Now Ye're Talking - to an Irish Farmer

I'm a Farmer, AMA

Neyite, first one that came to mind was when I was 16 or 17(old enough to know better) we were agitating slurry. The slats had to be lifted manually. The slurry was full to the top, and when the slats were lifted off the slats had left an imprint on the crust, so the 'lines' were still there. Don't know what I was thinking, just stepped off the kerb and in as far as my chest in cold slurry. Luckily there was help there to pull me out, lifting slats is a two man job. Needless to say I haven't done it since.

Following on from this, whenever we are agitating slurry and the slats are up, we take up 5 or 6 which is about 1metre wide. With the slurry still in the tank it's no problem stepping across the gap. But when the tank is empty, even though the gap is still the same width, I find it very daunting stepping across the empty hole. Ironically it's probably a lot safer when the tank is empty!

MaryAntoinette

Did you ever have a Glenroe moment in the hay shed with a young one?

whelan2

What do you think of the current tb testing system in Ireland?

I'm a Farmer, AMA

MaryAntoinette wrote: »

Did you ever have a Glenroe moment in the hay shed with a young one?

Yes, but it's a long, long time ago, I'd say it was well before it happened on Glenroe.;)

I'm a Farmer, AMA

whelan2 wrote: »

What do you think of the current tb testing system in Ireland?

It's an industry, paid for either directly or indirectly, by farmers. I had a herd test done by the dept last year, there was me, a lad working for me for the day, the dept vet, and an assistant, then 2 more dept vets arrived on the scene.

Buford T. Justice XIX

I'm a Farmer, AMA wrote: »

It's an industry, paid for either directly or indirectly, by farmers. I had a herd test done by the dept last year, there was me, a lad working for me for the day, the dept vet, and an assistant, then 2 more dept vets arrived on the scene.

They must have heard the biscuits with the tea were lovely..

Nekarsulm

I'm a Farmer, AMA wrote: »

It's an industry, paid for either directly or indirectly, by farmers. I had a herd test done by the dept last year, there was me, a lad working for me for the day, the dept vet, and an assistant, then 2 more dept vets arrived on the scene.

Obviously you like just the right distance from the DVO offices to warrant a full day away from the desk, and optimum mileage allowance. Is there a good restaurant nearby, by any chance?

noel50

the price of farmland is it to much 12k i think will it fall or go up .what size farm do you need now to make a living milk/beef ty noel

I'm a Farmer, AMA

Buford T. Justice V wrote: »

They must have heard the biscuits with the tea were lovely..

I don't feed them anymore, I think they are afraid to come in:o

I'm a Farmer, AMA

Nekarsulm wrote: »

Obviously you like just the right distance from the DVO offices to warrant a full day away from the desk, and optimum mileage allowance. Is there a good restaurant nearby, by any chance?

My DVO is a lot closer to you;)

I'm a Farmer, AMA

noel50 wrote: »

the price of farmland is it to much 12k i think will it fall or go up .what size farm do you need now to make a living milk/beef ty noel

I'm farming just over 120 ac, but I have low costs. I suppose some who know me would say I'm living off depreciating assets. There is a small piece of land making more than that near here. In the current CAP regime I don't think it will fall much, but it's like every market, price is set by supply and demand.

Obviously living expenses are going to be higher with 3 or 4 college age children. A ball park figure used by teagasc is €12k per person in the family is what it costs to live these days.

At these land prices and current margins it takes too long >40 yrs, to pay for an acre, remember it has to be paid for out of income after paying tax. I think we are going to see a lot more leasing and partnerships.

pavb2

I'm a Farmer, AMA wrote: »

If it's raining I wear a wax coat and a beanie hat.

Is it a black beanie hat with a sort of green 'logo' on it.

I'm a Farmer, AMA

pavb2 wrote: »

Is it a black beanie hat with a sort of green 'logo' on it.

I have about 4 of them, various logos! On a wet day there's one on my head, one in a pocket for later and another one drying out, either on the dashboard with the heater on or else on the stove. Wet days are complicated.

