Farmers have been advised to do the maths before buying cattle this winter to avoid the financial losses experienced last spring.

Speaking to the Irish Farmers Journal at the National Ploughing Championships, David Argue a cattle specialist with Teagasc said farmers must be careful of cattle prices this year and “work within their means”.

“Farmers must be mindful of costs this year and know the costs within their system.

“If you are buying cattle now to feed for a three- or four-month period, know what that cost is over that period and work back to get a rough figure of what you can give per kilo for the store cattle today.

“Last year the price of weanlings was very high. Farmers in those systems had to continue within the system and continue to buy these animals. It wasn’t a good story in the springtime and a lot of people were left in a position where animals lost money.”

Liveweight gain targets

Argue emphasised that within finishing systems, meeting liveweight gain targets was crucial.

“Within those systems, you have to be very efficient.

“You have to be hitting the liveweight gain targets and animal health and nutrition has to be very good.

“Unless we are hitting our targets from a daily liveweight gain point of view, we are in serious trouble from the get-go."