The MDC and EBLEX recently joined forces to host two farmer meetings to
discuss the opportunities for the cull cow market now that the Over
Thirty Month scheme has ended.  The meetings were held at Frome Market
on the 28th February and at the Whitminster Inn, Glos on the 1st March
where two main presentations were followed by a good discussion from
those attending.  The presentation from Dr. Phil Hadley of EBLEX
concentrated on the market potential for older beef, how the industry
can capitalise on this and also highlighted potential requirements from
overseas once the export ban has been lifted.  In balance to this, MDC's
presentation from Chris Coxon highlighted the financial viability of
putting extra finish on to cull cows, the selection of suitable cows and
which feeding regimes are most cost effective.  There was also a
demonstration of MDC's web based cull cow calculator and how it can
highlight whether finishing cows is a profitable option based on
potential pricing, feed and labour costs.