On the subject of logos a local hardware shop was selling them with tractor brands on them, they only had a few left with fendt/new holland/JD on them, but had a massive pile of MF hats left.:D

Corpus Twisty

As a farmer, do you think Joan Burton is a cnut?

Genghis Cant

Howdy,
What's the next purchase you intend making in the following categories :
A, Under a tenner.
B, Over a grand.
C, Over ten grand.

Sapphire3

I'm a Farmer, AMA wrote: »

I presume you heard the joke about a small fortune to be made in farming?

As I said above it really is a closed shop, but there are niche markets for eggs/poultry/cheese. I reckon this would be the way to go. Something with added value, selling direct to the consumer, higher margin.

This is a great AMA, Thanks for taking the time to answer our questions.
Would you say that therefore it would be a waste of time for a person that has no background in farming to get an Agriculture Level 5 cert or Degree, because the area is such a closed shop to people with a non farming background?

Mehaffey1

Thanks for the reply.

Heard on the Farming Show that although dairy farmers under financial hardship at the moment are still more optimistic about their future than their beef/sheep counterparts in NZ. Would you say the same is true at home?

billie holiday

Excellent representative for farmers you are.
I own 250 acres rent another 100. I milk 180 cows have 3 tractors modern milking parlour sheds paddocks water etc etc etc,
I employ one guy full time and 1 part time and am currently finding it pretty tough going.

I pay myself 55 euro for a 12 hour day.
How much money do you earn per hour ??

billie holiday

Excellent representative for farmers you are.
I own 250 acres rent another 100. I milk 180 cows have 3 tractors modern milking parlour sheds paddocks water etc etc etc,
I employ one guy full time and 1 part time and am currently finding it pretty tough going.

I pay myself 55 euro for a 12 hour day.
How much money do you earn per hour ??

I'm a Farmer, AMA

Genghis Cant wrote: »

Howdy,
What's the next purchase you intend making in the following categories :
A, Under a tenner.
B, Over a grand.
C, Over ten grand.

Great question, I'll have to think about 'C'

A, Because diesel is dropping rapidly, I put a tenner's worth in the jeep about twice a week, does that count? If not, milk and bread at the local centra.

B. Probably a weighing scales.

C. I just about got by the last slurry spreading closed period, so it will probably be more slurry storage and or a shed. I am caught for space and out winter weanlings.

PS do you work for a bank?

I'm a Farmer, AMA

Sapphire3 wrote: »

This is a great AMA, Thanks for taking the time to answer our questions.
Would you say that therefore it would be a waste of time for a person that has no background in farming to get an Agriculture Level 5 cert or Degree, because the area is such a closed shop to people with a non farming background?

Thanks Sapphire,

No it's not a waste of time, here's why; There is an awful lot of under-utilised land in this country, there's various reasons for this,
Bachelor farmers,
No heirs interested in farming,
Yes, subsidies, ppl are just doing the minimum to claim them.

If this land is brought back into production, there will be more openings in ag, either directly on the land or indirectly in sales/services etc. The biggest challenge someone from a non-farming background will have is catching up on skills compared to young ppl from farms, think of the 12 yr old I mentioned above driving a combine.

Owning land is probably a closed shop, unless you are extremely wealthy, but working in farming is not a closed shop.

I'm a Farmer, AMA

Mehaffey1 wrote: »

Thanks for the reply.

Heard on the Farming Show that although dairy farmers under financial hardship at the moment are still more optimistic about their future than their beef/sheep counterparts in NZ. Would you say the same is true at home?

Dairy farmers are always optimistic, to be milking cows in Ireland, you'd have to be! A couple of lads in my beef discussion group have switched to dairying in the last few years, one thing they've said is they can't get over the expenses involved, the second thing is how tied down they feel.

The big difference I see between dairy and beef farmers is that dairy farmers just accept the price of milk and get on with it, if it's good they re-invest, if it's bad they cut expenses.

