Dairy Chitchat 4, an udder new thread.

richie123

kevthegaff wrote: »

With culls I never get what I think their worth..

Spare a thought for the man that buys them.
They're worth far less than what they're making in the mart.
They're usually straight out of a parlour and not dried off and riddled with mastitis
A lot of them incalf too..which for a full is not good.
They make far too much for the hardship involved in fattening them.

straight

richie123 wrote: »

Spare a thought for the man that buys them.
They're worth far less than what they're making in the mart.
They're usually straight out of a parlour and not dried off and riddled with mastitis
A lot of them incalf too..which for a full is not good.
They make far too much for the hardship involved in fattening them.

Sounds like fair hardship alright. My heart bleeds for the guy that pays 3 - 400 for them in the mart in the month of December.

Mooooo

Milking on this year so kept the empties, will dry in Feb and put them down to the calf ground and aim to kill May/June. They'll clean off the ground for the calves, its steep as well so prefer this to baling strong grass there and after grass can be too lush for calves anyway.
Killed a few last year, most had actually calved down but had various issues, killed off grass no meal, along with 2 fr teasers 3 years old. Cows came to between 900 and 1k on average in late summer. Some could have been better done but with the bulls wanted the least amount of handling going on so didn't bother with the meal

straight

Mooooo wrote: »

Milking on this year so kept the empties, will dry in Feb and put them down to the calf ground and aim to kill May/June. They'll clean off the ground for the calves, its steep as well so prefer this to baling strong grass there and after grass can be too lush for calves anyway.
Killed a few last year, most had actually calved down but had various issues, killed off grass no meal, along with 2 fr teasers 3 years old. Cows came to between 900 and 1k on average in late summer. Some could have been better done but with the bulls wanted the least amount of handling going on so didn't bother with the meal

If I had an outside block I'd like to keep the empties and sell them to the factory off grass like that. A bare field or rough grazing would do them fine. Besides the extra profit or not I'd just like to maximise the value off every animal. Sickens me to sell them cheap off the parlour. I've about 10 dry empties to get rid of now in January. Bit of land might be coming up for sale near me soon so you never know.

cute geoge

There will be even greater pressure on some dairy farmers to get rid of cull cows quickly with the new higher nitrates

richie123

straight wrote: »

If I had an outside block I'd like to keep the empties and sell them to the factory off grass like that. A bare field or rough grazing would do them fine. Besides the extra profit or not I'd just like to maximise the value off every animal. Sickens me to sell them cheap off the parlour. I've about 10 dry empties to get rid of now in January. Bit of land might be coming up for sale near me soon so you never know.

Why would it sicken you out of interest ?
Some of those cows turned 10 or 15 k and ur sickened a 600 euro cull cow diddnt make 800 ?

straight

richie123 wrote: »

Why would it sicken you out of interest ?
Some of those cows turned 10 or 15 k and ur sickened a 600 euro cull cow diddnt make 800 ?

That's the attitude right there that sickens me. The dairy farmer makes enough out of the milk and he should dump off the culls and calves as a charity. I build up very strong relationships with my cows after they being around for years and hate giving them away to the gangsters around the ring. Online is putting a bit of manners on them thanks be to god. Was it the icsa published an article recently pleading with dairy farmers to sell their culls to the mart instead of sending them to the factory as there is alot of people making good money from buying them in the mart.

richie123

straight wrote: »

That's the attitude right there that sickens me. The dairy farmer makes enough out of the milk and he should dump off the culls and calves as a charity. I build up very strong relationships with my cows after they being around for years and hate giving them away to the gangsters around the ring. Online is putting a bit of manners on them thanks be to god. Was it the icsa published an article recently pleading with dairy farmers to sell their culls to the mart instead of sending them to the factory as there is alot of people making good money from buying them in the mart.

