Dairy Chitchat 4, an udder new thread.

DukeCaboom

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120969694#Comment_120969694

Problem with autumn calves is that the cows/ mothers are very holstein. If your buying fr bull calves you'd want to lev them as bulls and fatten them out the house. Stick to the aa but the problem with the aa in autumn is its mainly off heifers so there going to be weedy.

This is all just off my own experience.

Mooooo

Biggest advantage of autumn calves is making use of grass the first year really, if you can do a good job of em till they go out they should fly

Donald Trump

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120965761#Comment_120965761

Nitrates?

Do you mean hectare?

green daries

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120970041#Comment_120970041

Ya I'd have to agree re the milk whelan ......its been a poor year production wise. Will be glad of extra production......if I can manage to squeeze a bit of profit our of it 🤔🤔😁😁🤞🤞

kevthegaff

If cull prices are crap is it worth milking on

whelan2

First autumn calver calved. Served 29/11. Herd app due date 7/9. In calf to fr6547. 258 days gestation

IMG-20230814-WA0008.jpeg

10th calver

jaymla627

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120973969#Comment_120973969

Cull cows are still making reasonable enough money have ten booked in here for Thursday once fat scores are okay will get 3.80 a kilo, depending on how these ones kill out I'll go with another 10 the next week, getting rid of older cows/lower yielders etc, I'd say canner cows will be gave away in the backend alright.....

Re milking on Chinese whispers Dec price will be lucky to be above 30 cent a litre, theirs no margin if that occurs unless meal prices drop back to match it which seems unlikely

Mooooo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120973969#Comment_120973969

Given the number of empties I have will prob milk on. Breeding went poor this year for me. I would ideally dry off and replace with better stock but funds won't allow I'd say.

Depends on feed and keeping lactose up really. If on silage and 6kgs they'd be eating only slightly more than a dry cow silage wise, so cost of meal/ parlour running and time to come off the price recieved. Solids up but lactose lower than last year so would prob need a good autumn to lead in to have em going well. Have enough good silage once they don't get housed very early

ginger22

Seems strange that lads are thinking about milking on this winter when the milk price wont even cover the cost of ration. Last year when it was profitable lads couldn't dry them off quickly enough.

But shure keep contributing to the world surplus of dairy.

whelan2

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120979734#Comment_120979734

Milking on with no winter bonus especially in a low price year is questionable. Although if you've a good few empties you dont really have many options

blackdog1

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120979734#Comment_120979734

Price of wheat is low. Buy wheat crimp it and feed it. Very low cost feed. Should up 10c a kilo under milk price. I'm personally thinking of driving on this winter especially with milk bonus if I can get maize under 250 and wheat at 200

kevthegaff

Lads will have big tax bills to clear, I have a good few bulling so might do it. Find u mind de cows better when ur bringing em in every day also

mahoney_j

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120979734#Comment_120979734

I’m milking thru ….lots of things to consider if doing it …..you need cows that will put a reasonable level of milk and solids in tank …top quality forage a must etc ….I’ll milk oad from 01 December until mid jan when cows start calving outside of physically milking the 2/3 rows of cows negligible extra Work..cows can be milked to 50/60 days pre calving and culls will be in good shape by spring …and you’ll still have got few extra months milk ..the uncertainty is milk price and where it’ll be …cash flow will be a help over winter too

alps

Maybe we'll see a production redu tion scheme like we had in 2016. Fell right into the lap of Irish farmers at the time. Cards could fall right for it again this year.

mahoney_j

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120979915#Comment_120979915

I’m sure icos and coops would be up in arms if that was suggested ….coops are fairly well loaded up debt wise now and a lot are offering bonuses for winter months

jaymla627

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120979936#Comment_120979936

I'd say if it's a European wide scheme they can politely f**k off getting involved, it's rather disturbing the noises they are making on what are farmer owned co-ops that are unable to pay a milk price that covers their suppliers cost of production, only sole concern been about still getting x amount of liters in to cover their own arses.

When you see how European pig prices rebounded after the eu backed herd culling scheme, last year its a no-brainer to be looking for something similar to be brought-in to cut production eu wide and help simulate a milk shortage that should help boast prices

ginger22

Well we always milk through the winter but we would be prepared with 80 DMD silage, whole crop wheat, maize and other pitted by-products.

The thing I find strange is lads who do not normally milk through and who are not properly prepared that are considering it this year.

Bangoverthebar

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120980342#Comment_120980342

I did that last year, a turned over plenty but was tight on silage and got an eye opener.

Mooooo

Everyone's situation is different, lads just have to do what suits their own one.

Castlekeeper

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120977839#Comment_120977839

Lovely cow, holding up well.

You have to wonder about the consequences of gestation shortening though. Is that not just giving us a 3 week premature calf?

whelan2

It's too short tbh. Dry off dates are messed up too. Was lucky this one was just the 40 days dried. 2 more Friesian heifer calves since out of same bull. One cow just 30 days dried other one is 41 days

green daries

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120982422#Comment_120982422

Ya that's way too short in my opinion anyway. It's not now it's going to catch the cow but towards the end of lactation I find they just tail off. Way too early 👍👍

straight

Some year for grass growth. Usually like to have 200 bales with the pit here but I often end up buying. I'll have 500 bales with a freshly filled full pit this year.

GrasstoMilk

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120983675#Comment_120983675

I always allow time for the short gestation when drying off cows

you can change the gestation length in HerdApp to give more accurate dry off dates

mahoney_j

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120988969#Comment_120988969

Saying it for years despite all the pricking around the ICBF have done with ebi gestation length hasn’t been looked at ….predicted start of calving and farms with 15/20% calved before that date is common

straight

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120989276#Comment_120989276

Are inaccurate calving prediction dates caused by lads registering calves on the incorrect date I wonder. I don't pay much attention to their dates here but I start breeding on the 3rd of may and don't get calves until February..

Say my name

Sold a Montbeliarde bull calf out of a fr/hol heifer yesterday.

The bull was left in with the heifers just to calving last winter and obvs this heifer wasn't in calf but went when the bull was with them.

Calf sold for €280. A real dote of a calf. Big dote though had to pull it from the heifer calving in the paddock. Heifer never minded me. A dote herself. But no way maternal. Calf reared on bottle. Calf walked in behind my father from the field half hour after being born.

Calf was four weeks old in the sale. Other calves in sale were lucky to get €10 in sale. Grouped together in 3 in a lot and younger than my own of the black and white breed but looked to be badly bred for beef and not the greatest looked after.

I don't want to preempt any actions but with online and movement technology now shown on boards it'll be simple for any officials to follow up and inspect farms. Sometimes people need rescuing from themselves.

whelan2

I had a whitehead heifer calf , put her on donedeal. Sold in an hour. No mart fees etc. 130 at 10 days old and a new customer for calves. Probably could have asked for more but wanted her gone as we were going to be restricted a day or 2 later

TheClubMan

Does anyone know the breakdown cost of 1 litre of milk split between the farmer, processor and the supermarket? It's very easy to find the production costs at farm level as well as average incomes but processors and supermarkets share of the pie isn't as transparent. How much does it cost a processor to get that 1 litre of milk on the supermarket shelf?

roosterman71

Don't think you'll ever get that information. Ceertainly from the supermarkets - they don't disclose their profits, and certainly not on individual items. Though I'd say what they make on milk would be small if anything as it's usually used as a loss leader to get you in the door where they will ride you on other stuff you buy. Processors would be the same. And I'd suggest processors aren't making a huge amount from the milk itself being packaged and sold in shops. Their money is in the value add side of things be that baby powder, or whey for sports drinks, cream, cheese, etc.