Latest news with #Friesian
Irish Independent
a day ago
- Business
- Irish Independent
Processors blame 10c/kg beef price cut on falling demand
This reverses the gains made over the last month; the processors claim that the market can no longer support that level, with a fall in supermarket demand. Key to this downturn is what is happening in the UK, and the fact Irish beef prices are now far above the EU average. Across the water, pressure is being applied by consumer resistance to increased retail prices, and rising numbers of short-keep stock, including young bulls. This resulted in prices to suppliers in the UK dropping by the equivalent of 12c/kg, with R grading Angus bullocks and heifers on €8.20/kg and other R grades on €8.08/kg. Those at the coal face in the UK expect quotes to fall again this week by another 6-12c/kg. In Northern Ireland R3 bullocks and heifers dropped 5-12c/kg last week to €7.57-7.69/kg, with cull cows down 25c/kg to €6.17/kg overall. Bord Bia shows that the Irish composite price had been below the EU benchmark average from the end of July last year, but parity was reached in mid-December. At the end of February when the Irish price broke the EU average, reaching its zenith in mid-April when prime R3 beef here averaged €7.73/kg as against €6.37/kg for the rest of the EU – a gap of €1.36/kg. As of the week ending May 10, that gap had closed to 98c/kg as European prices strengthened to €6.58/kg, with the Irish average slipping to €7.56/kg. On the mart front, several managers noted that Northern buyers who were very active two weeks ago only 'picked at cattle' on Friday and Saturday. ADVERTISEMENT One manager said they 'appeared preoccupied' – understandable given the reduction in prices north of the border. All this does not bode well for the trade here, but the processing sector still needs adequate numbers to make price cuts stick – and the kill over the last month has been hovering around 28,000-28,500 a week, so supplies are not overly plentiful. While €7.40-7.50/kg is where official quotes are now at, one seasoned observer noted that those figures were for 'the ordinary farmer'. He reckons that for factories to continue to get the numbers they require, they will have to continue 'to pay up to €8/kg to bigger feeders with numbers' and that 'someone has to make up the difference'. That someone it appears is yet again the farmer with small to handy numbers. However, those smaller operators report flat prices for Friesian bullocks under 30 months of up to €7.60/kg, with continental heifers selling to €7.90/kg and bulls under 16 months achieving grid bases of €7.60-7.70/kg. If the factories make this latest cut stick, it will mean that the bounce in quotes of 10c/kg seen 10 days ago as barbecue beef sales and optimism rose, has been replaced by the smell of unsold beef in sheds now burning money.
Agriland
4 days ago
- Business
- Agriland
330kg bullocks make over €2,000 or €6.20/kg at Delvin
Delvin Mart in Co. Westmeath hosted its weekly general cattle sale on Thursday, May 29 and speaking to Agriland afterwards, Elliott Potterton of Delvin Mart said there were 250 cattle on offerwith a full clearance. There were over 100 bullocks – 80% of which were under 500kg, and in the bullock sale, prices topped out at €6.24/kg for a year-old 330kg Limousin bullock that made €2,060, bought by a farmer. Bullocks under 500kg averaged €4.08/kg or €1,420/head on average. Potterton said: 'Last year, the May 2024 average sale price for bullocks under 500kg at Delvin Mart was €2.62/kg – an average price increase of €1.46/kg. 'That's the same across all weight categories – they were all about €2.60/kg last year and they're all averaging about €4/kg plus this year.' In the heifer sale, the top price went to a 325kg pedigree Limousin heifer that sold for €2,700 or €8.30/kg bought by a suckler farmer for breeding. Two Limousin heifers averaging 295kg sold for €1,480 or €5.01/kg and another 315kg Limousin heifer sold for €1,710 or €5.42/kg. Heifers under 300kg averaged €4.25/kg while the 300-400kg heifers averaged €4.01/kg. 400-500kg heifers averaged €4.14/kg, which was up from an average price of €2.70/kg this time last year, while heifers over 500kg averaged €4.06/kg. According to Potterton: 'The average price in yesterday's sale for cows over 500kg was €3.18/kg. That's up from €2.05/kg in May 2024. 'In money terms, cows over 500kg were averaging €1,270 in May 2024 and and at the sale on Thursday, they averaged €2,000/head and there's a lot of Friesian cows in the sale here. 'There was a 655kg Friesian cow that made €2,580 or €3.93/kg at the sale here on Thursday.' Calves at Delvin Mart There were over 130 calves sold in the Thursday sale, leading to a full clearance with strong prices continuing. Potterton said: 'There were beef-sired calves sold here of Friesian/Jersey-cross cows coming into €500, you'd have change out of €150 buying some of them last year.' The top price in the calf sale went to a reared Simmental bull calf off a Friesian cow that made €790 and was bought by an exporter. Potterson said that some farmers sold May-born calves at the most recent sale that averaged €350 and the same calves 'would have done well to average €200 last year'. The mart also hosted its sheep sale on Thursday with the trade described as 'a little easier' and 40-50kg lambs averaging €3.84/kg, which was back on the average price from last year.