Couldn't disagree with you anymore.
You'll be relying on those so called gangsters aound the ring even more in the coming years with the clamdown on dairying..and you should be very glad of them.
Those cows would be worth nothing without them

Mooooo

cute geoge wrote: »

There will be even greater pressure on some dairy farmers to get rid of cull cows quickly with the new higher nitrates

I'd question how many farms are actually stocked to the limit when whole farm sr is taken into account, without buying in a lot of feed.

jd_12345

You don't have to sell them you know... if there was money in it why don't you go out and buy some to fatten/milk on ... and don't say you're overstocked cause that's your own decision. I appreciate it can be hard to more or less give away good cows that you've built a bond with but I think its your own decision if you decide to sell them rather than the fault of the market. Locked up here at the moment so can't sell and we sent a couple of not in calf cows to the factory - big framey cows that were just underdone. Looking at online marts they'd have made easily €100-150 more in the mart.
Always keep a couple of dry cows every year cause like yourself it's sickening giving stuff away but we find there'll always be some mastitis issue/lameness with them. Maybe we end up keeping the shook problematic ones but there ain't much soft money in them either. Know a 400 cow dairy farm near here that buys about half of his cows not incalf.... regularly finds calves in the channel when he goes out in the morning. Suits him down to the ground

straight

richie123 wrote: »

Couldn't disagree with you anymore.
You'll be relying on those so called gangsters aound the ring even more in the coming years with the clamdown on dairying..and you should be very glad of them.
Those cows would be worth nothing without them

Well as I said, I intend buying an outside block of land and adding as much value to my stock as I can. Hence I don't intend to be relying on the guys around the ring so much. Not a numbers man here and I just like to get as much as I can out of the few that i have.

Wildsurfer

straight wrote: »

That's the attitude right there that sickens me. The dairy farmer makes enough out of the milk and he should dump off the culls and calves as a charity. I build up very strong relationships with my cows after they being around for years and hate giving them away to the gangsters around the ring. Online is putting a bit of manners on them thanks be to god. Was it the icsa published an article recently pleading with dairy farmers to sell their culls to the mart instead of sending them to the factory as there is alot of people making good money from buying them in the mart.

They're going for burgers either way so I dont think the cows really care about your special relationship or whether it's you or a dealer that's getting the last few bob out of them

DukeCaboom

straight wrote: »

Sounds like fair hardship alright. My heart bleeds for the guy that pays 3 - 400 for them in the mart in the month of December.

If your putting together a few to winter down here you'd have some heap of sh1t for 3 to 400.

All the stores down here 550 to 650 nov/Dec. I should know I have enough of them.

Gimme a buzz next back end

straight

jd_12345 wrote: »

You don't have to sell them you know... if there was money in it why don't you go out and buy some to fatten/milk on ... and don't say you're overstocked cause that's your own decision. I appreciate it can be hard to more or less give away good cows that you've built a bond with but I think its your own decision if you decide to sell them rather than the fault of the market. Locked up here at the moment so can't sell and we sent a couple of not in calf cows to the factory - big framey cows that were just underdone. Looking at online marts they'd have made easily €100-150 more in the mart.
Always keep a couple of dry cows every year cause like yourself it's sickening giving stuff away but we find there'll always be some mastitis issue/lameness with them. Maybe we end up keeping the shook problematic ones but there ain't much soft money in them either. Know a 400 cow dairy farm near here that buys about half of his cows not incalf.... regularly finds calves in the channel when he goes out in the morning. Suits him down to the ground

If he's buying culls to milk them I'd say he must be milking fair sh1t. He'd be as well of with half of them and a bit of quality.

straight

Wildsurfer wrote: »

They're going for burgers either way so I dont think the cows really care about your special relationship or whether it's you or a dealer that's getting the last few bob out of them

I've a 3 year old here that lost her calf at 7 months. Pedigree with records. She's worth alot more than burgers. I've other young cows that just didn't make it in the 11 week breeding season, lost embryos, etc. Get the likes of them back in calf and lads would be fighting over them.

DukeCaboom

straight wrote: »

I've a 3 year old here that lost her calf at 7 months. Pedigree with records. She's worth alot more than burgers. I've other young cows that just didn't make it in the 11 week breeding season, lost embryos, etc. Get the likes of them back in calf and lads would be fighting over them.

Your dead right. There's a lad here hates buying heifers or incalf heifers, he likes a cow...... "ready to go"

Tonynewholland

straight wrote: »

If he's buying culls to milk them I'd say he must be milking fair sh1t. He'd be as well of with half of them and a bit of quality.

A man buys my not in calf cows every October. He doesn’t calve any cow himself. Off to the factory when they they have enough condition. I’ve no idea how profitable it is

richie123

straight wrote: »

Well as I said, I intend buying an outside block of land and adding as much value to my stock as I can. Hence I don't intend to be relying on the guys around the ring so much. Not a numbers man here and I just like to get as much as I can out of the few that i have.

