Buyers make moves for lower quality dairy progeny
THE hype of the Leaving Certificate is starting to wind down. My eldest finished last Thursday. However, the exams continue this week with Agricultural Science taking centre stage yesterday.
The fact that these exams were taking place had obviously not gone unnoticed by Kilkenny auctioneer George Candler, who posed a question on the current state of play in the mart trade.
“Light continental store bullocks and heifers are in demand, especially if they originate from the suckler herd. These quality animals are ranging from €2.40 to €3.20 per kilo. Light Friesian bullocks plus Aberdeen Angus and Hereford with a dairy influence are much more difficult, with the bulk ranging from €1.40 to €1.90 per kilo , apart from the exceptional lot breaking the €2 per kilo barrier. Are these animals much better value? Discuss,” he said. Discuss indeed.
The real issue hinted at by Mr Candler is that the progeny of an expanding dairy herd continues to impact on mart numbers and prices, plus that progeny now includes increasing numbers of animals with Angus and Hereford on their cards.
In broad terms, CSO figures for the end of 2017 show the number of breeding suckler cows to be in the region of 1,018,000 with milking cows at 1,343,000, which is up 48,000 year on year.
The question to be answered is whether there is a place long term for more poorer conformation cattle in the beef system or does that really matter?
The Ringside figures this year have consistently shown that where quality is concerned, finishers are willing to pay for that quality, and especially when it comes to finishing cattle out of sheds.
However, ordinary cattle have a value, especially when putting your traditional Hereford, Friesian and Angus bullock to grass is many a man’s choice.
Gortatlea Mart manager Maurice Brosnan indicated that those lighter, poorer quality Friesians have become more popular in recent times as buyers move to possibly stock ground that has been wiped for silage with these cheaper options.
Dependable
Then there is the Toyota Avenus bullock option. John O’Hanlon of Ballymahon Mart introduced me to this concept. He uses the term to describe the bread and butter continental, that never gets above the R+ grade.
Like the car they are named after, they may never get your pulse racing but they are dependable and your investment will more often than not be secure should the market wobble.
The suckler animal cannot by himself sustain the beef industry; and to answer George Candler’s question in another way: should dairy farmers not be incentivised to possibly improve some of their herd with better beef breeding on the maternal side?