Steer prices

[Rob R]

I've just been browsing the latest updates in the cattle for sale and come across a few animals unfortunately being sold due to loss of land. Not quite sure my eyes are working right tonight, but is the price for the two 10 month-old steers £400 each, while the 20 month-old bulling heifer is only £350?

I noticed another ad elsewhere not so long ago, an unreg heifer, four months of age, £250 - are beef animals really fetching so much now? I know that at the last York rare breeds sale there was a strong trade for steers but demand must be really outstripping supply.

[Mark Bowles]

Hi Rob, i put on what the seller states in their for sale application. I must admit that sometimes i wince at some of the prices, too high and too low. I am afraid some dexter owners are not really on the ball with pricing.

[Rob R]

It's fair enough to ask a good price, as you don't get if you don't ask, but the anomaly of the heifer got me - it makes heifers look a better bet for beef than steers.

[Mark Bowles]

Just sold a steer direct to a butcher, the contact had come through another dexter breeder.At the last minute the steer to go lost one of his tags, luckily i had another although not as old. He was 20.5 months, grassfed and acheive 184-2kg O+4 on the hook @£3.15 per kg. Price not reflective of the current prices but i was happy with that.
Slightly off topic but i thought it would be of interest.

[Duncan MacIntyre]

Scottish deadweight price for O+4L week ending 10th Dec was £3.47. I would get 10% on top of that, so the £3.15 seems far too low - is that just regional difference? We should be able to get a premium for dexter over ordinary breeds and should hold out for this, it is well justified.

Steers, some born 2010 and some 2011 made very repectable money at Carlisle in Sept.

Duncan

[Mark Bowles]

£3.15 per kg was the price we agreed 6 weeks ago, it was not far off then. Hindsight is a wonderfull thing.

[Duncan MacIntyre]

I think Scottish beef prices must be up on south of the border, Scottish average has been above £3.40 since before September. But I still think we need to work hard to keep Dexter above average.

Duncan

[Robert & Alison Kirk]

Let's have some feedback on what prices 'High Street' butchers are paying for Dexter beef.

Happy Christmas to you all

Alison Kirk

[carole]

all of our steers are sold direct to a local butcher and we generally will make r4l grade and are paid the FW price for that week, which we have always considered to be fair, last one went at £3.35 per kilo.

Having said that our Lleyn sheep are doing better, last ones sold at Hallworthy market went at £94 each selling a pen of five on that occasion.

Hope that helps with your question.

Carole

[Broomcroft]

£3.25 - 3.35 depending upon butcher but that's regardless of grade, breed, pure, cross, just as long as it's traditional. It is not so good at the moment and some of the best butchers have said they will not follow the curent high prices, but on the other hand we still get those sort of figures when the general prices are lower, so fair enough I think.

Our Charolais/Lleyn lambs £2.07 per kilo liveweight, which more like £4.50 a kilo deadweight. Likely to go up further IMO as well.

PS. Some getting £4.75 DW for lambs this week!

[Rob R]

It's nice to see some decent returns from butchers around the country - we sell most of ours direct but whenever I've had an offer from a butcher it's always been a terrible one or what they say before the animal is on the hook is very different from after. I haven't trusted a butcher for a good few years but maybe things are looking up?

[clacko]

last one i sold was 240kg cold, 0+4l @ £4 pk dw and i paid kill costs (£85) that was too a private customer wanted a whole carcase for a four way split with her friends, they made quite a saving considering what the carcase would have came to in boxes at £9.50. getting loads of interest in supplying odd butchers and farm shops, but the private sales orders at the moment are taking some keeping up with and we could do with more animals but have no more space to winter them

[Mark S]

What is the real demand for dexter beef in the country ?, we normally sell 2/3 steeers a year as freezer packs, but this year have a surplus of steers which we have advertised on the website at £1.70 Kg LW, no takers. We have now got the surplus (4) booked into the Traditional Breeds Marketing Scheme in Feb and March and current price is £3.60Kg DW. The way current beef prices are moving upwards the price may well increase. These animals will be finished at between 18 and 23 months of age and anticipate carcass weights of 175 to 220 Kg DW. This will represent a good return on these animals, however this value would be impossible to achieve if sold through a livestock market.

Mark S

Brereton Herd

[Rob R]

I bought in some extra steers this year, partly due to us expanding on the sales side, partly down to keeping more heifers and a bull. I'd like to be doing more but it's a case of not having the time to do everything and we have still to complete the replacement cattle shed after the old one came down in last year's snow - which is taking a lot of the capital and time.

[domsmith]

I think anyone struggling to sell beef or livestock this year, should look at crossing. Beef is at a hell of a price so make the most of it one way or another. Cross beasts are easily sold, so is pure beef.

Merry Christmas

dominic