Dairy farmering own silage.. profitable

John deere 6920

Can dairy farmers afford there own silage gear and does anyone know who has there own silage gear... wat wud 100acres off silage justify ? as in how much money?

mossfort

it depends on how much silage your doing and if its bales or pit silage.
if your making 100 acres of silage per year it probaly would pay to have your own machinery .
most of the dairy farmers in my area just hire a contractor because they dont want the headache of machinery repayments and repair bills for a few days work in the year.

John deere 6920

ya we cut around 110-130 acres off silage off pit . ! but how much off gear worth justify..? like 30-40000 or only 10-20000? bales too expensive

red bull

Machinery is dead money especially big silage machinery. Competition between contractors is the answer for you, prompt payment and the world is your oyster ! Got my silage cut for the past two years for 85e an acre cover put on and covered with tyres. I have offers to do it for less in 2010 first week in June. Dont think you can own machinery pay labour on a once of for that. What you think ?

whelan1

we used to do our own 100 acres first cut and 80 acres second cut - pure hardship when you have to milk etc as well - i have a contractor doing it this few years especially with the crap weather we are having it works alot better

John deere 6920

well around were we are there are about 4-5 contractors. only 2 off them cuts over 1500+ acres and rest cut 1000acres or less.. and they all charging around €100 maybe €110. This year we had to cut our 2nd cut in the wet. and the pit was massive .. too big even.. we had to bale 12 acres and got 170 bales out off them. I know That tom brown has all his own gear but he has 450 cows lol..... but there is farmers that are brothers they cut there own silage together. only 150 acres thou..

whelan1

i paid 80 euro an acre .... which i was happy with. if you have reliable machinery it would be grand , but it is great not to have to worry about breakdowns its the contractors problem

John deere 6920

€80 u will never get around here im afraid... 95 wud be lowest.. we paid 120 last year i think as in 08 summer..ya but if u look after gear it wont break down and dont drive them hard...?

John deere 6920

like 100acres justify €50000 worth off silage gear over 4-5 years?

whelan1

you never know what will happen to your well looked after machinery - our brand new nh tm 125 with only 12 hours on the clock was in the first field picking up when the pressure plate went in the clutch:eek:

John deere 6920

serious? jasus. thats bad fourm.. We wudnt buy new tractors or new harvester or trailers.. all second hand. and we wudnt use a trailed we wud go wit a self propelled second hand one thou.. and im a john deere man never did like new holland .. only new holland i like is the tm190.

whelan1

tbh i think you'd be mad to buy all that machinery and only do your own silage ... a self propelled is a big investment for only doing your own

whelan1

also the self propelled would just be lying up fpr 11 months of the year doesnt make any sense to me to buy gear

John deere 6920

u use to do it ? . am ya but im not talking a big silage harvester... not a brand new one either... just like on old one. one that cud do 110 acres in 2 days or 3 days. A 690sl or something..

whelan1

we had a jf trailed harvester that we bought new , had a taarup before that , our own trailers , mower and put it up with our own digger - the last time we did our own it took us 10 days to do 100 acres with breakdowns and the weather ! i was so happy when the contractors came in next time and mowed it all one day and picked it all up the next day i would pay any amount not to have the hassle again

John deere 6920

but wat if u was saving money too at the end off the day..And i know some farmers do it cuz they injoy it!. 10 days to cut 100acres... only 10 acres a day?? and a brand new jf is €45000 thats crazy...

whelan1

you see you never know what is around the corner ! but if it goes well thats grand we normally did it in about 4 days but we would have to milk and check stock as well... covering the pit when you are knackered is also a hateful job

John deere 6920

yes we have to cover our pit. always contractor only put tires on top but we had to set em out.... and we did the sides... but am takes us about 1hr to milk.. twice a day.. and we always check bullocks and calves in morning. But ya. do u know how much all ur silage gear was worth no?

whelan1

we didnt buy it all the one year and its 5 years since we did our own, our trailers where eureka ones that we also used for grain , our mower we bought new was a cmt 245 jf which we had for 10 years and we had a john deere mower before that we had a wylie push off buck rake for the front of our digger ... i am sure you could pick up a good deal on second hand machinery

