Dairy Chit Chat- Please read Mod note in post #1

Dawggone

darragh_haven wrote: »

Hours and work are the nature of the farming game. But alot of the lads in their early twenties (who may or may not have been to college) can see an alternative for just the same or even more reward.

If they have their degrees and are well educated, then why go farming?
Having well educated friends is a different kettle of fish...

The tiger cubs are a spoiled bunch of kids.

keep going

Dawggone wrote: »

Totally disagree Dsw.

"He who stands with mouth open waiting for roast duck to fly in, will stand long time".
Hours and work are the nature of the game...if they can't stand the heat...

Did you just make that one up:-).would have to agree with you though, and I think we aint seen nothing yet. I would fore see one man units all being 100 cows plus and thats without spring help or fancy facilities and machinery.that said we all have to start thinking about what aspects to our business can be simplified And change how we operate taking labour into account, sometimes that extra performance isnt worth the hassle.

kowtow

I think that part of the problem is that the reward for farming has so often - over the generations - been the preservation of family land, i.e. a very illiquid asset. Rationally or not, many if not most of us have worked every hour for nothing - in many cases less than nothing - consoling ourselves that the work is an investment in the future health and productivity (if not perhaps actual profit) of the land we are working.

It's much more difficult to do this under a share farming arrangement / even a straight lease unless perhaps a very long lease with a strong chance of renewal.

Which, if you think about it, is one of principal reasons farming incomes / profits are often intolerably low.

When your workplace is also your home, emotionally if not physically, the incentive to keep it is strong enough that you will work for nothing to keep it. The fact that the land has been in the family for generations, etc. etc. binds you to the one workplace and stops you (generally) moving somewhere more profitable.

Very romantic when you think of it in the context of Irish family farms, but at it's heart not so different to the Philippino maid working in Hong Kong or Dubai working whatever hours God gives for little money, to keep the tiny quarters she occupies at the back of the family home.

kowtow

Dawggone wrote: »

Totally disagree Dsw.

"He who stands with mouth open waiting for roast duck to fly in, will stand long time".

Hang on, didn't Milton say:

"They also serve who only stand and wait.." ?

browned

Deepsouthwest wrote: »

Tbh I wouldn't blame a lot of these lads for setting their expectation levels pretty high before signing into a long agreement to work a farm that they will probably never own.
A lot of these lads are bright with bright educated friends who are working 35/40 hr wks, with paid holidays, doing lots of travelling getting life experiences etc.
In farming we're expecting any young lad who's coming in to take over to work 7 days a wk on minimum wage, with the only hope of making good money out of it is to work crazy hrs every wk.
I think we need to wise up, it's a changing world.
Work to live, not live to work.

Not really what I meant with regards high expectations, would agree on the whole work to live etc. Know of one lad who wanted to share milk 150+ cows but wouldn't look outside a 30minute radius of his homefarm. A lot of guys wanted the big farms but weren't willing to move when presented with such a farm.
Also lads in a share milking agreement wanted the farm owner to have zero input. with the owners putting up all the infrustucture I think they warrant a lot of input as it's as much a commitment for them as the share milker. Say a beef farmer converting his farm will have to fork out a hell of a lot more capital than the share milker who only has to bring with him a herd of cows.

Deepsouthwest

Dawggone wrote: »

If they have their degrees and are well educated, then why go farming?
Having well educated friends is a different kettle of fish...

The tiger cubs are a spoiled bunch of kids.

Setting the bar pretty low for future farmers there Dawg. Is it no wonder that to be called a "farmer" is still a derogatory term to a lot of people!

Dawggone

kowtow wrote: »

Hang on, didn't Milton say:

"They also serve who only stand and wait.." ?

We all need someone to stand in a gap now and again...:)

Dawggone

Deepsouthwest wrote: »

Setting the bar pretty low for future farmers there Dawg. Is it no wonder that to be called a "farmer" is still a derogatory term to a lot of people!

