Dairy Chitchat 4, an udder new thread.

liosnagceann75

Anybody got any update on the money owed to Kerry milk suppliers?

straight

liosnagceann75 wrote: »

Anybody got any update on the money owed to Kerry milk suppliers?

Basically the peasant milk suppliers can go and sing for it. Contracts don't apply to big companies it seems.

straight

mahoney_j wrote: »

Anyone ever have a cow down with milk fever this time of year ,had a cow yesterday evening ,struggling to get up out in field ,bright ,alert ,trying to get up but just not getting there ,tetany ruled out but given a bottle of mag as precaution .given pain relief and calcijet as well .popped up straight away and off grazing
Went for cows this morning and same again ,called vet and after examining her another bottle of calcium and up and away again ,she’s fine this evening ,into parlour milked fine and ate fine .calved since February served few weeks ago no issues ,...a weird one ...just went to check her now and she’s fine

How was tetany ruled out? I've had 2 of them over the years. Vet had no answer, not tetany they said. Covered them with bottle of calci and magni and they were both fine after. One collapsed in the holding yard, was treated and stayed down all night. Pulled her out to the field the next day and gave her another bottle of calcium under the skin and she was perfect within an hour. She needed the second bottle.

mahoney_j

straight wrote: »

How was tetany ruled out? I've had 2 of them over the years. Vet had no answer, not tetany they said. Covered them with bottle of calci and magni and they were both fine after. One collapsed in the holding yard, was treated and stayed down all night. Pulled her out to the field the next day and gave her another bottle of calcium under the skin and she was perfect within an hour. She needed the second bottle.

None of the clinical signs ,low in calcium according to vet ,weird one for time of year ,milked fine morning before in very good BCs and on about 5.5 kg meal ,wasn’t bulling either

cjpm

straight wrote: »

How was tetany ruled out? I've had 2 of them over the years. Vet had no answer, not tetany they said. Covered them with bottle of calci and magni and they were both fine after. One collapsed in the holding yard, was treated and stayed down all night. Pulled her out to the field the next day and gave her another bottle of calcium under the skin and she was perfect within an hour. She needed the second bottle.

Always go with 2 bottles here when needed. Vet said one isn’t enough

whelan2

You can over do them with calcium. 2 bottles would be max. According to our vet

Mooooo

Growth of over 80 the last week, first time going past 60 this year. Quality deteriorating fast tho, gonna takeout a few paddocks to try get things right, ground conditions only so so and sr will go to five for a bit but will chance it.

straight

Mooooo wrote: »

Growth of over 80 the last week, first time going past 60 this year. Quality deteriorating fast tho, gonna takeout a few paddocks to try get things right, ground conditions only so so and sr will go to five for a bit but will chance it.

Grass has lost its power around here after all the rain. I'm buffering and cleanouts are not great. Maybe the dung pads are too full of nutrients and they are skipping them. Growth hasn't taken off here yet. How's breeding going for everyone. On week 4 here and getting more repeats than I'm used to. I'm paying the price for once a day AI I think.

mahoney_j

straight wrote: »

Grass has lost its power around here after all the rain. I'm buffering and cleanouts are not great. Maybe the dung pads are too full of nutrients and they are skipping them. Growth hasn't taken off here yet. How's breeding going for everyone. On week 4 here and getting more repeats than I'm used to. I'm paying the price for once a day AI I think.

I’ve topped a few more paddocks than usual ,baled a few as well but not as much as usual due to weather hence more topping ,I firmly believe every paddock has to see the mower either by topping or baking surplus by third week in may ...gr of 88 this week demand of 60 so more paddocks to drop tomorrow ,cover per cow back to 150 ish nearly 5 weeks into breeding ,every cow bar planned culls now served ,having repeats ,no more than normal
...bought a bull last week good big strong Fr bull ,got him tested semen is gold standard but big wart on end of his rod that bleeds so vet won’t certify him ,going back to owner

Mooooo

Put 2 yr old fr bull with cows during the bad weather in case I was missing em, rel busy since at least 2 a day. I'm ai'ing after him with beef straws to be safe. Put scratch cards on all the cows and a chibnall on the bull. He picked up to silent heats alright I'd say, had more late calvers this year so hopefully will have them served in the coming week.
Heifers are harder to tell. Synchronising didn't work as well this year, thought I was at 70 but prob closer to 60%, scanning will tell all. AA bull was with them as well as me ai'ing repeats, will but another young bull with them for the rest of the season and pull out the AA to rest up for the cows.

kevthegaff

https://www.agriland.ie/farming-news/dairy-farmers-across-europe-to-demonstrate-for-higher-prices/

Castlekeeper

There wouldnt be much appetite or sympathy for such a protest here these times!

straight

I guess the irish farmers are too busy running faster while going backwards. You'd think our representative bodies could have at least given some token of support.

Mooooo

Public wouldn't support us here, they get a lot more sympathy on the continent

Castlekeeper

Mooooo wrote: »

Public wouldn't support us here, they get a lot more sympathy on the continent

Whatever about the public, every non dairy farmer in the country would lose the rag.

green daries

Castlekeeper wrote: »

Whatever about the public, every non dairy farmer in the country would lose the rag.