Your gonna learn a hard lesson.
Cows making way more in mart than in factory remember any cow that kills below 270 kg is docked.
The guys in the ring are ur friends that work on large numbers and a **** margin.
And put up with a huge amount of hardship
Buying worn out cows is not a simple racket

richie123

Tonynewholland wrote: »

A man buys my not in calf cows every October. He doesn’t calve any cow himself. Off to the factory when they they have enough condition. I’ve no idea how profitable it is

Peanuts.bar he has a decent contract

Castlekeeper

Wildsurfer wrote: »

They're going for burgers either way so I dont think the cows really care about your special relationship or whether it's you or a dealer that's getting the last few bob out of them

I stopped selling cull cows a few years back for the reason that it was no way to treat an animal that had served me fairly. Sending her off to the fattener's yard instead of letting them finish out their days in comfort and peace, one bad day is enough for them. I lose no real money on it either way.

straight

https://shop.calorgas.ie/morco-eup11-litre-lpg-gas-water-heater.html?currency=EUR&gclid=Cj0KCQiA88X_BRDUARIsACVMYD-GlaeVEiRGXUYb4RHuNCYwRXuzCZxJ-84IZpjXuIINGh-giVGjG0IaAqGoEALw_wcB

What do te think of just buying one of these caravan heaters and using has cylinders outside the wall of the dairy?

jd_12345

straight wrote: »

If he's buying culls to milk them I'd say he must be milking fair sh1t. He'd be as well of with half of them and a bit of quality.

Yoyo farming at its finest there. Switches from dairy bulls to beef bulls every couple of years. A numbers man. Gets sick of getting feck all for frieisan bull calves then gets sick of buying replacements. Pure numbers man!

GrasstoMilk

straight wrote: »

https://shop.calorgas.ie/morco-eup11-litre-lpg-gas-water-heater.html?currency=EUR&gclid=Cj0KCQiA88X_BRDUARIsACVMYD-GlaeVEiRGXUYb4RHuNCYwRXuzCZxJ-84IZpjXuIINGh-giVGjG0IaAqGoEALw_wcB

What do te think of just buying one of these caravan heaters and using has cylinders outside the wall of the dairy?

11l/minute is quite slow, would take 20min to fill a 200l wash trough

minerleague

Castlekeeper wrote: »

I stopped selling cull cows a few years back for the reason that it was no way to treat an animal that had served me fairly. Sending her off to the fattener's yard instead of letting them finish out their days in comfort and peace, one bad day is enough for them. I lose no real money on it either way.

Same as that here ( Sucklers here ), maybe we're soft , wean as usual Dec out early to grass finish off grass June. Cows would be 17- 20 yo, but lightly stocked and outside land suitable

Finty Lemon

Listened to the Irish Grassland webinar for a while this morning, in particular Jim Wolfe the Dairygold boss. From a non-dairy farmers perspective it was very impressive to see the recent progress of the industry, albeit with challenges still to come.
The integration of farm and factory objectives achieved by the dairy sector is enviable when you look at the situation across the hedge in drystock. It would nearly make a lad want to start milking cows. Nearly.

straight

There is alot of fairytales in the Irish dairy farmer magazine.

GrasstoMilk

straight wrote: »

There is alot of fairytales in the Irish dairy farmer magazine.

Such as?

straight

GrasstoMilk wrote: »

Such as?

The guy that had a great job but gave it up to go dairy farming cos he could make more money from less hours.

Or the guy share farming and the farm owner and himself had 70k each out of it.

Siamsa Sessions

straight wrote: »

The guy that had a great job but gave it up to go dairy farming cos he could make more money from less hours.

Or the guy share farming and the farm owner and himself had 70k each out of it.

I wouldn’t single out any individuals in the magazine but the tone of positivity porn on every page got boring very fast.

Are there any dairy farmers in the country who are not following the Teagasc/official line?

straight

Siamsa Sessions wrote: »

I wouldn’t single out any individuals in the magazine but the tone of positivity porn on every page got boring very fast.

Are there any dairy farmers in the country who are not following the Teagasc/official line?

I single out the Meehan guy in the first few pages for talking sense and I was surprised and thought to myself it might be worth reading. I'm afraid it went steadily downhill with propaganda and fairytales after that. Until I got to jim of the mills piece of sense on the final pages. The lad in meath with 950 cows or whatever it was and his brother farming in America. They didn't say where all the capital came from to start that whole venture.