Agriland
7 days ago
- Business
- Agriland
Mart trade: Cull cows reach €4,320 and 700kg bullocks clear €5/kg
The mart trade has continued to power ahead with new record prices continuing to be seen at marts the length and breadth of the country. While heavy cattle prices are taking the headlines, the prices paid for lighter store cattle on a per-kilo basis and for calves across the board are also reaching record highs. Agriland caught up with mart managers from around the country to hear how cattle prices have been faring at marts in recent days. Cull cows reach €4,320 at Ballybay Speaking to Agriland, manager of Ballybay Mart in Co. Monaghan, Jimmy Reilly said cull cow prices at the weekly sale on Saturday, May 24, reached €4,320 or €4.40/kg for 'a super 980kg 2018-born Belgian Blue' that was purchased by a factory supplier. There were 115 cull cows in the sale on Saturday and 120 the week before ,with a lot of continental cows present. The mart manager noted that cull bulls have been crossing €4,000 at the sale in the last few weeks also. Reilly said: 'That wasn't the top price per kilo in the cow sale either – we had a 670kg Limousin cow 2017-born that made €3,060 or €4.57/kg.' The mart manager noted that 'in some cases, cull cows are making every bit as much as bullocks and heifers'. 'Friesian cull cows are making good money also with a 430kg Friesian cow making €1,610 or €3.74/kg.' In the calf trade, Reilly said that calf prices have continued to rise with February-born calves making up to €790 on Saturday and younger summer calves making up to €685/head for a Simmental-cross bull calf. Mart trade at Carnew: 700kg bullock makes €5/kg In Carnew Mart, Co. Wicklow, on Saturday, May 24, heavy cattle surpassed €5.00/kg. Speaking to Agriland after the sale, Carnew Mart's Eugene Clune said: 'One farmer achieved an average price of €4.70/kg for a double-load of cattle in the sale'. There was a full clearance on the day and cows reached a top price of €4.59/kg for an 806kg Limousin cow that totalled €3,700. In the bullock sale at Carnew Mart, a 702kg Charolais bullock sold for €3,540 or €5.04/kg with another 720kg Limousin bullock selling for €3,620 or €5.04/kg. Heifers reached €4.97/kg for a 624kg Parthenaise heifer that totalled €3,100. Three Limousin heifers averaging 530kg made €2,440/head or €4.60/kg. Weanling bulls made up to €5.52/kg in the sale for two Aubrac bulls weighing 241kg selling for €1,330. Another 308kg Limousin bull made €1,420 or €4.61/kg. Mart trade at Balla and Thurles In Thurles Mart, Co. Tipperary, on Monday, May 26, Friesian bullocks made up to €4.33/kg for a batch averaging 326kg/head making €1,410. Angus bullocks in the sale made up to €4.71/kg for three Angus bullocks averaging 325kg that made €1,530. In Balla Mart, Co. Mayo on Saturday, May 25, it was the breeding heifer prices that took the spotlight. Two Belgian Blue-cross heifers out of a 'Rocky' stock bull and bred off two super red cows made 8.99/kg and 7.48kg respectively for a farmer from Glasson in Co. Westmeath. The first was a 740kg Belgian Blue heifer that made €6,650and the other being a 675kg blue heifer that made €5,050 – both bought for breeding. Another lighter Limousin-cross heifer weighing 320kg made €2,500 or €7.81/kg for a farmer from near Claremorris, Co. Mayo. Cull cows in the sale peaked at €4,120 for an eight-year-old Limousin cow weighing 970kg. In the springer sale, there was a three-year-old Limousin cow with a bull calf at foot that made an impressive €5,050. In advance of the sale, the farmer had refused an offer of €3,500 at home. Bull weanlings weighing from 200-350kg averaged 5.26/kg and weanling bulls weighing from 350-450kg averaged €5.28/kg.
