Finishing continental bulls
PROFITABILITY OF FINISHING BULLS FROM THE SUCKLER HERD
James O’Boyle, Greenmount Campus
Many suckled calf producers are currently considering the options in relation to managing their spring-born male calves which are now around 300 kg liveweight. The main consideration is whether to castrate these calves, store them over the winter period and finish them at 22-23 months or to keep them entire and fatten them intensively as bulls at 14 months of age. The advantages of finishing them as bulls are:
- less land is required;
- the extensification limits are less likely to be breached;
- bulls have a higher percentage kill-out;
- bulls have a higher daily liveweight gain and more efficient food conversion;
If a farmer decides to keep his calves as bulls, it is critical that he establishes a market for these bulls. Currently one meat plant is offering contracts to it’s members for a limited number of Farm Quality Assured bulls of continental breeding which are within clearly defined weight limits, carcase grade and fat level specifications. Farmers, who during the past year have produced good quality young continental bred bulls from the suckler herd without a contract, have generally, received similar prices to those paid for steers. On occasions bulls have been discounted up to 6p/kg carcase, but because numbers offered have been limited, this has been the exception.
Nevertheless, like most agricultural commodities, it is critical that farmers ensure there is a market for bulls before they embark upon this production system. It is also important to carry out a detailed budget and sensitivity analysis to establish if such a system is profitable. The following budget shows the potential margins for beef finishers operating this system.
| Costs | £ |
|---|---|
| Purchase price/transfer value of suckled calf - 300 kg | 380 |
| Concentrates (over 200 days) @ £120/tonne | 222 |
| Sundry costs (vaccination, veterinary costs, straw) | 20 |
| Slaughter charges/transport costs | 23 |
| TOTAL COSTS | 645 |
| Returns | |
| Carcase 336 kg @ £1.70/kg | 571 |
| Beef Special Premium (Bull 2001) | 115 |
| Slaughter Premium (2001) | 34 |
| TOTAL RETURNS | 720 |
| Gross Margin | 75 |
| Interest charges @ 90% | 25 |
The budget above has been completed using the following assumptions:
This shows a potential margin of £75/head before interest is deducted and £50/head if money is borrowed. The margin will increase or decrease depending on the purchase price of the calf and carcase price of the finished bull.
Gross Margin/Bull (after deduction of interest)
| Carcase price p/kg Purchase price (300 kg calf) |
164p | 167p | 170p | 173p | 176p |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| £340 | 70 | 80 | 90 | 100 | 110 |
| £360 | 50 | 60 | 70 | 80 | 90 |
| £380 | 30 | 40 | 50 | 60 | 70 |
| £400 | 10 | 20 | 30 | 40 | 50 |
| £420 | -10 | 0 | 10 | 20 | 30 |
The figures above show that if a price of £420 is paid for a 300 kg suckled bull calf and a carcase price of 164p per kilo is received in March/April 2001, a loss of £10/head will be incurred.
At the other extreme, a calf bought for £340 and sold at a carcase price of 176p per kilo will realise a margin of £125. Farmers should consider the expected returns, the potential daily liveweight gain and the cost of feed/tonne before embarking upon this production system. Above all, consideration needs to be given to the establishment of a market outlet for stock before making the decision to leave bulls entire.