Ya coupled with that it's the food disconnect of the general public and the cheap food policy by the supermarkets there's very little sympathy for the polluting, grant and sub grabbing farmers

straight

Castlekeeper wrote: »

Whatever about the public, every non dairy farmer in the country would lose the rag.

Thats because they're all fed the lies about highly profitable dairy farming. I didn't see anything about the protests on the farmers journal. They are too busy pushing the farmer to run faster. There is only so far you can stretch an elastic band before it snaps. I'd expect to get good support from the irish public. If they knew the way dairy farmers work and for the same price as 30 years ago, all while producing a far superior product and much more of it. The processors and retailers margins have all multiplied over the past 30 years and the farmers is constantly shrinking. Most of us have the wives at work now to try and get by but I think I might have to get the wife to take up a second job the way things are going here.

roosterman71

straight wrote: »

I'd expect to get good support from the irish public.

Not going to happen. Especially with dairy. That is seen as the money maker. The beef guys got some support, but eventually the public turned on them. I can see no way the public would come out and support dairy farmers. You could throw all the stats and figures and margins ya like at them and get your point across but most will just see the Teagasc average income number and see that it's higher than many peoples salary. You lose support then. Plus cows are killing the planet don't ya know

mahoney_j

roosterman71 wrote: »

Not going to happen. Especially with dairy. That is seen as the money maker. The beef guys got some support, but eventually the public turned on them. I can see no way the public would come out and support dairy farmers. You could throw all the stats and figures and margins ya like at them and get your point across but most will just see the Teagasc average income number and see that it's higher than many peoples salary. You lose support then. Plus cows are killing the planet don't ya know

And that is why Tegasc ,the farmers journal ,likes of Aidan Brennan etc need to have there wings clipped with how they use and abuse and twist the truth when reporting on all things dairy farming

Siamsa Sessions

What you don't see in the media is that headlines like "Dairy farmers powering on" are mostly coming from Teagasc's eProfit figures, which is more a snapshot than a true sample of Irish dairy farms.

Equally what's not said in the media is that dairy farming is doing well when compared to beef/sheep. It's all relative but again no one says that.

When Teagasc and the IFJ are talking up the dairy millionaires without the above caveats, it's no wonder the rest of the country thinks lads are rolling in it.

roosterman71

Where can you get the latest eProfit figures? Latest I can find on Teagasc are the 2018 ones

jaymla627

mahoney_j wrote: »

And that is why Tegasc ,the farmers journal ,likes of Aidan Brennan etc need to have there wings clipped with how they use and abuse and twist the truth when reporting on all things dairy farming

Next year will be a great leveller if your misfortunate enough to be a glanbia supplier, alot of heads in the sand stuff by lads who are still just ploughing ahead, the figure of april milk been nationally up 9% for Aprl should be setting alarm bells of re processing capicity for next year to deal with the glanbia overflow but you wont hear a word about it id say

Siamsa Sessions

roosterman71 wrote: »

Where can you get the latest eProfit figures? Latest I can find on Teagasc are the 2018 ones

I'm not sure how often they publish them but the beef one has fallen off a cliff anyway: "Teagasc beef business and technology advisers completed 2,159 eProfit monitors in 2017 but this has dropped to just 357 completed in 2020..."

https://www.farmersjournal.ie/teagasc-eprofit-monitor-completion-drops-83-in-three-years-616737

Probably because lads had to do it as part of the KT scheme which finished in 2019.

I'm guessing dairy might not have dropped off as much, and might even have increased with new entrants, but still no sign of a recent report.

mahoney_j

Siamsa Sessions wrote: »

I'm not sure how often they publish them but the beef one has fallen off a cliff anyway: "Teagasc beef business and technology advisers completed 2,159 eProfit monitors in 2017 but this has dropped to just 357 completed in 2020..."

https://www.farmersjournal.ie/teagasc-eprofit-monitor-completion-drops-83-in-three-years-616737

Probably because lads had to do it as part of the KT scheme which finished in 2019.

I'm guessing dairy might not have dropped off as much, and might even have increased with new entrants, but still no sign of a recent report.

I’d say pressure from farmers of how they compile and present the info as well as v little doing them added to it .....gdpr issues as well I’d say .havnt done one in years and won’t be doing one again ,wasted exercise which can be manipulated to suit .own accounts only one that matters not snap shots of what some other farmers are doing ......or say they’re doing

GrasstoMilk

mahoney_j wrote: »

I’d say pressure from farmers of how they compile and present the info as well as v little doing them added to it .....gdpr issues as well I’d say .havnt done one in years and won’t be doing one again ,wasted exercise which can be manipulated to suit .own accounts only one that matters not snap shots of what some other farmers are doing ......or say they’re doing

It's a valuable tool for comparing itemised farm costs year on year
We do it but purely for our own use, teagasc advisor is told it is not to be used by anyone only ourselves
I personally find it useful

alps

straight wrote: »

Thats because they're all fed the lies about highly profitable dairy farming. I didn't see anything about the protests on the farmers journal. They are too busy pushing the farmer to run faster. There is only so far you can stretch an elastic band before it snaps. I'd expect to get good support from the irish public. If they knew the way dairy farmers work and for the same price as 30 years ago, all while producing a far superior product and much more of it. The processors and retailers margins have all multiplied over the past 30 years and the farmers is constantly shrinking. Most of us have the wives at work now to try and get by but I think I might have to get the wife to take up a second job the way things are going here.

