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Know How / Beef / Livestock marketing

Tighter specifications and heftier penalties on high carcase weights mean beef producers need to pay attention to the weights and finishing times of their stock. Whether you are looking to maximize the value of your weaned calves, store cattle, prime beef or are a producer-retailer, there are tips to help you along the way.

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Case studies

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LIVESTOCK

Stores or finishers: Why doing the sums regularly is vital

Analysis of one business on Anglesey, carried out by Farming Connect, showed a net margin of £19/head of cattle finished, or £0.03/kg of liveweight sold. This compares favourably with the…

LIVESTOCK MARKETING

Mixed farmer reaps premium price via direct meat marketing

Selling livestock direct to local butchers and marketing produce via a meat box scheme is helping Shetland farmer Jamie Leslie cut out the middlemen to reap a premium price for…

LIVESTOCK MARKETING

How three breeders market their bulls

Livestock marketing has come on in leaps and bounds, with the internet opening up a global audience for bulls and sales moving online. We speak to three breeders about their…

BEEF

Rival breeders' collaboration sees Angus bull sales treble

A marketing partnership with a rival English breeder has enabled a Scottish Angus herd to treble its bull sales, rewarding the herd’s focus on cost control and type. The Playfair-Hannays,…

LIVESTOCK MARKETING

Benefits of selling beef into the ethical market

The Ethical Butcher only launched in March 2020, but has already secured major funding from five livestock farmers and smaller investments from others. Farshad Kazemian, chief executive officer of The…

DIVERSIFICATION

How one farmer adds value with ‘worthless’ wool and bracken

Bracken is a scourge for many hill farmers, eating up valuable grazing land, providing an ideal habit for ticks, and proving difficult to control. But a farmer in Cumbria has…

Practical advice

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BUSINESS

How demand for ‘regen beef’ is expanding in niche markets

Significant premiums are being paid by some butchers, restaurant chains and retailers for regeneratively farmed beef. The sector remains in its infancy, and what exactly is involved in regenerative practices…

DAIRY

How spring-calvers can prepare for end of bull calf euthanasia

Producing a viable dairy bull calf is a challenge in a system that relies on an efficient cow of smaller stature to maximise milk production from grazed grass on the…

BEEF

3 beef systems and their earning potential compared

More farmers are considering beef production as the industry experiences a sustained period of buoyant returns. Buying in calves and selling them as stores is now the most common system…

LIVESTOCK MARKETING

Alternatives to selling livestock at markets this autumn

Ongoing social distancing restrictions and the uncertainty surrounding some breeding stock sales mean farmers may have to think about alternative ways to buy and sell their stock. The backend of the…

LIVESTOCK MARKETING

6 ways livestock farmers can improve carcass eating quality

Carcass defects and poor eating quality of meat cost the livestock sector millions of pounds a year, yet simple steps could be taken on farm that would minimise losses. Research…

LIVESTOCK

9 tips on buying a bull and getting him off to a good start

Buying a bull can be a relatively straight-forward process, but making sure that bull gets cows in calf in a compact breeding season for several years is more difficult. There…

Insights

SHEEP

Why "breed snobbery" could challenge liveweight sales

A desire to change the system, lower the cost base and move towards self-replacing maternal genetics has left some businesses in the cold when selling liveweight, Farmers Weekly has heard.…

MEAT MARKETS AND PRICES

Analysis: How livestock auctions fit in today's meat markets

There is a certain nostalgia associated with trading livestock at a live mart – it is, after all, a system that has operated well for more than 200 years. But…

LIVESTOCK MARKETING

What farmers need to know about livestock sales this year

Covid-19 has shaken up the way livestock sales can take place, with social-distancing rules making it difficult to operate as normal in livestock markets. Although the sale of breeding stock…

BREEDING AND FERTILITY

Lim-gate: What next for EBVs?

The exposure of errors relating to the registration of birth dates and parentage of cattle last year brought into question the legitimacy and accuracy of data feeding into Estimated Breeding…

LIVESTOCK MARKETING

Coronavirus: Online livestock auctions - how they work

Over the past week, we have seen markets close their doors due to the coronavirus outbreak, with others limiting the sale of stock to primestock, cull animals and store animals…

LIVESTOCK MARKETING

Calls mount to add quality measures to Europ grid

British red meat production cannot compete on price, so it must compete on quality, says 2018 Nuffield scholar and director of meat quality consultancy FQM Global, Caroline Mitchell. Speaking at…

BUSINESS

How the retail market for young bulls is changing

Leading retailers insist they are continuing to source young bulls for beef despite one supermarket removing them from certain products last year. Tesco’s decision to stop using young bulls in…

BEEF

Breeder outlines a new direction for a better beef industry

The beef industry requires an urgent change of direction with emphasis put on breeding and feed efficiencies to counter the effects of continuing commodity price volatility and uncertainty over farm…

BREEDING AND FERTILITY

Target daily liveweight gains to cut beef finishing times

Setting strict targets for daily liveweight gains and getting rid of animals that are not hitting the grade is helping beef finisher Meilir Jones keep a tight rein on costs…

BEEF

Is bigger better when it comes to cow size?

Finding the right sized cow to suit the system is key to suckler productivity. Farmers Weekly analyses whether bigger or smaller cows are best. A growing number of farms are…