Keep and Service Costs

[Saffy]

What should I charge?

I am having a few of a friends cows with calves at foot to run with my bull and I am going to charge something for keep and the service by the bull. I don't want to be out of pocket but I don't want to overcharge either. So what should I charge for keep and what should I charge for the service by the bull?

Stephanie

[Rob R]

I think it depends a lot on how you are keeping them starting at £1 per cow per day for the most basic grazing. If they spend anytime being fed or bedded it's going to be more. You also have to factor in the cost of catching and the money that would be making if you had your own cows taking up the same space. Service I used to charge £25 per cow inc VAT.

[Tim Watson]

I don't have any first hand figures for cattle (ewes are 33p/week locally) but tend to turn to John Nix's Farm Management Pocketbook for figures. Below is an extract from his 2011 41st Edition (don't have the 2012 one here for some reason), taken from p70, Grazing & Rearing Charges: Cattle & Sheep - extract in italics

Summer Grazing (per head per week)
Store Cattle and in-calf heifers over 21 months, dry cows
and fattening bullocks over 18mnths £3.50 - £4.50
Heifers & Steers, 12 - 21mnths £3.50 - £3.50
6-12 mnths Cattle £2.00 - £2.75
Cattle of mixed ages £2.50 - £3.50
Ewes 45p - 55p

Winter Grazing (per head per week)
'Strong' Cattle £2.25 - £3.50
Heifers £2.00 - £3.00
Sheep 40p - 50p

Note: the above figures assume the farmer whose land the livestock are on does all the fencing and shepherding. Where the owner of the stock does the fencing, shepherding etc., the figures may be halved, or be even less depending on local demand.

With regard to bull service I have no idea. Having looked on the web I can't find anything other than mating life seems to be 4-5yrs but I suspect that Dexter bulls go on way beyond that! Anyway, how does this sound as a formula:-

A = Cost of Bull
B = Ownership Costs in Mating Life Expectancy (vet, feed, housing, labour etc )
C = Selling price of bull
D = Mating Life expectancy
E = No of cattle one would want ones bull to serve in a year
X = X Factor (pedigree, quality of calves etc)

Cost of Bull + Ownership Costs - Selling price of bull
Mating Life expectancy x No of cattle one would want ones bull to serve in a year

And then multiplied by the X factor to account for:-
pedigree/breeding/rarity etc
success of mating
quality of calves
profit
what else you think you can get away with

I would be interested to see how that turns out for those that own bulls.

[Jac]

I don't have any first hand figures for cattle (ewes are 33p/week locally) but tend to turn to John Nix's Farm Management Pocketbook for figures. Below is an extract from his 2011 41st Edition (don't have the 2012 one here for some reason), taken from p70, Grazing & Rearing Charges: Cattle & Sheep - extract in italics

Summer Grazing (per head per week)
Store Cattle and in-calf heifers over 21 months, dry cows
and fattening bullocks over 18mnths £3.50 - £4.50
Heifers & Steers, 12 - 21mnths £3.50 - £3.50
6-12 mnths Cattle £2.00 - £2.75
Cattle of mixed ages £2.50 - £3.50
Ewes 45p - 55p

Winter Grazing (per head per week)
'Strong' Cattle £2.25 - £3.50
Heifers £2.00 - £3.00
Sheep 40p - 50p

Note: the above figures assume the farmer whose land the livestock are on does all the fencing and shepherding. Where the owner of the stock does the fencing, shepherding etc., the figures may be halved, or be even less depending on local demand.

With regard to bull service I have no idea. Having looked on the web I can't find anything other than mating life seems to be 4-5yrs but I suspect that Dexter bulls go on way beyond that! Anyway, how does this sound as a formula:-

A = Cost of Bull
B = Ownership Costs in Mating Life Expectancy (vet, feed, housing, labour etc )
C = Selling price of bull
D = Mating Life expectancy
E = No of cattle one would want ones bull to serve in a year
X = X Factor (pedigree, quality of calves etc)

Cost of Bull + Ownership Costs - Selling price of bull
Mating Life expectancy x No of cattle one would want ones bull to serve in a year

And then multiplied by the X factor to account for:-
pedigree/breeding/rarity etc
success of mating
quality of calves
profit
what else you think you can get away with

I would be interested to see how that turns out for those that own bulls.

I wish I could keep mine for those prices!

[Broomcroft]

I'd go for £1 a day on grass and £30 per service. I think that's a fair price to someone you know. But if they have to have forage or feed, or be brought in that's another matter. All plus the cost and trouble involved with TB testing etc. Easier to move the bull maybe?

[moomin]

No VAT on bull service, comes under food production!

[Rob R]

No VAT on bull service, comes under food production!

That's not what I've been led to believe;

2.8 Are embryos, eggs and semen for breeding zero-rated?

Embryos of species which are normally used for human food may be zero-rated if they are to be used for breeding.

Anything below the embryo stage is standard-rated.

Eggs and fish roes which are normally used for food for human consumption and are fit for such use are always zero-rated.

Source

Strictly speaking I am selling semen, so it is standard rated.