John deere 6920

yes i know u didnt buy everything in one year. but u dont have an estimate off much u did have ? u can pick up silage trailers for 1-6000euro and thy be decent..mower for 3-8000euro and buckrake is around 1000.. then silage harvest is anything from €8000-€500000 thats for self propelled one thou.. I know where there is a john deere 6750 for 23500 euro and it fully servieced. i know where an 820 and 860 claas are for 20000euro.. and a claas 690sl for around 10000

whelan1

you seem to have it all worked out - talk to your bank man or teagasc man and see what they say

John deere 6920

yes but i just want opinion from anyone .. how Much is too much to invest in silage gear..

who the fug

Where will you be getting the labour from to operate all this machinery ?

John deere 6920

ourselves my self my brother my father and few ppl we know..all free but we wud add in the costs just to see does it work

who the fug

Is the machinery going to be for the sole use of one farm ?

John deere 6920

yes that wat wud be intended but we cud do silage for our neighbours and family

maidhc

John deere 6920 wrote: »

but wat if u was saving money too at the end off the day..And i know some farmers do it cuz they injoy it!. 10 days to cut 100acres... only 10 acres a day?? and a brand new jf is €45000 thats crazy...

I can bale 15 acres of silage a day quite easily with a Welger 12s (that I bought 8 years ago for £1,000, and that last broke down in 2004), that can't be right!

John deere 6920

maidhc wrote: »

I can bale 15 acres of silage a day quite easily with a Welger 12s (that I bought 8 years ago for £1,000, and that last broke down in 2004), that can't be right!

15 acres off bales... thats about 150-200 bales a day isnt it? wat about wrapping? we really want bales too much hazzle in winter and is way more expensive then pit,,

maidhc

John deere 6920 wrote: »

15 acres off bales... thats about 150-200 bales a day isnt it? wat about wrapping? we really want bales too much hazzle in winter and is way more expensive then pit,,

About 150 a day. My father wraps. All the fields are around the yard so there is no draw to speak off. Realistically though we would do about 100-120 bales a day and I would draw them and stack them as well with either the digger or a tractor and balespike. We make about 1200 bales a year.

It isn't the quickest solution, but extremely cheap and very flexible. You can cut exactly when the field is right. We spread the silage out over the whole summer and do it on and off.

We don't use net (just the absolute minimum twine, it is quicker to get off and doesn't take too long to put on, bales don't look as pretty in the field unwrapped, and need more careful handing though). Plastic is more expensive alright, that is the one additional cost.

We have been doing it since 1996, largely with the same machinery.

John deere 6920

oh ya where in cork are ya ? we did bales last year 600 off them for us.. hated it... pit is way easier..

maidhc

John deere 6920 wrote: »

oh ya where in cork are ya ? we did bales last year 600 off them for us.. hated it... pit is way easier..

Near Midleton, east cork.

Pit is probably easier, and I think for dairy cows it has benefits. We have dry stock, and we sell 200/300 bales a year too.

whelan1

the point i was making was that it took us 10 days as the weather was crap and breakdowns - i mean you cant foresee what is going to happen iykwim

John deere 6920

maidhc wrote: »

Near Midleton, east cork.

Pit is probably easier, and I think for dairy cows it has benefits. We have dry stock, and we sell 200/300 bales a year too.

ur close enough to me so.. i live in inch east cork too its near killeagh. ya we are dairy and beef.. over 150 animals to feed.............

John deere 6920

whelan1 wrote: »

the point i was making was that it took us 10 days as the weather was crap and breakdowns - i mean you cant foresee what is going to happen iykwim

yes i know whelan1 but 10 days long time.. Espically wit silage..