As you well know there is now a new landscape in the agri industry. Along with putting in the hard work one needs to be a businessman.
IMHO any youngster wanting to get into business with me better not be talking about quality of life.
Ffs if someone wants to get on then do the graft. If not there's always the dole/county council etc.

Buford T. Justice XIX

kowtow wrote: »

Hang on, didn't Milton say:

"They also serve who only stand and wait.." ?

Kudos, sir.

I never expected Milton quoted on a dairy thread:)

Deepsouthwest

Dawggone wrote: »

As you well know there is now a new landscape in the agri industry. Along with putting in the hard work one needs to be a businessman.
IMHO any youngster wanting to get into business with me better not be talking about quality of life.
Ffs if someone wants to get on then do the graft. If not there's always the dole/county council etc.

We'll have to agree to disagree Dawg. I certainly wouldn't be encouraging my kids into this life of farming that u speak of. The world has so much more to offer

mf240

Well its all gone very philosophical on this thread.


Back to talk of with held cleanings and gangerous mastitis, before we all lose the run of ourselves!!

Timmaay

Dawggone wrote: »

Totally disagree Dsw.

"He who stands with mouth open waiting for roast duck to fly in, will stand long time".
Hours and work are the nature of the game...if they can't stand the heat...

In fairness this goes for everyone in their 20s, I've worked plenty of hours doing thankless boring tasks, and I've sacrificed plenty of holidays, nights out etc with my friends, but equally so I seen them put in the 12 hour days, missing theirown events, under serious stress etc. Its swings and roundabouts in that sense, farming tends to be more flexible in that you take yourown free time, but it requires you on call most the time.

But the one common theme with both groups is they got to be smart hours and work, this is a skill within itself, seeing a good opportunity, putting in the work and hours when needed to, and being able to walk away from other less appealing opportunities. In DSWs example, if the managers job clearly isn't going to lead into much other than a dead end salary only position for most that persons career then they should be looking at it as just a stepping stone, and doing a huge amount of low paid hours with the only opportunities out of it being the experience then I'd call that being a busy fool, however other shared farming opportunities you weight up the options. All in all if someone has afew career options in front of them, they should balance them all up, and pick what appears to be the most rewarding path, which calls for a balance between money, hours worked, building future wealth etc, if the off farm looks better than go for it.

Dawggone

Deepsouthwest wrote: »

We'll have to agree to disagree Dawg. I certainly wouldn't be encouraging my kids into this life of farming that u speak of. The world has so much more to offer

Agreed. I certainly will be actively discouraging mine to go farming.
As you say there is a helluva better way to make a crust.

kowtow

Dawggone wrote: »

Agreed. I certainly will be actively discouraging mine to go farming.

Me too.

That way I can be certain the contrary little b***d will be determined to take over and keep me in my old age.

frazzledhome

I'm not going to encourage or discourage them either way. I'm going to be sure that they're educated and well travelled and be armed to make their own decision.

I feel a little sorry for those of you trapped in a business you don't like or feel isn't rewarded. There's a simple solution so why not take it.

frazzledhome

Dawggone wrote: »

Agreed. I certainly will be actively discouraging mine to go farming.
As you say there is a helluva better way to make a crust.

I really can't think of many

kowtow

frazzledhome wrote: »

I really can't think of many

+1000

In what other business can you spray your employees playfully with a washdown hose morning and evening while regaling them with poorly remembered snatches of Milton sonnets, stopping every so often to pull on a teat?

Hell, in most places you'd be on a verbal warning for that kind of thing.

RightTurnClyde

kowtow wrote: »

+1000

In what other business can you spray your employees playfully with a washdown hose morning and evening while regaling them with poorly remembered snatches of Milton sonnets, stopping every so often to pull on a teat?

Hell, in most places you'd be on a verbal warning for that kind of thing.

... And get paid to do it ( well kind of)
How the hell would anyone call what we do work.

Dawggone

frazzledhome wrote: »

I really can't think of many

I can.

mahoney_j

Dawggone wrote: »

I can.