At 35c, dairy farmers should be able to compensate themselves properly....If a dairy farmer still falling behind this year, they really got to look closer at their system.

This year should throw off enough to complete repairs and maintenance, to buildings, land and machinery, that may have been left undone for a few years. That's the nature of volatility...

I see many farmers blowing the surplus already, and it's going well beyond the R&M budget...machinery, cow collars, fancy bits and pieces that the looked forward to getting once budget allowed. Trouble is, many have just built in an increased layer of costs, and when price goes down again...things will be tighter than before.

I'm fully of the view that the coops could return another 2c at the moment, but inside the home gate, I'd be inclined to make sure my operation pulls adequate profit at 35c..

Gawddawggonnit

alps wrote: »

At 35c, dairy farmers should be able to compensate themselves properly....If a dairy farmer still falling behind this year, they really got to look closer at their system.

This year should throw off enough to complete repairs and maintenance, to buildings, land and machinery, that may have been left undone for a few years. That's the nature of volatility...

I see many farmers blowing the surplus already, and it's going well beyond the R&M budget...machinery, cow collars, fancy bits and pieces that the looked forward to getting once budget allowed. Trouble is, many have just built in an increased layer of costs, and when price goes down again...things will be tighter than before.

I'm fully of the view that the coops could return another 2c at the moment, but inside the home gate, I'd be inclined to make sure my operation pulls adequate profit at 35c..

I remember you saying that dairy farmers would be better off with poor milk prices to save them from themselves.

straight

alps wrote: »

At 35c, dairy farmers should be able to compensate themselves properly....If a dairy farmer still falling behind this year, they really got to look closer at their system.

This year should throw off enough to complete repairs and maintenance, to buildings, land and machinery, that may have been left undone for a few years. That's the nature of volatility...

I see many farmers blowing the surplus already, and it's going well beyond the R&M budget...machinery, cow collars, fancy bits and pieces that the looked forward to getting once budget allowed. Trouble is, many have just built in an increased layer of costs, and when price goes down again...things will be tighter than before.

I'm fully of the view that the coops could return another 2c at the moment, but inside the home gate, I'd be inclined to make sure my operation pulls adequate profit at 35c..

What is proper compensation in your opinion. I used to earn 60k in my 39 hour week with no major hassle or weather issues or unforeseeable risk like animal disease. Or indeed my own health. If I was sick or broke a bone I got sick pay. I could close the door every evening leaving work and had no worries driving home. I got holiday pay and I had paid breaks. I now work 80 hours a week on average throughout the year. I've my place well set up now from cash flow and with no borrowings. Think a fair wage for me would be 100k minimum per annum plus 150 euro per acre for every acre I own. Also 20% of turnover for continued reinvestment and about 15k a year for casual labour. Highly profitable dairy farming my eyeball. Sick of the constant dirt being flung at me from salesmen, teagasc, ifj about my large profits. If I let the place to some clown for 300 per acre and went back to the job I'd be better off.

GrasstoMilk

alps wrote: »

At 35c, dairy farmers should be able to compensate themselves properly....If a dairy farmer still falling behind this year, they really got to look closer at their system.

This year should throw off enough to complete repairs and maintenance, to buildings, land and machinery, that may have been left undone for a few years. That's the nature of volatility...

I see many farmers blowing the surplus already, and it's going well beyond the R&M budget...machinery, cow collars, fancy bits and pieces that the looked forward to getting once budget allowed. Trouble is, many have just built in an increased layer of costs, and when price goes down again...things will be tighter than before.

I'm fully of the view that the coops could return another 2c at the moment, but inside the home gate, I'd be inclined to make sure my operation pulls adequate profit at 35c..

If its labour saving or makes life easier for the one man show its worth the buy imo, provided its not taking away from investment needed else where

Gawddawggonnit

straight wrote: »

What is proper compensation in your opinion. I used to earn 60k in my 39 hour week with no major hassle or weather issues or unforeseeable risk like animal disease. Or indeed my own health. If I was sick or broke a bone I got sick pay. I could close the door every evening leaving work and had no worries driving home. I got holiday pay and I had paid breaks. I now work 80 hours a week on average throughout the year. I've my place well set up now from cash flow and with no borrowings. Think a fair wage for me would be 100k minimum per annum plus 150 euro per acre for every acre I own. Also 20% of turnover for continued reinvestment and about 15k a year for casual labour. Highly profitable dairy farming my eyeball. Sick of the constant dirt being flung at me from salesmen, teagasc, ifj about my large profits. If I let the place to some clown for 300 per acre and went back to the job I'd be better off.

+1.
Thing is, it’ll get worse. Farms will have to get bigger to survive. It’s always been so.