Tipp Man

I think you underestimate the benifits of bales, we only use bales now on our dairy herd, moved away from pits about 6 years ago. Some benifits include:
1. no effluent to ever worry about
2. silage can be cut in stages, so 20 acres 1 week, 10 the next so aftergrass is not all coming back at exactly the same time allowing much better utilisation of aftergrass
3. much easier to get the baler contractor than the self propelled contrator on the day that we want then not when they want
4. much less ware and tare on silage pit concrete, loader, grab etc
5. much easier to push silage in the next day - all of ours feed barriers are front feeding so 5 mins with tractor has second days silage in
6. we think that the bales produce better quality silage with hardly any waste, with pit silage there is nearly always a fair bit of waste, particularly when the self propelled contractor is in a hurry

Ok they don't suit everybody and can be more expensive but for us they are a godsend, I don't think we will ever go back to pit - in fact much more likely to buy our own baler/wrapper than go back to pit

dar31

we would cut around 180 ac a year 110 first @ e100 and 70 second@e85. paying a contractor is the only to get some control of quality as all you need is a window of a day and a half or so. at times, with small window we have had two contractors for first cut, self propelled for dry ground and 2 wagons for the marginal ground. pit man not keen on putting up other lads wagon silage, but he is given very little choice:D
up to 2 years ago we used to do about 50ac a year with a old wagon we had. it finally gave up the ghost. there was more welding rods than steel in it at that stage. it was a great tool for getting the contractor to come on time, we could do about 25 ac a day allowing for small break downs. but for every day the contractor delayed it was 25 ac out of his pocket
pit silage is the only way for dairy farms,hate the sight of bales, even though we would make 100 + a year, they are a necessary evil for grass control
silage is just to expensive to be getting it wrong.

intresting note: from feild to coming out the other side of the cow there is 25% wastage:eek:

Tipp Man

dar31 wrote: »

pit silage is the only way for dairy farms,hate the sight of bales,

Why is pit the only way for dairy farms??

vincenzolorenzo

John deere 6920 wrote: »

yes but i just want opinion from anyone .. how Much is too much to invest in silage gear..

How long is a piece of string? In fairness nobody here can give an accurate answer to this question as there are so many variables involved. Don't take this the wrong way 6920 but I think you have your mind made up about buying your own gear and you just start these threads hoping people will tell you you're right. If you have a few quid you can spend on gear and you really want it go for it. In my opinion its a risky option having to buy a full outfit from scratch, even if you are going for second hand. If it was me i wouldn't go for it but every man for himself. Best of luck with it if you do invest.

John deere 6920

i havent made my mind up yet about buying our own gear.. im just asking and too see has anyone expenience in it.. there arent many variables within the cost .. diesel repayments oil grease and maybe labour.. repairs...

dar31

Tipp Man wrote: »

Why is pit the only way for dairy farms??

didnt see yours before posting.

in general pit silage is the only option for dairy farmers, however bales, in certain situations can be a better way.;)
bales have their place esp in a spring calving herd, buffer feeding, back end housing where quality is of less importance.
1. bales and pit of similar quality produce the same effulent, just not all bale effulent is collected
2.aftergrass dose not produce more milk contrary to belief
3. true easier to get bales made due to timing
4.bales are a killer on a tractor, true less concrete needed
5.all depends on individual set up
6.true pit has more waste. we tend to rush pit and miss out on quality due to quanity and timing

the labour ,the expensive and the expensive dont justify making bales when not needed. horses for courses;)

John deere 6920

we dont actually have much waste from silage pit.. its good enough...

whelan1

if you use a keenan feeder you should have no waste

John deere 6920

whelan1 wrote: »

if you use a keenan feeder you should have no waste

nop we dont have a diet feeder. just a 6ft shear grab

whelan1

you must be fond of hardship:rolleyes:

John deere 6920

how is it hardship.. we feed all the animals fast wit 6ft sheargrab ! she an animal

whelan1

so do you go along again with meal and minerals on top

John deere 6920

for cattle and calves yes. non milking cows get silage and then milking cows get maize in morning silage at night

whelan1

an awful lot of messing but thats just my opinion

John deere 6920

wats messy

whelan1

i am not replying on your posts anymore its always your opinion , you asked peoples opinions but unfortunatly you already have your own good night

Colmm23

A progressive dairy farmer told me during the year that the only machinery around a dairy farm should be a tractor and loader, diet feeder, topper and fertiliser spreader. He reckons if your actually looking after your herd as you should be you will not have time to be messing around at machinery. Leave it to the contractors that have invested already.