'What you don't want to do is give a 5-star price for a 1-star calf' - ICBF
Beef farmers attending a recent industry event on a farm in Co. Monaghan heard that when it comes to looking at the Commercial Beef Value (CBV) of a calf, "what you don't want to do is give a five-star price for a one-star calf".
The Irish Cattle Breeding Federation's (ICBF's) Niall Kilrane said that by paying high prices for calves with a low genetic beef merit (low CBV), "you're going out with one arm tied behind your back".
Kilrane was speaking at the farm event hosted by Nigel Donaldson in Annyalla, Co. Monaghan, in association with Irish Hereford Prime and ABP Food Group, on Thursday evening, July 16.
"You can make as much money out of these ones [low CBV calves] as long as you buy them properly. We're not telling you to to forget about these ones, it's to price them properly."
The ICBF beef breeding analyst was explaining the CBV and its function to the large group of farmers in attendance at the event.
He acknowledged that while many farmers use the CBV to identify the calves with the highest genetic beef potential, there are also farmers who are happy to buy-in calves with lower genetic beef potential.
However, for these to be profitable, they must be priced accordingly.
Farmers in the business of rearing calves will know all too well that the best-looking calves on the day of purchase do not always (rarely) make the most profitable beef animal.
While a visual inspection is obviously important to ensure sound, healthy calves are being purchased, the CBV will give farmers more of an insight into the future genetic beef potential of each specific calf they are looking at and an indication of the value of that animal.
Calves with a lower CBV will naturally be worth less, while higher CBV calves are the ones that may be worth the higher rates.
Kilrane explained: "If you're buying at the bottom-end of the market - and lots of people do, you're fully entitled to, it's a trading system - if you can buy these [low CBV calves] at low money, you have a chance."
He added that if farmers buy the better-type CBV calves "at the right price", they have "an even better chance".
The event was well attended by both dairy and beef farmers from the local region with Irish Hereford Prime burgers and ice-cream served on the night to all in attendance, supported by Musgrave.