Beef farmers moan about LG, but if we concentrated on what we can control inside the farm gate we would be a lot better off, eg. grass management.

I've never been to NZ, but I reckon beef farmers here are better off, distance to markets, being in EU, etc. No idea on the sheep, hope that answers the question.

I'm a Farmer, AMA

billie holiday wrote: »

Excellent representative for farmers you are.
I own 250 acres rent another 100. I milk 180 cows have 3 tractors modern milking parlour sheds paddocks water etc etc etc,
I employ one guy full time and 1 part time and am currently finding it pretty tough going.

I pay myself 55 euro for a 12 hour day.
How much money do you earn per hour ??

Thanks billie, I probably paint a pretty picture on here, but in reality, money is tight, I don't have a huge SFP as I was in dairying in the base years.

In a good year I'd be on €10 an hour, but I only 'work' about 20 hours a week, definitely in summer anyway, this time of year it's a lot more. When I was dairying I was probably doing 70 hours a week, there's more money per hour out of suckling-beef, but not necessarily more money per year, stick at it.
My guess is you have expanded and you budgeted on 30c/L not 21, it will bounce up again.

I'm a Farmer, AMA

Corpus Twisty wrote: »

As a farmer, do you think Joan Burton is a cnut?

CT, I don't know, I never met her, but she comes across very bad in the media Perhaps she could learn from Angela Merkel?

Sapphire3

I'm a Farmer, AMA wrote: »

Thanks Sapphire,

No it's not a waste of time, here's why; There is an awful lot of under-utilised land in this country, there's various reasons for this,
Bachelor farmers,
No heirs interested in farming,
Yes, subsidies, ppl are just doing the minimum to claim them.

If this land is brought back into production, there will be more openings in ag, either directly on the land or indirectly in sales/services etc. The biggest challenge someone from a non-farming background will have is catching up on skills compared to young ppl from farms, think of the 12 yr old I mentioned above driving a combine.

Owning land is probably a closed shop, unless you are extremely wealthy, but working in farming is not a closed shop.

Thanks for the reply, very informative.

Thargor

If someone inherited 25-45 acres with a few sheds whats the bare minimum they could get away with doing with it in order to claim grants/subsidies etc?

Basically wondering whats the best way to maximise the income from an inheritance like that when you have a job somewhere else yourself...

I'm a Farmer, AMA

For cattle, they'd probably need a minimum number of stock on it, a herd number, cattle crush to get started. I don't know what the min stocking rate is now, it was 0.15 LU/ha. Could you re-post over in farming and forestry forum?
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/forumdisplay.php?f=845

yourpics

I'm a Farmer, AMA wrote: »

Thanks Sapphire,

No it's not a waste of time, here's why; There is an awful lot of under-utilised land in this country, there's various reasons for this,
Bachelor farmers,
No heirs interested in farming,
Yes, subsidies, ppl are just doing the minimum to claim them.

If this land is brought back into production, there will be more openings in ag, either directly on the land or indirectly in sales/services etc. The biggest challenge someone from a non-farming background will have is catching up on skills compared to young ppl from farms, think of the 12 yr old I mentioned above driving a combine.

Owning land is probably a closed shop, unless you are extremely wealthy, but working in farming is not a closed shop.

Owning land is not a closed shop, I am saving hard to buy a small holding and go part time!

diomed

Do farmers have a bit of grá for sheds?
Although I've lived in Dublin most of my life I was born in the midlands and have fond memories of my grandfather's big green shed with mountains of hay that we probably wrecked.
Every week I drive to Newbridge, Kildare and don't have time to look at the farms. But when I was a passenger a few times I found myself drooling over the lovely sheds.
Do you have a shed fetish?
Describe your ideal shed.
(great thread)

Gremlinertia

I may be looking at a return to the land in the future, thinking drystock with some forestry perhaps. However i'm so long out of it and the land is in a pretty bad way fencing and drainage wise.. I know i'm mad but do you think it's doable without completely breaking myself?.

