Dairy Calves 2024

Kill the traditional heifers at 21 months at 250 kg dw. Believe it or not, It’s not the wee angus that’s the problem.

They're not factoring in hugely increased culling rates on farms into the back-end of the year/ late calvers that are milked on been hung up before calving also, I say you'll see less dairy cows calved next year then last year, their obviously will be the 35000 "Bobby calves" that will need to find a home but the owners of these calves will likely have to keep them till their weaned and find someone to take them, so they won't be clogging up the marts

The dumping of calves days are over in marts, if not sold farmer will have to bring them back home, Bobby man isn't their to take them anymore which was the get out of jail card for farmers/mart managers to get shot of these calves....

Off-loaded 10 culls yesterday straight out of parlour, where good solid 650kgs holstein cows lacking flesh, they avergaed 300 deadweight and came to 915 euro one screwy lady only came to 500 so messed up the averages, he had went with culls from another local lad 2 days previously high ebi light cows and they came into 290 euro, would love to know how my cows are negative for beef on their ebi and the Irish bred ladies are classed as better

Very few wanted heifer calves back then. Poor fences on farms, no injections to abort in-calf heifers etc all made them very unattractive to small operators.

How come you chose factory over mart? I sold my bull in the mart there recently and lads were asking me why didn't I take him to the factory. I wouldn't trust them that they would give me a different rate to their friends. Maybe I could have went through an agent.

Cause he'd get less in the marts at this time of the year. His cows were probably P= 2 -/= in flesh and only feedlots are prepaired to feed on under fleshed cows coming into Autum/Winter. Therefore grass buyers at this time of the year (as opposed to Spring) are scarce around the ring and the feedlot lads will take their turn - the "boys" will claim their cows and carve up the lots amongst themselves.

Your bull is a single animal sorta like when seeing one swallow equates to summer 😏

Edit to add - ex parlour cows were easily making €2/kg + in the marts earlier/Spring this year. I commented about it several times here of F&F.

As an aside we buy and feed a few FR/FRx cull cows every year. I bought three ex parlour cows earlier last week - average weight was 625kgs @ €650 (including mart fees but not diesel costs in collecting them) which is €1.04/kg.

The majority of dairy farmers that we deal with send their cows for direct slaughter especially the older ladies. They will sell their younger cows either direct or to the mart that have HCC, three spins, slow to let down milk etc and are sold suitable to rear calves.

I was at the Mart 2 weeks ago there was a nice run of reared calves circa 4 months. They made between €150 -€200, AAx & Fr.from Frx cows It wouldn't have paid to feed them. (Not that they appeard to have gotten too much feeding) . I was telling a friend who has good calves from a British Fr x Ho dairy herd. He said the whole JEx thing is crazy as yes he is loosing on the bonuses but he is making it back on the litres supplied plus he tells me he gets longer out of his cows.

If he adds flekvieh breeding, banding won't be a problem.

That's an interesting one. What are the improvements over the holstein Jay? Type and solids I would assume. Not stereotyping holsteins as low solids either. I have a friend with pedigree holsteins doing 3.6 + protein in peak production.