{"id":6434,"date":"2026-04-27T20:47:44","date_gmt":"2026-04-27T20:47:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/meatpromotion.wales\/?p=6434"},"modified":"2026-04-27T20:47:44","modified_gmt":"2026-04-27T20:47:44","slug":"suckler-herd-management-factors-that-affect-the-business","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/meatpromotion.wales\/en\/newsroom\/suckler-herd-management-factors-that-affect-the-business\/","title":{"rendered":"Suckler herd management factors that affect the business"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">The April Market Bulletin considers the productivity and efficiency of the suckler herd in Wales. \u202f<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Key points:<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li aria-setsize=\"-1\" data-leveltext=\"\uf0b7\" data-font=\"Symbol\" data-listid=\"9\" data-list-defn-props=\"{&quot;335552541&quot;:1,&quot;335559685&quot;:720,&quot;335559991&quot;:360,&quot;469769226&quot;:&quot;Symbol&quot;,&quot;469769242&quot;:[8226],&quot;469777803&quot;:&quot;left&quot;,&quot;469777804&quot;:&quot;\uf0b7&quot;,&quot;469777815&quot;:&quot;multilevel&quot;}\" data-aria-posinset=\"1\" data-aria-level=\"1\"><span data-contrast=\"auto\">The reproductive efficiency of a suckler herd is fundamental for profitability and environmental efficiency. Recent data\u00a0shows\u00a0there\u00a0remains\u00a0scope for improvement\u00a0in order to\u00a0reach the industry\u2019s desired targets:<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li aria-setsize=\"-1\" data-leveltext=\"\uf0b7\" data-font=\"Symbol\" data-listid=\"9\" data-list-defn-props=\"{&quot;335552541&quot;:1,&quot;335559685&quot;:720,&quot;335559991&quot;:360,&quot;469769226&quot;:&quot;Symbol&quot;,&quot;469769242&quot;:[8226],&quot;469777803&quot;:&quot;left&quot;,&quot;469777804&quot;:&quot;\uf0b7&quot;,&quot;469777815&quot;:&quot;multilevel&quot;}\" data-aria-posinset=\"1\" data-aria-level=\"1\"><span data-contrast=\"auto\">the average calving interval for beef dams in Wales in 2025 was\u00a0425 days\u00a0\u2013 an increase of five days compared to 2024, and the longest interval recorded since 2020 (BCMS);<\/span><\/li>\n<li aria-setsize=\"-1\" data-leveltext=\"\uf0b7\" data-font=\"Symbol\" data-listid=\"9\" data-list-defn-props=\"{&quot;335552541&quot;:1,&quot;335559685&quot;:720,&quot;335559991&quot;:360,&quot;469769226&quot;:&quot;Symbol&quot;,&quot;469769242&quot;:[8226],&quot;469777803&quot;:&quot;left&quot;,&quot;469777804&quot;:&quot;\uf0b7&quot;,&quot;469777815&quot;:&quot;multilevel&quot;}\" data-aria-posinset=\"1\" data-aria-level=\"1\"><span data-contrast=\"auto\">the average age at first calving in 2025 stood at 980 days (32.2 months) \u2013 which is\u202fa notable improvement compared to pre-2020 levels (BCMS), but slightly older than the year previous.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li aria-setsize=\"-1\" data-leveltext=\"\uf0b7\" data-font=\"Symbol\" data-listid=\"10\" data-list-defn-props=\"{&quot;335552541&quot;:1,&quot;335559685&quot;:720,&quot;335559991&quot;:360,&quot;469769226&quot;:&quot;Symbol&quot;,&quot;469769242&quot;:[8226],&quot;469777803&quot;:&quot;left&quot;,&quot;469777804&quot;:&quot;\uf0b7&quot;,&quot;469777815&quot;:&quot;multilevel&quot;}\" data-aria-posinset=\"2\" data-aria-level=\"1\"><span class=\"TextRun SCXW84174656 BCX8\" lang=\"EN-US\" xml:lang=\"EN-US\" data-contrast=\"auto\"><span class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW84174656 BCX8\">On-farm cost control and efficiency are also key drivers of profitability within Welsh suckler\u00a0<\/span><span class=\"NormalTextRun ContextualSpellingAndGrammarErrorV2Themed SCXW84174656 BCX8\">herds<\/span><span class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW84174656 BCX8\">\u00a0and data shows a significant gap between the top and bottom performers. In 2024\/25, the percentage of total costs covered by market returns of average performers was 96.6% compared to 150.1% for the top third and 68.3% for the bottom third (FBS data).<\/span><\/span><span class=\"EOP Selected SCXW84174656 BCX8\" data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li aria-setsize=\"-1\" data-leveltext=\"\uf0b7\" data-font=\"Symbol\" data-listid=\"10\" data-list-defn-props=\"{&quot;335552541&quot;:1,&quot;335559685&quot;:720,&quot;335559991&quot;:360,&quot;469769226&quot;:&quot;Symbol&quot;,&quot;469769242&quot;:[8226],&quot;469777803&quot;:&quot;left&quot;,&quot;469777804&quot;:&quot;\uf0b7&quot;,&quot;469777815&quot;:&quot;multilevel&quot;}\" data-aria-posinset=\"2\" data-aria-level=\"1\"><span data-contrast=\"auto\">In the long term, producers who can consistently\u00a0optimise\u00a0herd performance are likely to be better positioned to remain resilient in the face of ongoing economic and policy pressures.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">For the full analysis,\u00a0<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/m365.eu.vadesecure.com\/safeproxy\/v4?f=PuGEgGoEHER8hja_QAPEW2cz2dfvRkglQWW40XHmKPJnaE86kf45B_ZRUpbvr0-9&amp;i=7vnVtnwesX3JAx4F-fS2kjcnxr-5_ithSDcCaaT9e_Q-6PS-7OSggafSEKr3LCYPj034rplMI1WSO3XEnAffAA&amp;k=ox50&amp;r=Iogr2mXIxMIMCsLH5jOcwDnGjtXuDZNTRDqZh7FmTtRkmmiQVz3-SU_qky7oHWER&amp;s=42b652eb9a61c2056f9a95937989031da7f84f4f9c274b9334c807812ecadb7d&amp;u=https%3A%2F%2Fmeatpromotion.wales%2Fen%2Fmarket-intelligence%2Fmarket-bulletin%2F\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">click HERE<\/span><\/a><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u202fto read the Market Bulletin for April. It also includes a monthly market round-up on recent prices for cattle,\u00a0sheep\u00a0and pigs.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The April Market Bulletin considers the productivity and efficiency of the suckler herd in Wales. \u202f\u00a0 Key points:\u00a0 The reproductive efficiency of a suckler herd is fundamental for profitability and environmental efficiency. Recent data\u00a0shows\u00a0there\u00a0remains\u00a0scope for improvement\u00a0in order to\u00a0reach the industry\u2019s desired targets: the average calving interval for beef dams in Wales in 2025 was\u00a0425 days\u00a0\u2013 &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/meatpromotion.wales\/en\/newsroom\/suckler-herd-management-factors-that-affect-the-business\/\">Continued<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":1185,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6434","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-quality"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v22.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Suckler herd management factors that affect the business - Hybu Cig Cymru<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Hybu Cig Cymru- Meat Promotion Wales. 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