back.

I wouldn't loose too much sleep over any of them, this will all pass.

I would suspect that back in the 80s the price of machinery was not as high as today and as regards robotic and rotary parlours capital expenditure that have investment costs of over a million were not around. I think a couple of percent extra on there repayments coupled with feed and fertiliser input costs they may be worse off than we think.

That's true about the cost of living in the eighties but not many had huge cow numbers, silage was poorer quality, parlours very inefficient and everything appeared cheaper by today's standards.

Times have moved on so has standard of living. Dairy men purchase stuff without having to think unlike drystock men and I don't mean they are rolling in it. Banks wouldn't give loans without business plans and those are tested at varying degrees of fluctuations to incomes. Yes I'm sure some might struggle like they did in the years I mentioned but I wouldn't bet on a doomsday scenario.

A lot of shorter term loans have been refinanced using SCBI money. There has been been subsidized loan money around for the last 3-4 years. Only disadvantage of it is the terms are 6-7 years max. You can borrow at sub 3% if you get it.

€1440 for a 760kg FR cow 2013 born just after going through the ring in Cavan mart.

Milking cows or feeding Cattle rarely got any body to go bust , most guys that hit the wall spent money they didn’t have on over priced land or property

A 330 kg Fr bullock grading O- would make 1525 and if it was an O= it would make 1575 euro.

Based on yer experience, which one would leave the greater margin for the farmer that buys as a store. I know this year is a very different year. But in the normal run of things The 500 kg lim or the 330 kg fr bullock DW. A 500 kg bullock DW when he was LW is a serious animal, particularly if you can get them in under 30 months, if that's possible. They were a common site on many a farm around here 20+ years ago but rarely see one now.

Thanks Cavanjack. Be interesting to see what way it will go over the coming months. Have a few bullocks getting close to been ready so my eyes are particularly focused on the current market.

That’s nearly €1000 margin which is brilliant. Good weight gain in that time too.

Always say if you can average 450 dw you are doing well.

best of luck with them in the next few weeks.

Killed a load of these bullocks during the week. €4.75 base. They killed out an average weight of 460kg and averaged a little over €2300. Average price paid for them this time last year was €1070.

The pick of them cost €1020 and killed out 520kg a u-. He came into over €2600. Long may it last but I don’t think there is a hope that I’ll replace them this year for that money unfortunately.

The factory feedlots are paying the big prices for forward stores that many farmers would usually buy this time of year. These farmers are then left to buy the lighter store this year creating more competition round the ring.

Too many lads looking for the fancier Continental HE or AA store that is due for finished this year or can be resold in the autumn.

I was looking at yearling in a few marts. I saw some dairy cross BBX 300 kgs only making 1.8/ kg. The whitish framy type. Most FR yearlings 300-330 were making 1.6-1.8/ kg but I saw a bunch 320 kgs sold for 440 euro. I saw odds and ends of Continentals 260-300 kgs R grade. Cattle that will not be huge making less than 2/kg. Some fancier 200-250 runners 450-600 euri

Except I always tight for grass at this time of year I would not mind buying the likes of them. Ya there are all 15 month cattle but a lot of them will leave a grand in 15 months.

Other than grass 4 bales of silage will winter them in my system and 150-200 kgs of ration will finish them