Beef farmers can’t carry all the risk on dairy calves — ICSA

Beef farmers cannot be expected to take all the risks associated with rearing dairy calves, the ICSA claimed this week.

The drystock farmer body urged milk suppliers to agree contract rearing arrangements with beef farmers ahead of the spring calving season.

The ICSA also expressed outright opposition to a dairy-calf-to-beef scheme proposed by ICMSA which involves the payment of €150/hd in subsidies on qualifying animals.

ICSA beef chairman Edmond Graham insisted that the problem of finding an outlet for dairy bull calves next spring cannot be foisted on beef farmers who were already at “breaking point”.

“It is clear now that dairy expansion can only be done with dairy farmers being responsible for all of their breeding decisions. If dairy bull calves can be exported to the Netherlands then well and good,” he said.

“Otherwise, a profitable dairy farm will have to absorb the risk of finishing these calves. This can be done by paying beef farmers to contract rear them.

“It is futile to think that beef farmers can be expected to buy calves at a beef price of €3.45/kg and take all the cost and risk of rearing them for two years. There is no appetite any more for gambling that beef prices might recover to an economically sustainable level in the future.”

Teagasc specialists recently estimated that for efficient finishers to make €200/hd on Friesian stock — at 24 months of age and at current factory prices — the beef farmer would have to get a payment of €125 with a two-week-old bull calf. The same finisher could afford to pay €10 for a 12-week-old calf.

“A dairy farmer who breeds a calf with negative value for beef breeding cannot expect his beef-farming neighbour to absorb that cost. Instead, it needs to be part of the dairy farm’s costs,” Mr Graham said.

He also insisted that beef farmers would not accept direct supports for a dairy-calf-to-beef scheme that effectively paid a headage payment and a slaughter premium for beef from the dairy herd, saying such a move would disadvantage beef from the suckler herd.

However, ICMSA president Pat McCormack said their proposal offered a solution for dairy farmers while delivering additional income for beef farmers.