Breeders advised take advantage of cull cow prices

Breeders should take advantage of record prices for cull cows to reduce the number of sub-fertile or disease positive females in their herd, however they should not be tempted to cash in on good breeding females.

This is according to the National Beef Association, which said there’s a bright future for the beef sector and replacement breeding females will soon become even more expensive.

The average cull cow price is within a whisker of £800 a head, and most beef bred cows are making more than £1,000, said NBA chairman, Oisin Murnion.

“The NBA worries that some breeders are selling off perfectly good productive cows either to maintain cash flow, or to thin down their beef herd, which might still be struggling to produce positive margins.

“Evidence that this is happening lies in the worrying 25 per cent, year on year, rise in cull cow disposals recorded so far in 2011 and the equally disturbing seven per cent increase in prime heifer disposals that suggests most of the culled cows are not being replaced.”

Breeders who still worry about the long-term future for beef should take a careful look at the steady acceleration in prime cattle prices recorded so far this year and the rising value of store cattle, he said.

“These are being driven by an acute world shortage of beef which has reduced imports into the UK at exactly the same time that exports have also increased dramatically.”

“On top of that there is strong domestic demand so the overall British prime cattle average, already approaching 320p, is expected to continue to climb at its current pace because none of these price lifting factors are expected to soften over the next 10 years at least.”

However, the NBA is keen to encourage breeders to take advantage of the strong market and sell off cows that fail to produce a calf, are persistently infected with BVD, or are in the early stages of Johne’s disease, at the first opportunity.