Dairy beef calves

This week’s Focus supplement is the second in our series on calves and calf rearing. Every year I get calls from farmers contemplating a system switch to dairy calf-to-beef. While it’s a fact that more and more of our beef is coming from the dairy herd, the margins need to be looked at closely. It’s a case of dipping your toe in the water and maybe rearing a few alongside the sucklers for a year to see how they go. While dairy-cross calves are cheap to get into, they can be expensive to finish. Margins are tight and efficiency levels need to be high. Do the sums before purchase and see what you can afford to pay for a calf. We have a draft budget on p51 of this week’s Focus. Current calf prices seem high for a beef farmer to make any money. Early calf sales in the south have started very strong, with reports of AAX and HEX heifer calves making in excess of €400/head at some marts. While prices in early January are always high, it is impossible to say where the price of calves will average this year, but it’s likely to be up on last year. The current indications would suggest that this will be another good year for calf exports, ahead of potential problems in 2026. While a calf-to-beef system is relatively cheap to get into, most systems require about €1,000-€1,300 in working capital per head from purchase to slaughter, so budget carefully. Factor in a conservative beef price and don’t be dreaming, any increase above the budget price will be a bonus. As more and more calves come out, prices will fall, so don’t panic buy. If you are buying calves in a dairy farmer’s yard, ask to see the CBV of the calves. This will give you an indication of what the genetics are like; the higher the index the higher the potential profit. Unless calf buyers start to look for better in calves and pay less for lower genetic merit calves and more for higher genetic merit calves, nothing will change in dairy-beef breeding.

Beef supplies

Looking at the supply curve for 2025, it looks like beef supplies are going to be very tight for the first half of 2025. Have you got forward cattle that could be pushed out in the second quarter of 2025 as opposed to going back to grass with them? Maybe the heaviest could be pulled out at this stage and you can capitalise on the good demand and positive prices.

Suckler Marts spring roadshow

Next Tuesday 28 January sees the Irish Farmers Journal Suckler Marts Spring Roadshow roll into Skibbereen Mart, Co Cork. The event will kick off at 7pm. The outlook for the beef and suckler sectors will be covered on the night, along with a presentation from a local vet on dosing and winter health and keeping calves and weanlings healthy. The Irish Farmers Journal livestock team will be there to answer any questions. A live demo with suckler cows and AI-bred calves will take place in association with Munster Bovine. We are heading to Granard Mart, Co Longford, on Thursday 30 January. Admission is free. Tea/coffee and refreshments will be served after the event. A free raffle will also take place, where prizes can be won on the night.