Otago Daily Times
27-05-2025
- General
- Otago Daily Times
Pasture quality can aid liveweight gain
Managing pasture quality offers massive potential for improving bull performance. That was the key message from a Mid Northern North Island Beef Council Beef Production Field Days event. The most efficient conversion of pasture to liveweight gain (LWG) is achieved when bulls experience high growth rates. For example, a bull growing at 0.5kg/day uses a mere 27% of its feed intake for liveweight gain; the other 73% is used for maintenance. A bull growing at 1.5kg/day uses 53% — more than half — of its intake for liveweight gain and only 47% for maintenance. That means the higher the growth rate, the greater the percentage of feed intake that goes into liveweight gain and therefore profit. The positive impact of this efficient liveweight gain is compounded by the bull reaching finishing weight earlier, thereby freeing up feed otherwise required for that animal's maintenance, ongoing. Feed conversion efficiency A Friesian bull grows from 300kg to 600kg. It goes on to pasture cover of 2800kg of dry matter per hectare (DM/ha) and grazes it down to 1500kgDM/ha. Assuming the highest quality of feed is available, with 11 megajoules of metabolisable energy per kilogram of dry matter (MJME/kgDM), the fastest the bull could reach its finishing weight of 600kg would be 29 weeks. Compare this with the 113 weeks it would take to hit finishing weight if the animal was on 9MJME/kgDM quality pasture. With the bull reaching its finishing weight so quickly — within 29 weeks, compared with 113 weeks — enough feed is freed up to finish, for example, either: • 44 lambs at 40kg (from an initial weight of 25kg), or • four more bulls. The average feed quality on Waikato bull farms is 10MJME/kg DM. A bull would finish within 44 weeks (compared with 113 weeks on 9MJME/kgDM), freeing up enough feed to finish either: • 22 lambs, or • three more bulls. Metabolisable energy The most important nutritional limitation for bulls is insufficient metabolisable energy (ME) intake. Bull liveweight gain increases as pasture quality increases. Why? Because the higher the pasture quality, the higher its ME content per kilogram of DM. Feeding a bull more of a low-quality pasture does not compensate for the lower ME/kgDM. Pasture quality Impact of pasture variables on quality: Higher-quality pasture contains more green material, higher ratios of clover to grass and leaf to stem, more young (recently grown) content than older content, and cooler temperatures. Lower-quality pasture has more dead material, lower clover to grass and leaf to stem ratios, more older material, and warmer temperatures. Clover leaf declines most slowly, grass leaf declines more quickly, and stem declines most quickly. Diet selection and feed quality: The higher a pasture cover, the greater opportunity a bull has to select what it chooses to eat. It will choose the highest-quality components first. So, as overall pasture cover decreases, so does the overall pasture quality. You then see a lower dry matter intake, because of the lower-quality pasture. The key is to move young stock off grazed pasture sooner rather than later. The lower-quality feed left behind can be cleaned up by low-priority stock or by topping. — Beef + Lamb New Zealand
Agriland
27-05-2025
- Business
- Agriland
What's causing the unforeseen calf price surge this year?
The unprecedented calf price surge this year has come as a surprise and, with prices continuing to strengthen as the year progresses, many are wondering – what has caused this trend? At the start of 2025, the average price for an Angus bull calf under three weeks-of-age was €246. In the week ending Sunday, May 18, the average price for these calves had increased to €413 – a price increase of 68%. The average price for Friesian bull calves of the same age increased from €155 to €272 in this time – a 75% rise, according to the official Irish Cattle Breeding Federation (ICBF) calf price data for dairy-dam calves traded at marts. The obvious attributing factor is the recent surge in beef prices with Irish factory quotes for steers (bullocks) increasing from €5.60/kg on the grid in the first week of January to €7.50/kg on Monday, May 26. This has naturally caused a rise in the prices paid for all types of cattle, and anecdotal conversations with mart managers and farmers countrywide would suggest more farmers are opting to rear calves this year as a result of store cattle prices having increased so much. Mart managers are also observing calf exporters outbidding farmers for calves – even at the current prices – indicating a continued strong export demand for calves also. At some calf sales in the past week, up to 90% of the calves were bought by calf exporters with Friesian bull calves being bid to as high as €460, according to some auctioneers. This would suggest that the export demand for Irish calves is also a key factor currently driving up the prices being paid. Figures from the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) show that as of Sunday, May 11, almost 170,000 calves have been exported this year – up 15% on the same time of last year and the highest on record with data available for the past nine years. As of May 5, 2025, Irish calf exports to Poland have more than doubled to 17,300 from the 8,300 Irish calves exported there in the same time period of last year. Calf exports to key markets such as The Netherlands and Spain have also increased compared to last year. Another interesting trend evolving on calf exports has been that the number of heifer calves exported in the first 18 weeks of this year has also more than doubled when compared to last year. 35,500 heifer calves were exported in the first 18 weeks of this year up from the 16,300 heifer calves exported in the same time period last year. To put these figures into context, in the first 18 weeks of 2017, only 1,200 heifer calves were exported. According to DAFM, the increase in female calf exports consists largely of beef-sired heifer calves to The Netherlands, Spain, and Poland with no major change in exports of male calves. So while domestic farmer demand is playing a part in rising calf prices, export buyer activity also a key factor in the calf price surge.
