Factory Prices General thread

Anybody hear anything from agents this week re quotes? Papers saying they aren't for budging at moment. How long more is it likely they can stay working on a reduced kill I wonder?
3.45 is the go for heifers around here. Wont be a budge for awhile as cost per carcase have skyrocketed and we will carry the can.

Killing away this week, no point looking at them I feel. I dont know where the optimism in the store trade is coming from. Maybe the next run of cattle there might be a twist in them. Fortune favours the brave:laugh:
 
3.45 is the go for heifers around here. Wont be a budge for awhile as cost per carcase have skyrocketed and we will carry the can.

Killing away this week, no point looking at them I feel. I dont know where the optimism in the store trade is coming from. Maybe the next run of cattle there might be a twist in them. Fortune favours the brave:laugh:
Was chatting neighbour yesterday, he was very disappointed with his bulls from last week, but had to sell them as they were going over the 16 months this week. Hard to see much of a lift for another month really and even then I feel it might be a token effort.
 
Can't see lads feeding cattle meal in the winter again unless there's a contract in place. I used to be able to catch the electric fence when I was younger but wouldn't do it now. I also used to feed meal to beef cattle.
 
Can't see lads feeding cattle meal in the winter again unless there's a contract in place. I used to be able to catch the electric fence when I was younger but wouldn't do it now. I also used to feed meal to beef cattle.

this is been said since time began, they will keep at it. most of the feeders cant afford, not to feed cattle during the winter for all the wrong reasons. 3.50 is the new 4.00 for cattle so lads will have to get used to it and find other ways. If you own your own land and money, its doable in the short to medium term. Unfortunately such low prices will lead to the inevitable next beef/food scandal.

maybe we could improve of efficiency by looking for hormones to be reintroduced :smile:, i will be awhile waiting:rolleyes2: but always taught it was a good argument for our farm organisations to kick off :whistle::laugh:.

**** i have deleted allot of this message for litigious reasons :lol:, dont want to have the forum requiring the help of John & Gemma in the four courts arguing our rights to freedom of expression
 
Last edited:
this is been said since time began, they will keep at it. most of the feeders cant afford, not to feed cattle during the winter for all the wrong reasons. 3.50 is the new 4.00 for cattle so lads will have to get used to it and find other ways. If you own your own land and money, its doable in the short to medium term. Unfortunately such low prices will lead to the inevitable next beef/food scandal.

maybe we could improve of efficiency by looking for hormones to be reintroduced :smile:, i will be awhile waiting:rolleyes2: but always taught it was a good argument for our farm organisations to kick off :whistle::laugh:.

It's doable off grass, not out of sheds.
I think @bruceythom could have the right idea. Kebab them and be done with it.
 
Sure they can't protest unless they live within 5 km of the factory.
Most beef farmers are cocooning anyway :lol::lol:
 
is it the factories or the shops are the big winner in all of this? the consumer is still paying top dollar while the farmer is getting peanuts for his product and Creed doesn't seem too bothered about the way the beef man is being buried. I spent north of 100k on stock last year only to make less than someone on social welfare. took all the risks
while someone somewhere sitting on their ass made real money out of my work. multiply this by thousands of farmers
 
The problem is all the dairy calves ,the suckler men wont give in ,if only there was a grant for suckler men to reduce herd size and transfer to rearing quality traditional breeds or even continentals from dairy herd
 
Can't see lads feeding cattle meal in the winter again unless there's a contract in place. I used to be able to catch the electric fence when I was younger but wouldn't do it now. I also used to feed meal to beef cattle.
That same statement is used perpetually for the last two decades.. cattle will be still winter finished in numbers no matter what the price.
 
