In Fredrick Forsyth’s book Substitute for Demons from 1979, a failed harvest in Russia resulted in the slaughter of much of Russia’s dairy herd as authorities attempted to feed the population.
This led to the situation that within a few months they did not have enough bread, milk and meat to meet the domestic demand. This in turn shows the political and military maneuvering of a section of the Soviet leadership who tried to use the crisis as a cover to bring about conflict with NATO.
I mention this because when Russia was trying to annex Ukraine, it was really doubtful that Ireland could replace the millions of tons of Ukrainian grain that we import to feed both ourselves and our livestock. ours or not.
Add to that the uncertainty over fertilizer supply, not to mention its price and oil, and the question arises – whether Ireland’s dairy and meat production faces the very real prospect of having to decline. strong quantity because input will be too expensive or medium Not available?
Another issue that resurfaces in the minds of cattle traders, and also quantity-related, concerns the government’s plan to limit production through environmental measures.
“Factory prices go up because the world is short of meat and the government wants us to cut production to save the planet. There is not enough food like in the world. People need to eat,” one opinion maker.
That’s true, but people can only buy the food they want if it’s affordable. The consensus is that the Government needs to reconsider the impact of environmental measures on farming and consumption costs at a time when demand and world events have driven up prices of basic commodities and resources. their supply decreases.
In 2018 we were forced to import fodder for our stock as spring came very late with some dairy farmers choosing to destroy additional quantities from their herds in an attempt to prolong the variety. feed they supply, thus putting pressure on the overall factory price. However, this was short-lived.
The difference is that this time while actual prices may hold even in the event of extra slaughter, some in the trade believe that a reduction in the national total herd is inevitable.
This is due to concerns on the dairy side about limited feed supplies and rising costs while concerns on the beef side are that those costs are related to current replacement costs that make the Ordinary farmers invest to maintain their numbers too risky. .
As for the record, trading remains very active although the price seems to have stabilized. The on-grid base price for bulls continues at €4.50-4.55/kg with heifers at €4.60-4.65/kg.
As mentioned last week, fixed prices continue to be a key component of many deals with Aberdeen Angus currently fixed at €5.00/kg. On the culling side, P3s is reported to be operating around the €3.90/kg mark with grade O improving to between €4.00-4.10/kg and Rs above €4.20-4.40 / kg.
Among young bulls U24m, Grade U is reported to currently stand at €4.60-4.70/kg with R grade priced from €4.50/kg and with odd continental O grade also available. similar money. U16m bulls at base 4.50 €/kg.
