What are your thoughts on the fertiliser price s for 2022

No just no .it most certainly has not always been. For god's sake your a learned lad who seems fairly smart (and I genuinely mean that ) please don't make that mistake and believe that it's the way it always was.

Thank you danzy I knew the likes of yourself would have the figures on it .it's shocking when you think of it it really has destroyed our products buying power.

Yes it sickens me to see people who worked hard and produces such quality food being brought so low by greed In society they do call the GAA the grab all association ..........but the rest of the general public are much worse

You keep forgetting that Chicken and pork are more dependent on grain than beef in Ireland. As well you forget the EU is a complete market and Irish beef competed mainly with feedlot beef. Feedlot beef production will drop considerably unless prices increase substantially It the reason that beef price has increased at present.

Chicken especially and pork have followed grain prices up because retailers were not taking the margin they were off beef. Chicken has risen by 59%+ already pork similarly. You are seeing the food counter chicken follow it as well and we have not seen the effect of present price rises yet.

Yet beef has not as the massive margin processor's and retailers were taking is allowing them to hold the price.

I think the first place people will cut back is in eating out. Prices have increased by 20-25% since pre COVID. Recently we were away with the lads in a rented house we had dinner in one night steak, prepared potatoes and veg out if SuperValu wine desert. Total Inc wine 12-13/ head. The other two nights we were in restaurants steak were 30 euro plus one night and a ten euro supplement the other night on a 40 euro meal.

The bottom.endbog the market is where mince and stewing competes with chicken especially and pork. Remember there is fewer choices out there Fish is exceedingly expensive. Farmed salmon is now is just about cheaper than steak and that the s down to portion size.

During the last recession after 6-12 months where chicken was dominant ( and this was in an era of cheap grain prices 130-140/ ton off the combine) beef came back stronger than ever as people got bored eating chicken and pork and found it tasteless. As well chicken is on the menu 3-4 time a week in most houses already. Pork 1-2 times. Beef is generally on the menu only 1-2 times a week. It's hard to see that dropping much further.

As wel and I go back to it beef production in feedlots will drop like a stone if prices do not rise in tandem with grain prices. You already see pig producers cribbing and crying. They are looking for 100 million in support. This was what we got in a BEAM scheme when beef was on the floor

Food prices are going one way and grain prices are deciding that.

There will be political pressure to keep food prices low so theres that.....I'd be thinking it will revert to what it was medium to long term.....

So cheap food and producer kept on life support if they can wrangle that.

I think try keep numbers the same if possible this year. All this negative talk we hear everywhere is turning farmers against farming. Give it 12 months I reckon. Cut back then if it's no better.

It now looks increasingly like the Russians will pull back to the Donbass and the area between Russia and Crimia - so according to a tweet from the Ukraine Agri ministry early this week, close to 80% of crops will be sowed which should take alot of pressure off this year

The war was only a handy excuse for politicians. This crap was caused by bad policy for years. If you shut down power plants and treat food producers like dirt then you will have energy and food shortages. My 8 year old could tell you that.

I killed ones from the end of last year this Jan instead.

Didn't replace, I think a lot of lads will cut stock numbers this side of winter.

If it is a bad grass year it could turn in to a rout.

I think next year or the year after could be the start of a lot of good cattle years.

I think if we had a bad year that an awful lot of reasonably or heavily stocked lads will just walk and keep bare numbers.

As someone said in a previous post, beef farming at the scale we do it here in Ireland will never be hugely profitability. Food prices will always be kept affordable to the public and also it's ruined with large processors. The powers at be know we will suffer away with small margins. The money beef farmers made in the 70s and early 80s will never seen again I believe. No Bord Bia crap back then and feed what you want with no questions 😉💰💰.

I wonder if there is any reasonable scale that is profitable in the Western world now, outside of corporate giants.

Lot of ranches in the States in trouble.

Beef may become the preserve of the global rich.

Lol. True.

The ponderosa will manage just fine.

It's worth stating that it is all playing on lads minds, and no wonder. I came across a ewe today that I lambed last year, head caught and choked in sheep wire.

It took a bit out me, more than I expected and down to worrying about the bigger picture and other things in my personal life. There will be plenty of us here who feel it all weighing down very heavy.

It's a lot of pressure to be under, and bottling up and saying nothing about.

It is a nfookijg mess but time will ease it.