I'm a Farmer, AMA

diomed wrote: »

Do farmers have a bit of grá for sheds?
Although I've lived in Dublin most of my life I was born in the midlands and have fond memories of my grandfather's big green shed with mountains of hay that we probably wrecked.
Every week I drive to Newbridge, Kildare and don't have time to look at the farms. But when I was a passenger a few times I found myself drooling over the lovely sheds.
Do you have a shed fetish?
Describe your ideal shed.
(great thread)

Yes, yes we do, it's the rain on the bord bia ad that makes the grass grow, it's lovely, but we don't like being out in it all day every day.

My ideal shed would be an 'umbrella' shed. http://www.roundhouseltd.co.uk/en/

I'm a Farmer, AMA

Gremlinertia wrote: »

I may be looking at a return to the land in the future, thinking drystock with some forestry perhaps. However i'm so long out of it and the land is in a pretty bad way fencing and drainage wise.. I know i'm mad but do you think it's doable without completely breaking myself?.

What part of the country is it in? It is doable, to get the most out of the forestry you need to be actively farming, there are different grant rates for farmers and non-farmers, have a look on the forestry section of farming and forestry. The neighbours will probably hate ya if it's good land, and you didn't offer it to them first:D

Gremlinertia

Tipp, lot of junk and remedial work needed, forestry probably on to drained bad land so there won't be double barrells pointing at me!.

Shrap

I'm a Farmer, AMA wrote: »

The neighbours will probably hate ya if it's good land, and you didn't offer it to them first:D

Now, that's the truth! My ex planted a certain field that was always a good field and refused to sell it for a half decent price to the neighbour it borders. Cue years of bad relations between them. Now, since I own it (bought outright btw), I'd do differently if the planted Ash died off and maybe try and get it back to arable or livestock. It would always have been fair enough if the ex hadn't planted it but just rented for the going rate. Definitely research the type of land first, and whether neighbours have opinions on it. We all work together in these areas - the ones who don't will generate bad feeling.

diomed

Gremlinertia wrote: »

Tipp, lot of junk and remedial work needed, forestry probably on to drained bad land so there won't be double barrells pointing at me!.

I am reading "Norwegian Wood: Chopping, Stacking, and Drying Wood the Scandinavian Way" by Lars Mitting. He was a fiction author but this book has sold about 300,000 copies and is now translated into a few languages. It was bestseller for 38 weeks in Norway, and now selling in the USA and Canada. Full of interesting facts like there are 1.2 million wood burning stoves in Norway. It is a do-it-yourself book but also lots of anecdotes.

Thargor

Firewood is a big deal in Norway:

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/20/world/europe/in-norway-tv-program-on-firewood-elicits-passions.html?_r=0

noel50

how long does it take to bring a field back to grass after planted with tress for say 20 years is it possible to remove roots stumps etc

I'm a Farmer, AMA

It can be done, the trees have to be cut, the stumps have to be dug out, I reckon it would probably take 6 months to a year to do. The drains would have to be filled in to get it level. It's expensive too. AFAIK you have to give back all the money received for the forestry.

Shrap

I'm a Farmer, AMA wrote: »

It can be done, the trees have to be cut, the stumps have to be dug out, I reckon it would probably take 6 months to a year to do. The drains would have to be filled in to get it level. It's expensive too. AFAIK you have to give back all the money received for the forestry.

You do, yes. I'm wondering will the same apply if the whole plantation has to be clear felled and burned with the ash die-back though. That would be the only way I could consider doing it. The drains are a massive problem, and in recent years they're no longer doing that unless in a very wet area AFAIK. Amazing how policies like single species planting and such transformative actions as drain digging are so quickly found to be a really bad idea... :rolleyes:

BTW, thanks for this thread. Really interesting, as I have lived here 20 years but am not from a farming background. Totally confirms to me what a vocation farming is, and how much the love of it keeps you going!

mfceiling

Great thread. I grew up in the country and worked on farms as a young lad.

Have you good neighbours?

