Although it is only mid-March, mart managers are indicating that there are buyers already looking to purchase store cattle for grazing.

For farmers buying grazing cattle, prices are currently strong, so it is important to buy wisely.

Outlined are five tips to consider before buying.

1. Work to a budget

Before buying, take the time to work out what inputs will be required to graze and finish store cattle.

Add the value of these inputs to a realistic purchase price. This will give an indication of break-even costs.

Dividing this by average carcase weight will give a break-even beef price.

Keep this in mind when buying cattle if you want to cover costs. Working to a budget is difficult when mart prices are buoyant.

But if you can keep to your buying limit, there is a greater chance of turning a positive margin.

2. Buying similar cattle

Consistency is crucial when grazing and finishing stores. Having a mixture of breeds, ages and liveweight makes cattle harder to manage and there is no advantage when finishing animals.

Although it is easier said than done, try to buy as many cattle of similar breed, weight and type.

If possible, buy as many from the same vendor, as these animals will have similar genetics and, therefore, similar performance should be expected.

The more consistent cattle are, the more animals there will be to offload at the same time in autumn. If killing cattle, this gives more negotiating power.

3. Buy over a short time period

Buying stores in dribs and drabs over several weeks means the cattle already on farm are constantly exposed to disease risk as new animals join the herd every week.

In terms of biosecurity and disease challenge, it is better to go all out and buy as many cattle needed in the shortest possible time frame.

With online bidding, this is much easier to do, as you can tune in to multiple sales in a day or week.

In the past, these sales needed to be physically attended, which was time consuming.

4. Monitor cattle closely on arrival to the farm

As soon as stores arrive on farm, they should be housed for 48 to 72 hours for close observation.

Having moved through the marts, animals can be stressed and this is the critical period for respiratory problems to flare up.

Offer stores concentrates twice daily, allocating 1kg/head in each feed.

Sick animals will stand back and be slow to come forward and eat. Shy feeders should be isolated and treated for respiratory problems at this point.

If stores are purchased later in spring, on arrival to the farm, turn animals out to a sheltered paddock beside the yard and monitor for 72 hours before moving to the main grazing block.

5. Turn out to grass

After 72 hours, stores should be settled. This is when animals can be turned out to grass provided ground conditions allow.

Depending on the size of grazing area, split cattle in to groups based on size and type. This will cut down on bullying in the group.

Administer clostridial and respiratory vaccines as necessary before turnout and tidy up horns, etc, at the outset.

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