Tullamore farm bulls have started to leave the farm. The thinking is bulls offer more efficient conversion, better returns and are environmentally more efficient. It all sounds good.

Delivering a 385kg carcase in under 16 months means the genetics need to be right, the management needs to be right and the final finish period needs to be well managed. Remember, these bulls are grazed for the first year and then come indoors for the winter finish period.

What’s not included, but every farmer knows, is that the cost of fertiliser, energy and feed all went upward in 2022 and 2023 so the net effect is the farmer margin is squeezed.

While the price averaging €5.34/kg is relatively good compared to the first four years on the farm, it falls short of the €5.50/kg that the budget needed in January 2023 when the choice was made to sell live or retain for further finishing.

The transparency tells a tale and one many farmers are reluctant to admit. It’s this type of unique information and analysis that makes Tullamore Farm real in every sense.

Unless factories move to some model of forward pricing tied in to an input cost index, it’s hard to see small finishers like Tullamore continuing.