Dedicated cattle finishers have become a rare breed in recent years, but there are fears they may be in danger of extinction this spring.

There has always been a regional disparity in producing factory-fit cattle, with stores moving across the Shannon from the Wild Atlantic Way to be finished on the plains of Meath and Kildare, or along the Slaney, Barrow, Nore and Blackwater river valleys.

But never before have so many cattle been prepared for slaughter by so few, particularly during the months with an R in them.

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And this year, those dedicated cattle finishers are set to lose a lot of money. Having bought cattle for over €6/kg liveweight last year, they are now getting less than €7/kg carcase weight.

With feed costs at €3-4/day when out on grass, and €5-6/day when indoors, it doesn’t take much to realise that cattle are set to lose hundreds of euros. For farmers with hundreds of cattle, that turns into losses of many tens of thousands.

Add in the rising cost of financing a €2,000 yearling, running to €50/head/year right now, and the picture looks grim.

This buffer gave them, and their banks, comfort when the market went against them

Previously, cattle finishers had the buffer of very good basic payments. The lack of a limit on slaughter premia meant larger winter finishers racked up high entitlement values.

This buffer gave them, and their banks, comfort when the market went against them.

But as store cattle prices have doubled over the last decade, high entitlements have been halved by two bouts of convergence and one of CRISS.

This makes this the worst crisis for finishers since 1996.

Does it matter to other farmers? With TB numbers set to peak this year or in 2027, farmers with restricted herds will need feedlot farms to export cattle to. And if the private finishers have no buying power, the factory feedlots can pay what they like for those cattle.

And for the factories, if the finishers can’t compete with exporters for cattle, then what will they slaughter in 2027?

It will be a very different story in the autumn

Farmers with yearlings for sale now mightn’t notice much difference, as buyers who summer graze will have cash in pocket from last year.

This also means the old adage of “buy as you sell and the market can’t cheat you” doesn’t operate for specialist finishers at this point in time.

It will be a very different story in the autumn, though. Every finisher who downsizes or bales out altogether will be missed from the September sales.

Every cattle farmer in the country should try to get to Abbeyleix next Monday evening for a pivotal meeting for the future of cattle farming in this country.