There are just four significant national operating suckler herds across Europe: Ireland, the UK, France and Spain. With Ireland experiencing uncertain times, the Irish Farmers Journal visited suckler farmers in France and Scotland over the past couple of weeks to get their views on the situation there.

Both countries have problems to overcome. For France, the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) has been signed off and, like Ireland, there have been winners and losers. Larger, and in many cases, more productive farmers have seen cuts to the single farm payments in favour of incentivising smaller farms to grow. Despite this, a couple of beef payments of over €200 per cow will soften the blow for many.

CAP negotiations are still up in the air for Scottish farmers, but most are fearing the worst. Farmers there pay close attention to cattle prices here as it has a direct influence on the prices they receive.

While there are obvious differences between suckler farming here and in France and Scotland, there are many common concerns, most notably prices. However, all farmers agreed that correct breeding is the key to a successful farm enterprise.

Scotland:

“It [the suckler herd] is alright for farmers now, but I can’t see many younger guys coming into it if I’m being honest.” This is how Aberdeenshire suckler and tillage farmer Andrew Sleigh summed up the Scottish herd and the prospects for attracting new blood to the sector.

There are approximately 400,000 suckler cows in Scotland and, according to Sleigh, “all the signs would be that it’s going to go down”. This closely mirrors the expected trend in Ireland.

Significant emphasis is being placed on the CAP reforms in Scotland. Larger farmers are expecting cuts of 35% to 50% in the single farm payment.

Market sales remain crucial for farmers.

“We still don’t know who’s going to wave the hand at the auction ring,” said Gordon Sharp, a suckler and tillage farmer from just outside Aberdeen. “The price has been wildly uncertain in recent times. [It has] steadied a bit recently, but we still don’t know where we are,” Sharp said.

Like Ireland, input costs are a concern for Scottish farmers. The cost of keeping a cow is generally on a par with Ireland, although beef prices are ahead of what finishers get here.

“We’re about £500 (€632) to run a cow and calf,” Sleigh explained. “It’s fairly obvious, but we’re always looking at driving down the costs but it’s not easy either. Things can be cut here and there but making big savings is tough,” Sleigh said.

Scottish beef prices have endured a similar trend to Irish ones this year.

Breeding is crucial for the Scottish farmers that were visited. Each of the farmers that were visited run Charolais, Salers, Angus and Simmentals, with Salers used as the predominant breed due the easy calving nature of the cow. They are usually crossed with a Charolais, Simmental or Limousin and sold as weanlings or finished for beef.

Sleigh is envious of the ICBF in Ireland. Scotland is in the process of establishing its own genetics database.

“We would hope that what we’re doing will be like what you guys have [in Ireland]. You breed the best, you get the best,” Sleigh said.

France

The French suckler herd has been in a steady decline since 2009, which coincided with the economic crash across Europe.

France is the largest producer of beef in Europe. Interestingly, 80% of the beef produced in France comes from the dairy herd and the rest from suckler herds. While that percentage is unlikely to reach highs of 80% here, the dairy herd is going to have more of an influence on the beef herd. Dairy calves are reared for a month before being sold to a finisher. In a lot of cases, the finisher feeds the calves for two months before slaughtering.

Many of the suckler farmers produce calves for breeding. David Monteil from La Roche in the Massif Central is a pure Saler breeder. He breeds calves for sale at nine or 10 months. He sells them to local suckler farmers as well as to farmers in Germany and Ireland. His high quality Salers are the backbone of the local suckler industry.

The rest of the suckler farmers produce animals primarily for the live export market. One of these farmers is David Grange from just outside Aurillac, three hours north of Toulouse. Grange has 150 suckler cows and sells about 75 calves at a local mart. He recently sold heifers and bulls; they were all eight or nine months old. They were fed on milk and grass and each receive 1kg of meal for one month before selling.

“My bulls got €2.52/kg and my heifers sold at €2.42/kg. I was happy with the price. It’s easier when your cattle cost less to keep,” he said.

Grange takes a very clinical approach to his cows.

“If the cow cannot calve herself, or if she needs to be put to the bull more than once, she’s gone. There is enough to be done without having to waste time on cows that are not productive. A cow with no calf is too expensive,” he said.

However, Grange is concerned as a result of the new CAP.

“I will lose about €15,000 per year,” he said. “The new PAC [French for CAP] is there to make it easier for smaller farmers. I have 150 cows but there is no [coupled] payment for farmers over 100 cows. I make money now because I grow grass and only feed my cows that. I’m a grass farmer. To keep making money, I need to maybe sell land or start making animals for slaughter. To do this I need to grow crops, something I’ve never done before,” he explained.

The majority of the suckler cattle in France are either Charolais, Saler or Limousin, something Monteil said provides “stability and consistency” in breeding.

“We have an extra payment on the cow but, not like in Ireland, we concentrate more on breeding. Irish fields have many different colours of cows, we look at how the people of the past did it. They [previous generations] bred the best and had the best. Younger farmers are coming in now trying to be different and getting it wrong. Breeding the right cattle is the most important thing a farmer can do,” he said.