Tommy Moyles

2 days ago | farmersjournal.ie | Tommy Moyles

Calf numbers continue to tail off, but, so far, it appears to be happening at a much slower pace than other years. Mart managers have reported greater numbers of calves appearing in the ring this spring, with a number of contributing factors. Nitrates pressures have seen some farmers opt to offload stock, while more farmers have also taken calves to the mart this year, as the price has consistently risen week on week, making it difficult to price calves on farm.

2 days ago | farmersjournal.ie | Tommy Moyles

Tipperary Mart held its final calf sale of the year on Saturday last, which had just over 300 calves on offer. It was a sale heavily dominated by calves sired by traditional beef breed bulls, with 74% of the calves there either Angus- or Hereford-crosses. Of those, almost half were Angus-crosses. The general run for both breeds saw bulls making from €380 to €655, while heifer calves generally sold for between €275 and €485.

2 days ago | farmersjournal.ie | Tommy Moyles

The upward trajectory of calf prices is showing no signs of slowing as prices continue to climb even with supply significantly ahead of this time last year, according to the ICBF calf price database. Demand driven by both the home and European markets has resulted in price increases of anywhere from €22/head to €94/head for beef-cross calves aged between three and six weeks of age. Belgian Blue-cross heifer calves are the standouts.

2 days ago | farmersjournal.ie | Tommy Moyles

My aim of putting a bit of daylight between the end of calving and start of breeding was achieved when the last cow calved on Sunday. It’s the first time that I can recall that I won’t be watching at least one cow to calve, while keeping an eye on the rest for AI. I actually enjoy calving time, but the enthusiasm starts to wane when there are two or three cows left weeks after the main bunch.

2 days ago | farmersjournal.ie | Tommy Moyles

I was amused to hear about wandering weanlings that were spotted searching for new wheels in west Cork. They were seen loitering around a car dealership in Bandon early one morning last week. Maybe it’s a reflection of the extremely high prices that are being paid for calves this spring and a farmer was hoping to drop off a dairy-beef deposit for a new car.