Ken Gill January/February 2025 Update
Latest weights
- Store cattle weights
- Heifers achieved 0.85kg/day on catch crop
- Bullocks averaged 1kg/day on catch crop
Profit monitor results 2024
- 2024 profit monitor results
- Organic price did not rise as much as conventional price in 2024
- Slight rise in variable costs as a % of output
Breeding
Ken scanned his cows and heifers this month. A total of 16 heifers and 60 cows were bred in autumn 2024 over a 5 week period.
The scanning results showed that 15 out of 16 heifers and 49 out of 60 cows are in calf for the 2025 calving season which he is delighted with. Two cows scanned with twins but one set are not looking healthy so he will watch that cow. The overall pregnancy rate for the heifers is 94% and the cows are 82%. Only 5 cows were served twice and none were served any more times than that. Calving is due to start from 7th August and is due to finish around the 17th of September.
Ken plans to wean the current calves from the 1st of March so the cows will have plenty of time to prepare for their next calf. The empty cows will be sold from the farm and Ken is debating whether to sell them organically live or conventionally through the factory.
The 15 in calf heifers will be turned out to the stubble ground this month to save on straw and silage.
The cows are licking urine in the shed which would suggest a phosphorus deficiency so Ken will buy a mineral lick to help supplement them. He is also considering taking a few blood samples during the herd test to identify if there are any other mineral deficiencies present.
Figure 1: Ken achieved an overall pregnancy rate of 84% during a 5 week breeding season
Performance
Ken weighed cattle on the 18th of December. The 2023 born heifers (9) averaged 387kg and gained 0.85 kg/day since 30th October while they were grazing the catch crop.
The 2023 born bullocks (42) averaged 447kg and gained 1kg/day on average over the same period. They will be weighed again in March to see what their weight gain during the housing period is.
The autumn 2024 calves are continuing to graze by day and will be weighed in March also.
Figure 2: Autumn born calves are continuing to graze by day
Financial
Ken has completed his profit monitor for 2024 and has analysed the results on the ‘cattle detailed’ report.
The first figure on the report is the output per livestock unit which was 328 kg/LU. This was an increase since 2023 where the figure was 316 kg/LU, and is only slightly behind the target >350 kg/LU for a suckler system. This figure is affected by everything that affects weight gain in the herd - the cow fertility, bull fertility, mortality, genetics, nutrition at grass, winter performance, ration fed, animal health and calving spread. Ken has been focusing on increasing output through selecting for more terminal traits on the herd, while also watching the age at finish figure when choosing AI bulls. He does not feed any organic ration, apart from organic oats at weaning time, so excellent management through animal health and grass management is giving him a good performance per livestock unit on the farm.
The grassland stocking rate on the farm is 1.53 LU/ha or 117 kg organic N/ha which is high for an organic system, but when the tillage land is included it helps to dilute this.
The gross output figure is calculated from cattle sales minus cattle purchases and add/subtract any changes to the inventory. Ken had a gross output figure of €1350/ha which is the main ‘money in the pot’ to cover variable and fixed costs. This only increased by €11/ha from €1339/ha in 2023. As the organic beef price was set from early 2024, Ken didn’t see the same increase in sales values that other conventional farmers in the programme had in autumn 2024.
The 3 biggest expenses on conventional drystock farms are purchased concentrate, fertiliser and contractor costs. However for Ken they are:
- Contractor: €181/ha (decrease of €5/ha since 2023)
- Bedding €157/ha (increase of €79/ha since 2023)
- Seed: €60/ha (decrease of €19/ha since 2023)
In total, the total variable costs (€608/ha) were 45% of the gross output figure, which is slightly higher than usual for Ken as it was only 42% in 2023. Most notably, his veterinary costs are well back on 2023 due to less sections and veterinary call outs as a result of a rogue bull that put some of the beef heifers in calf.
The fixed costs were €291/ha for 2024 which is similar to 2023. Machinery running costs and repairs and maintenance costs increased slightly due to some investments on the farm. For 2024 the cattle enterprise made €451/ha net margin which does not include any direct payments or subsidies. This is a €32/ha decrease from 2023 due to extra spending on the farm, but overall Ken is very happy with it.