At this time of year, it pays to check your finishing cattle regularly to see what animals are coming close to slaughter spec. In terms of maximising profitability of the finishing business, it is important that you market cattle when they reach a fat score 3=/3+. At current ration prices, feeding animals beyond a fat class 3+ will lead to unnecessary losses.
At this time of year, it pays to check your finishing cattle regularly to see what animals are coming close to slaughter spec.
In terms of maximising profitability of the finishing business, it is important that you market cattle when they reach a fat score 3=/3+. At current ration prices, feeding animals beyond a fat class 3+ will lead to unnecessary losses.
At a ration price of €260/t, and valuing good silage at €35/t, the cost per kilo of carcase gain on a steer is €4/kg to €4.50/kg.
Increasing value
When feeding an animal from a fat class 2 you are increasing the value of the entire carcase while also increasing kill-out percentage and, in certain cases, improving carcase conformation. Therefore, you cannot look at the cost of each individual kilo when feeding a store animal into a fat class 3=/3+.
However, when you have reached this ideal spec and maximised the value of the carcase, each additional kilo has to stand on its own.
At current input prices, the breakeven beef price required to reward farmers for feeding carcases into fat class 4 and above is higher than the beef price so it doesn’t make sense.
Market cattle as they become fit and don’t focus on maximising output by driving up carcase weight.
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