The problem is all the dairy calves ,the suckler men wont give in ,if only there was a grant for suckler men to reduce herd size and transfer to rearing quality traditional breeds or even continentals from dairy herd
Perhaps, but some of the problem is the vast suckler herd that mushroomed out of a subsidised insentive in the 80,s and could never hold their own without social assistance and you are correct in highlighting this peculiar mindset that sucklers are “traditional”.
 
is it the factories or the shops are the big winner in all of this? the consumer is still paying top dollar while the farmer is getting peanuts for his product and Creed doesn't seem too bothered about the way the beef man is being buried. I spent north of 100k on stock last year only to make less than someone on social welfare. took all the risks
while someone somewhere sitting on their ass made real money out of my work. multiply this by thousands of farmers
Shops, big retailers. Factories survive on maximum throughput, high numbers of low margin business. they make a reasonable profit but would have to make such profits to stick at the game. At the moment throughput is well down so processing costs are much higher per kilo of meat, they like us all are middle men.
 
Perhaps, but some of the problem is the vast suckler herd that mushroomed out of a subsidised insentive in the 80,s and could never hold their own without social assistance and you are correct in highlighting this peculiar mindset that sucklers are “traditional”.
The same can be said about most farming at this stage, Dairy, Veg, Pigs & Poultry are about the only sectors not addicted to BFP money now, and they are getting addicted to TAMs instead.
 
The same can be said about most farming at this stage, Dairy, Veg, Pigs & Poultry are about the only sectors not addicted to BFP money now, and they are getting addicted to TAMs instead.

My view on those sectors of farming is, it the financial, social and environmental cost were fairly attributed too, none of these sectors are making money. One leg of the stool might be upright but the other 2 are falling off
 
My view on those sectors of farming is, it the financial, social and environmental cost were fairly attributed too, none of these sectors are making money. One leg of the stool might be upright but the other 2 are falling off
Not disagreeing with you, just don't think Suckler farming is alone in it's EU funding crutch. As I have stated else where the issue is the price we are being paid for the commodities we produce has been stagnant for five decades, I could find a year in each of the last 5 decades where prices were higher, unfortunately no business can sustain that.
 
We are no into the best 6 weeks of highest prices for cattle each year. At €3.45 where does that leave us for the autumn?

€3.20 base price? Dare I say it, with a savage backlog :no:.
 
We are no into the best 6 weeks of highest prices for cattle each year. At €3.45 where does that leave us for the autumn?

€3.20 base price? Dare I say it, with a savage backlog :no:.
Agreed, we're down 5,000 head a week for a while now. There's not that many less cattle in the country.
 
farmers journal have been talking up cattle prices with years and have been zero help to finishers imo
I think they do the very opposite. They flag price drops weeks in advance. I have been told a number of times when I questioned my agent "did you not see it in the journal that prices were falling". Better to talk up prices than highlight that they are going to fall - and finishers flood the place with cattle and it falls by even more than they predicted.
 
I think they do the very opposite. They flag price drops weeks in advance. I have been told a number of times when I questioned my agent "did you not see it in the journal that prices were falling". Better to talk up prices than highlight that they are going to fall - and finishers flood the place with cattle and it falls by even more than they predicted.

Realistic reporting and even on here, people please post relevant and true facts, otherwise dont post at all. The amount of wrong info nowadays posted on social media really annoys me
 
Beef prices falling from say what I would usually budget of €4 across the year to now the reality of €3.20ish. How big a hole does this put beef farmers in. Value of you kilos gained per day is down 20%. An animal that was doing a kilo a day, is now 40c less output per day.

Are the consequences catastrophic, or can we keep plugging away. Can banks keep supporting this industry. How exposed are the upstream and downstream in the beef and land market, not to support us.
 
Where are you getting 320 from.
Will you calm off, it's bad enough.
Historically e are in the "high price period" of the year for the next 5 weeks. Cattle slaughterings are down, and historically we see a fall each year from this periods price. 3.20/3.30 would be the backend price I would be budgeting off for animals bought now. It would be foolish to not budget for similar, I would love to see higher prices but it's very very doubtful
 
The same can be said about most farming at this stage, Dairy, Veg, Pigs & Poultry are about the only sectors not addicted to BFP money now, and they are getting addicted to TAMs instead.
Well established Dairy farmers around here would generally have much bigger bps than me personally and when i go and buy stock off the dairyfarmer, he also gains from my bps as my price would be lower if it were not for my bps. so if any dairyfarmer thinks the beef price doesn't affect him, he needn't bother qouting journal prices to me next spring for 1.
 
Back
Top