Do you watch Ear to the ground or Rare Breed (utv)?

What item have you bought that has paid for itself over and over?

You mentioned agitating slurry....do you wear breathing apparatus or do you get out of the shed asap? (please be careful either way - you'll be well aware of the danger of the gases and it's always an awful thing to hear about anyone dying doing this)

Finally any slang terms for us? - up in tyrone the slurry pit is known as a "duckle"

I'm a Farmer, AMA

mfceiling wrote: »

Great thread. I grew up in the country and worked on farms as a young lad.

Have you good neighbours?

Do you watch Ear to the ground or Rare Breed (utv)?

What item have you bought that has paid for itself over and over?

You mentioned agitating slurry....do you wear breathing apparatus or do you get out of the shed asap? (please be careful either way - you'll be well aware of the danger of the gases and it's always an awful thing to hear about anyone dying doing this)

Finally any slang terms for us? - up in tyrone the slurry pit is known as a "duckle"

Yes, we have good neighbours, we wouldn't see each other stuck anyway.

I watch ETTG most weeks, and countryfile, but not rarebreeds, UTV is buried in 'other channels' in our tv package.

No I don't wear breathing apparatus, our agitation points are outside. I don't go down in tanks anymore either. But I confess I used to.

No real slang terms, I call a fork a fork, not a pike/grape etc. One phrase that is local though is 'You sir'.:pac:

Not really an item as such, but fencing has paid for itself x 100 times.

Base price

If you won the Lotto tonight (expected to be €14 million). Would you:
1- Retire from farming and travel the world.
2- Employ a farm manager to do the work.
3- Keep farming, make the farm pay for itself and leave the money in the bank for a rainy day.
4- Keep farming and invest the money in the farm until it runs out.
5- None of the above.

whelan2

If you weren't a farmer what would you be?

I'm a Farmer, AMA

Base price wrote: »

If you won the Lotto tonight (expected to be €14 million). Would you:
1- Retire from farming and travel the world.
2- Employ a farm manager to do the work.
3- Keep farming, make the farm pay for itself and leave the money in the bank for a rainy day.
4- Keep farming and invest the money in the farm until it runs out.
5- None of the above.

I forgot to buy a ticket:(

I'm a Farmer, AMA

whelan2 wrote: »

If you weren't a farmer what would you be?

Answered it above w2, something in the line of engineering/welding/construction area. I'd say a lot of farmers are mechanically minded.

Kovu

What's your favourite cut of meat? And are you a fan of eating everything but the moo?

I'm a Farmer, AMA

Kovu wrote: »

What's your favourite cut of meat? And are you a fan of eating everything but the moo?

That's an easy one, fillet steak, rare. Lamb ribs would be a close second. There's a few vegetables I don't like, celery and spinach, everything else I'd try it anyway. I put on a bit of weight over the christmas, those quality street and roses tins have a lot to do with it:pac:.

Good question, have you a favourite cut of meat yourself?

Sorry only after realizing what you meant by everything but the moo, I have eaten, tongue, liver, heart, I reckon that's it as far as offal is concerned, I don't think I ever ate tripe. Beef liver is a bit stronger than lamb or pork.

Base price

I'm a Farmer, AMA wrote: »

I forgot to buy a ticket:(

If you theoretically won the €14 million.........

Kovu

I'm a Farmer, AMA wrote: »

Good question, have you a favourite cut of meat yourself?

I love all liver. Beef/Pork/Lamb/Chicken, get into my bellah!

I've different favourite cuts with different meats, rib eye steak but it has to be well aged and marbled. I'm one of those loonies that will rifle through all the packs in Lidl looking for one highly marbled. I use butchers for everything except steak, I know how I like it and the butcher we use has very lean steak which doesn't suit me. Pork belly, lamb neck and chicken thighs/oysters are the other cuts I love.
(chicken oysters are a small part on the back of a chicken)

I'm a Farmer, AMA

Base price wrote: »

If you theoretically won the €14 million.........

Ok, either 3 or 4 or something in between.