I think it would be fair to say that the cattle trade is just completely on fire.
It’s amazing to see finished stock breaking the €6/kg barrier and at this stage maybe some cattle breaking €6.50/kg.
Finished cattle are one thing, but the store market has just gone crazy altogether, especially over the last two weeks.
Price
I remember the first batch of store heifers I bought last February after selling the last of my cows.
They were €3.16/kg in Carndonagh Mart. Good-quality Charolais heifers, cattle that had the potential to make U grades, but weren’t the complete top end of the scale.
I remember a man telling me after the sale that I was mad. Those cattle were too dear and would never make money.
To be honest, I had no idea if they would make money or not, but, as my father used to say, it’s as easy to feed a good one as a bad one.
Those cattle were killed in October past, long before the factory price reached the dizzying heights it’s at today and thankfully they did leave a few euro behind them.
Too dear?
I will soon have quite a few cattle ready for slaughter and as I start to think about going back to the mart to buy replacement cattle to graze, I’d love to be able to buy good-quality cattle for €3.16/kg.
Sadly, or maybe not sadly, there is probably as much chance of me winning the lotto as being able to do that.
It’s hard to say what price store cattle are, as they just seem to be getting more expensive by the day.
Prices of €3.50, €4, €4.25, €4.50 - I’ve even heard €5/ kg mentioned for small weanlings in the south of the country. But what price is dear? Or maybe more importantly, what price is too dear? Nobody really knows.
Cattle are scarce and we’re told will continue to be scarce for some time. Supply and demand are definitely the primary driver of price at the minute.
If the price of finished cattle holds firm or maybe even continues to rise, then maybe store cattle aren’t as expensive as they appear to be. But, of course, there is no guarantee of that.
Advice
As I think about buying stores to graze and finish this season, there are a whole lot of sayings and past advisories springing to mind.
'You can always buy gold too dear' is one of them.
Then, there’s a lot of truth in the advice I once got from a man a few years ago as we discussed the fact that we thought store lambs were too dear to buy.
He said: “Well, if you buy lambs too dear, you mightn’t make any money. But if you don’t buy lambs, then you definitely won’t make any money.”
But the advice that’s sticking in my head at the minute was the advice that one of our lecturers gave to my class at our graduation 25 years ago. A bit of life advice if you will.
He was also a farmer himself and had found there were three things in life that everyone should try to avoid, if at all possible: “Fast women, slow horses and fattening cattle.”
I don’t know much about the first two, but I think I’ll probably chance the cattle for another year anyway.
Read more
Farmer Writes: no point saying no to an inspector
Farmer Writes: Not everything puts on weight over Christmas
Farmer Writes: calving under way for 2025
Farmer Writes: there is pleasure in keeping busy during the winter
I think it would be fair to say that the cattle trade is just completely on fire.
It’s amazing to see finished stock breaking the €6/kg barrier and at this stage maybe some cattle breaking €6.50/kg.
Finished cattle are one thing, but the store market has just gone crazy altogether, especially over the last two weeks.
Price
I remember the first batch of store heifers I bought last February after selling the last of my cows.
They were €3.16/kg in Carndonagh Mart. Good-quality Charolais heifers, cattle that had the potential to make U grades, but weren’t the complete top end of the scale.
I remember a man telling me after the sale that I was mad. Those cattle were too dear and would never make money.
To be honest, I had no idea if they would make money or not, but, as my father used to say, it’s as easy to feed a good one as a bad one.
Those cattle were killed in October past, long before the factory price reached the dizzying heights it’s at today and thankfully they did leave a few euro behind them.
Too dear?
I will soon have quite a few cattle ready for slaughter and as I start to think about going back to the mart to buy replacement cattle to graze, I’d love to be able to buy good-quality cattle for €3.16/kg.
Sadly, or maybe not sadly, there is probably as much chance of me winning the lotto as being able to do that.
It’s hard to say what price store cattle are, as they just seem to be getting more expensive by the day.
Prices of €3.50, €4, €4.25, €4.50 - I’ve even heard €5/ kg mentioned for small weanlings in the south of the country. But what price is dear? Or maybe more importantly, what price is too dear? Nobody really knows.
Cattle are scarce and we’re told will continue to be scarce for some time. Supply and demand are definitely the primary driver of price at the minute.
If the price of finished cattle holds firm or maybe even continues to rise, then maybe store cattle aren’t as expensive as they appear to be. But, of course, there is no guarantee of that.
Advice
As I think about buying stores to graze and finish this season, there are a whole lot of sayings and past advisories springing to mind.
'You can always buy gold too dear' is one of them.
Then, there’s a lot of truth in the advice I once got from a man a few years ago as we discussed the fact that we thought store lambs were too dear to buy.
He said: “Well, if you buy lambs too dear, you mightn’t make any money. But if you don’t buy lambs, then you definitely won’t make any money.”
But the advice that’s sticking in my head at the minute was the advice that one of our lecturers gave to my class at our graduation 25 years ago. A bit of life advice if you will.
He was also a farmer himself and had found there were three things in life that everyone should try to avoid, if at all possible: “Fast women, slow horses and fattening cattle.”
I don’t know much about the first two, but I think I’ll probably chance the cattle for another year anyway.
Read more
Farmer Writes: no point saying no to an inspector
Farmer Writes: Not everything puts on weight over Christmas
Farmer Writes: calving under way for 2025
Farmer Writes: there is pleasure in keeping busy during the winter
This is a subscriber-only article
SHARING OPTIONS: