Get best returns on cattle culls; Farming.

Byline: Sam Wood 

CATTLE farmers are being advised by industry experts to finish culls this season in order to get the best returns.

The English Beef and Lamb Executive (EBLEX) says that the cow cull market is set to remain strong over the summer and early autumn and substantial premiums are continuing to be paid for better quality stock.

This provides an excellent opportunity to boost returns on dairy and beef herds, EBLEX officials say. EBLEX policy manager on beef, Mark Topliff, said: "This is especially the case if cattle can be finished on forage rather than concentrate-based diets.

"A particular shortage of manufacturing beef in the UK and across Europe coupled with the weakness of sterling against the Euro, has led cull cow prices to strengthen remarkably since the start of the year.

"Prices have risen to such an extent that beef-bred culls are now fetching comfortably over 100p/kg liveweight on average, with dairy-bred stock averaging over 90p/kg.

"What is more, prices are forecast to remain good at least until the traditional seasonal peak of culling in the last quarter of the year. Prices may continue to stay firm well into the new year if Brazilian imports do not resume to any significant extent and encouraging domestic prospects for both milk and beef curtail all but the most essential culling.

"The positive producers' demand/supply balance also seems likely to keep differentials for cull cow quality at the sort of levels currently being seen at auction. Grade two cows are fetching 11p/kg liveweight more than grade three stock on average. And grade three animals are getting as much as 17p/kg more than grade four beasts."

EBLEX calculations show that improving a grade three cull to grade two through finishing, while putting on around 50 kg liveweight will improve returns by pounds 88 per cow.

The economics of finishing will, of course, depend on the cost of achieving this improvement.

But with feed costs typically ranging from 80p/cow/day on grass-based diets to 150p/cow/day on cereals and 60-80 days feeding likely to be necessary at normal rates of gain, many herds are likely to find planned cull cow finishing pays dividends over the coming few months.

EBLEX advises that this planning should include realistic budgeting based on readily-available feed resources, assessing all cows and only finishing those that need and will respond to it, marketing animals in good enough condition or in ill-health without delay and utilising feeds and facilities that do not interfere with the farm's main enterprises.

Further information and guidance, together with a useful Break Even Ready Reckoner to estimate the extra returns required from finishing to cover different daily feeding costs, is available free of charge to English levy payers in special dairy and beef cull finishing fact sheets.

It is part of the Beef Action for Profit resource which can be found at www.eblex.org.uk