Anyone exit Suckler system??

Same here.

Ya more and more getting out. It's a lot of hardship with little reward. I watched dairy bred AA calves selling for 50euro in Ross mart about 2 weeks ago. In the older ring, same day saw 650kg 22 month AA bullocks making over 2000.

Kids are part of my decision too, they want to be more and more involved and I think rearing calves without calving cows and keeping a stock bull will allow them a lot more involvement with better safety. I was originally thinking of going AI but the farm is too disjointed and it wouldn't be practical.

Not knocking your plan, I don’t know if the €50 AA calf will make €2000 at 22 months. It takes good genetics and allot of effort to get a bullock to 650kg. You need to be on your game the day you’re buying. Saw a 22 month AA at 350kg make €700 last night.

Down to single digits too and sold the bull last year. I’m getting out the last few years but finding it hard to make the break. My reference for the new scheme is 25 so it’d be up on over 3k of a payment but even that’s not really making me thinking of staying going with them. Wouldn’t be on bad land but cattle went in here bout 20th of October and they are only back out a week now, and the fields are full of closhs today. That’s a long winter.

planning on upping sheep numbers a bit and also buying runners or weanling. Would have one group less for grazing so hoping grazing management should be a tad easier too. I’ll be sad to see them so but I think looking back in a year I won’t regret it.

The long winter is killing it thinking of out myself. The amount of silage cows eat is ridicolous mine are eating 12 bales over the winter easily, add in straw bit of meal, minerals, dosing etc too much against the weanling let alone what the weanlings own costs. You need to be producing the 1500 bull calf to justify it. the 800 to 900 weanling I produce is no use. Also calf losses really kill it. Family at dry stock and very rare to lose a beast at that.

Organic no better either I found more costs same money.

IF that is right sucklers days seem numbered except for an export market.

500kg and lighter, Marts be full of them at the back end of the year. They are usually hungry at that weight and do a good thrive to kill off grass the following year.

I’ve yearling bulls that I wintered heading for 450-500kg at the minute. I’d like them hanging at 20 months.

I rear 20 bucket fed calves and have 20 suckler cows. Last year my bucket fed bullocks killed out at an average of €1,600 each. My LMx cross cattle came into an average of €2,100. Between purchases price, milk, meal, hay, straw and vets it costs me €400 to get my bucket fed calves to the end of October on their first year. After that all costs in getting the cattle to slaughter would be similar. The main difference is getting my suckler bred cattle away in July / August @ circa €5.15/kg and the bucket fed lads are away end of September / October @ circa €4.60 and the suckler would be killing out up to 30-40 kgs heavier. So between the difference in sale price, cost of bucket fed calves and the €160 suckler premium there is a €1,060 gross more in my suckler cows. It cost €240 per cow on silage for the winter (6 bales (€40 / bale) a week for them all for 20 weeks) and I would estimate €360 /cow for the summer period so total cost to maintain my cows would be €600 /head per year.

you would keep at least twice as many bucket reared if there was no cows would ya? How would that work with your figures

@Jim Simmental I would run them separately until about the end of August, then I would have the bucket feds with the sucklers as I find they help train the suckler calves to come into the yard for some crunch. I also find having the quite bucket fed calves around the suckler calves help keep them quite and settled.