I could too on a wet cold spring morning looking at sick calves and been up all night calving cows but on a nice summers day looking at cows lying off in a nice paddock of lush grass etc it'd be hard imagine been at anything better

Muckit

V interesting dairy article in the tuam herald, if a little pessimistic. Can't find a digital link to it online. Basically your man reckons he'll be milking for less than the minimum wage this year. Big eye opener for all these green horns entering with big investments. But paper never refuses I k, probably not as bad as this.

awaywithyou

Greengrass1 wrote: »

Did anyone see the land mobility page in this wks ifj?
Serious amount of opportunities out there for young people who are willing to work.
Be something like that of me doing if mam and dad never moved

whereabouts in journal is that?

td5man

awaywithyou wrote: »

whereabouts in journal is that?

The bit you haven't got obviously.

Greengrass1

awaywithyou wrote: »

whereabouts in journal is that?

Just before the classifieds I think

Pacoa

Here's another interesting if somewhat deppressing one.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/rural-business-agriculture-farming/news/article.cfm?c_id=16&objectid=11491382&ref=rss

visatorro

any market for autumn calvers? have a few dried off am thinking if I got decent money id let them away ta feck. hard to know what to do with winter milk any more.

C0N0R

Got preg test results from the last milk recording here, one of the cows down as pregnant came bulling at the weekend, getting a bit of this, just wondering is there some under lying issue ��

Dawggone

visatorro wrote: »

any market for autumn calvers? have a few dried off am thinking if I got decent money id let them away ta feck. hard to know what to do with winter milk any more.

I got offered to pick 12 cows out of a 90 cow herd an hour ago. €1400/head calved on average 35 days and milking 40+litres.
Panic starting to set in?
The seller put in two robots in 2013...

mahoney_j

C0N0R wrote: »

Got preg test results from the last milk recording here, one of the cows down as pregnant came bulling at the weekend, getting a bit of this, just wondering is there some under lying issue ��

That's the issue with the milk pregnancy test.it only tells u if an animal is in calf,not how long or if something is up or a cow carrying twins .scanning the herd 35/40 days after breeding ends or strategic scanning of cows not seen in heat or that hard calvings etc during breeding season is a much better option

whelan2

C0N0R wrote: »

Got preg test results from the last milk recording here, one of the cows down as pregnant came bulling at the weekend, getting a bit of this, just wondering is there some under lying issue ��

I prefer to get them scanned. Like to see the foetus and scanning man will also let me know if there is any problem

orm0nd

just ordered a load of dairy nuts , had planned to hold off for another month but the cows would melt in conditions like last night

C0N0R

mahoney_j wrote: »

That's the issue with the milk pregnancy test.it only tells u if an animal is in calf,not how long or if something is up or a cow carrying twins .scanning the herd 35/40 days after breeding ends or strategic scanning of cows not seen in heat or that hard calvings etc during breeding season is a much better option

Well we were fairly sure from our own records she was incalf, what's an acceptable amount of embryonic losses?? Just seem to be having a few

freedominacup

whelan2 wrote: »

I prefer to get them scanned. Like to see the foetus and scanning man will also let me know if there is any problem

I haven't seen a scan since we got back into milk. Vet uses a headset. Prefer getting vet during breeding season at least as it's a one visit job for problem breeders.

jaymla627

C0N0R wrote: »

Well we were fairly sure from our own records she was incalf, what's an acceptable amount of embryonic losses?? Just seem to be having a few

A certain % of cows cycle anyways when their incalf and carry full term see it here regularly

Greengrass1

freedominacup wrote: »

I haven't seen a scan since we got back into milk. Vet uses a headset. Prefer getting vet during breeding season at least as it's a one visit job for problem breeders.

