Fanciful talk of good times in beef farming is a load of old bull
If there is one thing that drives me absolutely bananas, it’s talk about good prospects in the beef business.
Having read some reports recently that suggested it could well be a bright year ahead, I damn nearly lost my cool.
The only people who believe prospects are good in beef farming are those who do very little of it, those who spend their days looking at charts as opposed to cattle.
It can be easy to be flippant about the future of beef, when your wage comes from spouting hot air rather than looking after a bullock or heifer on the farm.
In the real world, on the ground, on the farm where expenses are high, few are looking to the brighter days ahead, most find the present troubling enough.
Mart prices have risen in the past few weeks, this is true, and perhaps they are on a par with last year.
But last year was diabolical.
The Friesian store needs to be making €2/kg, otherwise you are only wasting your time.
And the Angus and Hereford bullock needs to be making €2/kg plus €100 on top for the seller to see any profit from a year and a half of rearing stock.
Such prices are rarely being hit this year.
We have to go back to 2015 to see such times.
Of course, the buyer might argue that factory returns do not justify paying such sums for store stock.
Well that’s a problem for another page. We deal with the marts here.
And the truth at the moment is that the farmer selling stock is not making enough to justify the work he or she puts in. That’s a fact.
So let’s have less of this bluster about good outlooks and prospects ahead in beef, let’s look at the way things stand right now.
In Macroom on Saturday, dry cows sold from €130 to €670 over the kilo.
Bullocks made from €250 to €730 over the kilo.
Heifers sold from €245 to €600 over their weight.
Weanling stock in Macroom sold from €300 to €675 over the kilo.
Macroom
Saturday
No
Breed
Sex
Weight
€
1
BB
steer
620kg
1350
2
Ch
steers
415kg
1015
7
Hr
steers
535kg
1100
3
Hr
steers
440kg
935
2
Ch
heifers
480kg
1080
1
AA
heifer
320kg
730
1
Ch
cow
615kg
1360
Kilmallock mart on Monday last saw a large sale by the standards of late June.
The Co Limerick mart had 1,000 stock, including 370 calves, on offer (Monday’s sale was 3% larger than the same sale last year).
Prices remained similar to the previous week.
Bullocks sold for up to €2.33 per kg.
Weanlings hit €2.98 per kg.
Dry cows (Kilmallock had 80 on offer) made up to €1.82 per kg.
Heifers sold for up to €2.68 per kg.
In dairy stock (Kilmallock had 35 lots on offer), a three year old calved cow sold for €1,360.
In the suckler ring, a top price of €1670 was paid for a five year old Simmental and her Hereford bull calf.
In breeding bulls, an Aberdeen Angus made €2,000 at Kilmallock mart on Monday.
Kilmallock
Monday
No
Breed
Sex
Weight
€
7
AA
steers
370kg
760
2
Fr
steers
378kg
645
1
Hr
steer
295kg
590
1
Ch
steer
495kg
1150
2
AA
heifers
495kg
1045
1
Fr
cow
430kg
715
1
AA
cow
625kg
935
Bandon mart, also held on Monday, had 421 calves on offer, with mart manager Tom McCarthy reporting, “a lot of strong calves on offer, with a strong trade to boot.”
In Bandon, dry cows sold from €50 to €820 with the kilo.
Aberdeen Angus and Hereford bullocks made from €400 to €840 with the weight.
Continental bullocks sold from €400 to €800 with the kilo.
Friesian bullocks in Bandon made from €240 to €535 with the kilo.
Heifers in Bandon sold from €300 to €700 with their weight.
Bandon
Monday
No
Breed
Sex
Weight
€
5
Fr
steers
399kg
730
3
Lm
steers
671kg
1290
2
Ch
steers
400kg
1200
1
Ch
heifer
550kg
1110
2
Hr
heifers
372kg
840
1
Fr
cow
820kg
1640
1
AA
cow
700kg
1200
In Dungarvan on Monday, Aberdeen Angus calves sold from €200 to €280 a head.
Hereford bull calves made from €260 to €300 a piece.
Dungarvan
Monday
No
Breed
Sex
Weight
€
2
Ch
steers
620kg
1400
4
Hr
steers
621kg
1300
8
Ch
steers
576kg
1320
3
Lm
heifers
433kg
1010
2
AA
heifers
425kg
875
1
Lm
cow
830kg
1295
1
Fr
cow
780kg
1100
Kanturk mart on Tuesday had 430 animals on offer, this number included 210 calves.
Mart manager Seamus O’Keeffe described “a flying trade. We had a complete clearance with prices going through the roof.”
Kanturk
Tuesday
No
Breed
Sex
Weight
€
2
Hr
steers
585kg
1150
5
Lm
steers
495kg
1090
2
AA
steers
447kg
940
5
Sim
heifers
315kg
900
2
AA
heifers
365kg
745
4
Hr
heifers
350kg
725
1
Fr
cow
650kg
1035
“We had a serious trade for forward stores with a top seller, a Belgian blue bullock weighing 580kg, making €1,760,” mart manager Martin Ryan reported after Monday’s cattle sale at Thurles mart.
Thurles
Monday
No
Breed
Sex
Weight
€
11
Hr
steers
392kg
915
7
AA
steers
452kg
990
5
Fr
steers
352kg
690
3
Lm
steers
446kg
1010
3
Ch
steers
306kg
740
5
Ch
heifers
388kg
845
3
AA
heifers
433kg
890
Corrin mart on Tuesday had 550 cattle on offer, with mart manager Sean Leahy reporting “an excellent demand for bullocks,” with “a good steady trade for dry cows and heifers.”
In Corrin, store bullocks sold from €200 to €550 with their weight, with beef bullocks making up to €620 with the kilo. Store heifers sold from €250 to €550 with the weight, with butcher types making up to €640.
In Corrin dry cows sold from €600 to €1420 a head.
Corrin
Tuesday
No
Breed
Sex
Weight
€
8
Ch
steers
580kg
1335
6
Lm
steers
460kg
1105
2
AA
heifers
487kg
1020
5
Hr
heifers
430kg
910
2
Lm
heifers
367kg
870
1
Fr
cow
740kg
1190
1
Fr
cow
960kg
1420
And finally for this week, in Skibbereen mart on Friday, dry cows sold from €55 to €800 with the kilo.
Bullocks sold from €400 to €750 with the kilo.
Heifers made from €300 to €550.
Weanling bulls sold from €400 to €800 with their weight.
Skibbereen
Friday
No
Breed
Sex
Weight
€
1
AA
steer
665kg
1410
5
Ch
steers
394kg
1030
3
Lm
steers
351kg
940
2
Fr
steers
565kg
1020
1
BB
cow
750kg
1550
1
AA
cow
630kg
1100
