With the prospect of grass starting to grow vigorously in the next few weeks, this is the time of year when large numbers of store cattle are sold. They're mostly half-grown beef cattle that are bought to grow on or fatten.
Prices this spring have reflected the depressed trade for prime beef cattle that are back between £100 and £120 per head on the year. As a result, forward stores (those that only require a short fattening period) are back by about £100 per head compared to this time last year, while grazing cattle (those that will spend the summer at grass before being fattened in sheds during the winter) are back between £40 and £60. Indeed, many reckon buyers are being over optimistic about the future prospects for beef and that grazing cattle will prove to have been far too dear.
Beef finishers, those who specialise in fattening cattle, may buy cattle to finish at grass during the summer months, but an increasing number prefer to fatten them in sheds on TMRs (total mixed rations) of silage, waste vegetables like potatoes and carrots rejected by supermarkets, and various cereal by-products.
The problem with grazing is that the weather can have a big impact on cattle performance, while grass is a variable feed that is highly-nutritious in the spring and of little nutritional value in the autumn. Finishing indoors allows you to precisely feed your cattle according to their growth stage, and shelter them from the extremes of our variable climate. Cattle kept indoors are easier to regularly weigh than those out-of-doors that have to be rounded up and herded into the handling pens. That allows regular monitoring of growth rates so that diets can be adjusted to maximise performance.
Some people buy cattle through a dealer, while others buy directly from other farmers in private deals. From the seller's point of view, while direct selling removes the element of uncertainty about what the price will be, there can be little doubt that selling at a public auction is the most transparent way to set the price on the day.
Having said that, cattle values can rise and fall by £20 or £30 per head from sale to sale, and can even vary by £10 or £20 during a sale depending on where you are in the catalogue.
Selling through auction marts isn't cheap, as there is haulage and commission to be paid.
A major problem with sending cattle to markets is that they can become infected with a range of diseases after coming into contact with hundreds of other beasts as they walk up and down the aisles between the rows of pens, making their way to and from the auction ring.
There may be drawbacks to selling through auction marts, but there is one major advantage with the system that all farmers like - the auction company acts as a buffer between the buyer and the seller and shoulders the risk of bad debt. Guaranteed payment is worth an awful lot in these financially straitened times.
Restrictions on the movement of livestock as a result of the foot-and-mouth outbreak led to auctioneers selling cattle by video. Aberdeen and Northern Marts pioneered the system and made videos of the batches of cattle for sale on their home farms. Those videos could be viewed by buyers before the sale either at the market or at home on the internet.
On the day of the sale, videos of the cattle were displayed on a big screen in the market and there were also catalogues accurately describing them. The system worked remarkably well and was much better for the cattle.
Sadly, the idea fell by the wayside after movement restrictions were lifted. Farmers didn't trust the cameras and preferred to see cattle for themselves. Buyers like to inspect the pens of cattle before the sale as well as when they are going round the auction ring - so it's important to catch their eye to encourage vital extra bids.
While some groom and prepare store cattle as if they were entering a show, most sellers give their stores a basic makeover.
Cattle tend to grow a ridge of hair along their spines and over their tail heads. Clipping that off makes them look fatter. Similarly, clipping rough hair off the crown of their heads gives them a beefier and younger appearance. Little details like that can make a big difference.
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