Do you do a scan at all then?
Never done here and dad says he's not going to bother either this yr. Only seen 1 bulling

Milked out

C0N0R wrote: »

Well we were fairly sure from our own records she was incalf, what's an acceptable amount of embryonic losses?? Just seem to be having a few

I thank Stan mentioned a figure of 7% embryonic losses, id assume some may lose and come around again before end of breeding. Had 2 in the last 2 weeks served in april who came around bulling. Bull was with cows for seven weeks and not a peep out of em

Muckit

Just caught sky news. Some protest by UK dairy farmers. Milk being pulled off the supermarket shelves left right and centre. It will get them publicity anyway

Greengrass1

Is anyone on here using the teagasc fertiliser calculater on the phone.
I cannot get it to work at all. Uninstalled it numerous times and still can't get it fight. Can't select any info on it.

Is it my phone that the problem.
Been onto teagasc and the lad that's in charge of it is on hols till 10th of august

mahoney_j

Greengrass1 wrote: »

Is anyone on here using the teagasc fertiliser calculater on the phone.
I cannot get it to work at all. Uninstalled it numerous times and still can't get it fight. Can't select any info on it.

Is it my phone that the problem.
Been onto teagasc and the lad that's in charge of it is on hols till 10th of august

Yep have it ,most useful app on phone re farm stuff.have 3% of n allowance left after what I bought last week and p all used.on I phone and never any issue .did u try delete app and download it again

Greengrass1

mahoney_j wrote: »

Yep have it ,most useful app on phone re farm stuff.have 3% of n allowance left after what I bought last week and p all used.on I phone and never any issue .did u try delete app and download it again

Deleted it numerous times and re installed it.

Am I right in saying in a 50kg bag of 27 2.5 5 there is 13.7kgs of N and 1.25 kgs of P?

If so we have just used over half our N allowance and a bit of P left. Just enough to put out 10 10 20 on the reseed

kevthegaff

I asked this question before but how many bags of acre per year do ye put on grazing ground?
Ive spread 2can 1p/s and 2 18:6:12

Sacrolyte

kevthegaff wrote: »

I asked this question before but how many bags of acre per year do ye put on grazing ground?
Ive spread 2can 1p/s and 2 18:6:12

Slurry to start in January.
1 bag urea up to 1st April. Might be split.
5 bags can to end of July.
2 bags pasture to closed period.

cute geoge

When does pasture sward give the best response ?
I go with slurry and urea spread after the first two grazings
I go with 1 bag of can after each grazing ,but if weather comes dry i go with pasture so i am left with pasture this year to spread
but do alot of lads go with pasture in the back end

Timmaay

anyone got the teagasc cost control planner? could they email it on to me please, I can pm my email address!

oxjkqg

Ya i have PM ur address.

Sacrolyte

cute geoge wrote: »

When does pasture sward give the best response ?
I go with slurry and urea spread after the first two grazings
I go with 1 bag of can after each grazing ,but if weather comes dry i go with pasture so i am left with pasture this year to spread
but do alot of lads go with pasture in the back end

I suppose my pasture is usually mid summer. I just had it at the end there for counting proposes. Probably add on another bag of urea for top up in the backend. In a good milk price year I spread more 18-6-12.

whelan2

lad that does a few milkings for me never turned up this evening, he always does wednesday evening thursday morning, couldnt contact him. He is 100% reliable, I thought he was dead:o he rang me there and thought today was Tuesday. Lucky we hant planned on going away anywhere

mf240

kevthegaff wrote: »

I asked this question before but how many bags of acre per year do ye put on grazing ground?
Ive spread 2can 1p/s and 2 18:6:12

Ive spread slurry 2 x pasture sward and 4 1/2 can. So far . Think i might of got a bit carried away.

Stocked at 3.4 all year with all silage on out farms. Feed meal all year round.

mahoney_j

Great start to day,cows broke wire and moved to next paddock last night ,then started to milk and forgot to connect milk line to tank,all this ams milk now in dirty water tank ,fook that anyway

whelan2

mahoney_j wrote: »

Great start to day,cows broke wire and moved to next paddock last night ,then started to milk and forgot to connect milk line to tank,all this ams milk now in dirty water tank ,fook that anyway

i learnt the hard way check dairy after first row goes out