Global rise in grain prices will feed into increased livestock ration costs
THE MAIN grain growing regions have witnessed the start of the 2017 harvest over the past week.
Perhaps it is me being pessimistic, but I always associate the sight and sound of combines working with the turn of the year and the countdown to winter.
After last year’s difficult harvest with grain yields, prices and weather, early reports of good winter barley yields and ideal harvesting conditions are welcome.
For many livestock farmers a welcome spin off from the start of the harvest is the availability of new season straw. Early in the harvest last year the demand for straw was sluggish, particularly from Northern Irish livestock farmers, possibly a consequence of Brexit Blues and low milk and beef prices.
This meant a lot of cereal farmers made the decision to chop straw back into the ground instead of undergoing the cost of baling. The atrocious weather for the main harvest meant a lot of straw was unable to be saved and unfortunately in some cases the complete crops were lost. I would encourage farmers to acquire their straw needs early this year and to store it well.
Due to international volatility, there has been a general upward trend on feed prices, particularly grains, over the past number of weeks. This will inevitability filter down to an increase in ration costs. As always, off the combine prices will offer the best value for money.
Deciding on the best method of preservation and storage to suit your farm facilities and livestock, need to be considered. Having a conversation with your local grain merchant or cereal farmer at this time of year could help make significant savings on your winter feed costs.
Devon beef farm
Last week I spent two days visiting beef farms in the south west of England. I called to a familiar and well-known Irishman, David Merrin, who is now farming in Devon along with his wife Jenny and sons, Jonathan and Geoffrey. They run one of the UK’s largest beef farms. While beef farming outside Carrickmacross, Co Monaghan, David was a very active member of the IFA livestock committee and a prominent member of the Monaghan Quality Beef Producer Group.
I regularly visited David’s farm from the mid 1990s onwards when he was finishing heavy carcass continental bred steers and bulls.
Farming 200 acres of typical drumlin land, his farm was quite substantial for the region. In 2008 the family and their farming operation moved from Monaghan to Devon, swapping their 200 acres for 2,000 acres of owned and rented land. The vast majority of the farm is in grassland with the arable proportion of the farm supplying straw and forage maize.
Being a predominately dairy region, with all year round calving systems, greatly influences the type of stock available to the Merrin beef operation.
All calves are purchased at seven days of age and reared and finished on the farm.
There is an even split between steers and heifers, with all animals spending at least one full season at grass.
All finished cattle are supplied to ABP. I witnessed firsthand the huge benefits an electronic tagging system can bring to a largescale beef enterprise.
Within minutes, their weekly supply of 40 cattle were selected, put through the crush and all information was read electronically.
The required paperwork to move and sell the cattle was then gathered, before the animals departed for slaughter. The majority of animals currently purchased are Aberdeen Angus crosses.
The dairy cows in the region are predominately Holstein, meaning a larger carcass than witnessed here in Ireland.
Current calf prices are approximately £160 per head, with heifers and steers at 22 months old averaging over 320kg of carcass.
Interestingly, animals are all electronically graded using the same equipment that is in operation here.
David assured me he was having no issues with over-fat cattle, whereas if the same cattle were to be slaughtered in Ireland they would be penalised on fat scores.
In my opinion this could be accounted for with a difference in machine calibrations or the influence of the Holstein dams that are producing these calves. The Merrins have a very interesting arrangement with a local cereal farmer.
He has built a 500 space straw bedded fattening house on his farm and supplies all straw and forage maize used in this unit.
The main reason for this exercise, apart from the rent that he receives, is the large quantities of high quality manure or muck that he receives.
Since this arrangement started, the Merrins have streamlined the beef production system while the arable farmer has witnessed increases in his grain yields due to improved soil health.