Dairy Chitchat 4, an udder new thread.

Anywhere good for second-hand PVC dairy doors? Gap is about 3m wide

futures are looking like an average of 43c/l at 3.3pr and 3.6bf for 2024, 40c jan rising to 45c/l in May, fert and meal rising too

had over 85% fixed last year and it almost broke us, it has been 2 very difficult years, being in the minority in a coop is not advisable but each to their own

fixed schemes only come out when price is rising customer would not fix at end of contracts even after making 100m, fixed milk has been loss making each of the last 3 years, the customer doesnt deserve the stability in price especially when 3c off futures

meal offer is only on 2 specific nuts, and not based on the volume you use

the coop sells 3 months in advance, they know where the price is for feb

they have a waiver in the small print no force majure allowed even if fertiliser and concentrates stop coming into country.....it will be a hard contract to fill if either of the shipments get held up by pirates/insurance issues...could be a costly 10%

credit to tirlan though they did take every point/issue raised by the ifa tirlan fixed price group into account when writing this contract, except for the dirty waiver included thats a backwards step and makes the contract one sided again

Forward Price Scheme 32 (incl Adjuster) Offer confirmed at 48.5cpl (MAR-OCT 2023) @3.30 Prot/3.60 Bfat incl VAT. Application open at 2pm today until 2pm Wed

The above was on offer by kerry September 2022. So it just shows how no one can predict what will happen regards price

I think you put in a superflous w

I hope ye are out or close to out the other side now. You've been very open about on here I think that is commendable. And it serves as a warning to people.

Used for what though?

Data churned out implying what it costs us to produce milk

They get plenty of information about losses in the beef system and it makes f@@k all difference, Larry still pays what Larry likes.

I am really an agnostics on a 'Labour charge'' after all larger operators are advertising ''Farm Managers'' @ 30k. This is there target pay for non EU nationals as farm workers.

Makey up labour figures are not worth the paper they are written on. Unless a load of farmers are willing to sell up and walk away ( many have little other skill than as a tractor jockey) then a labour charge is a figment of peoples imagination

Mod: Cute George, perhaps you'd rephrase that, please.

Yes it is it's monotonous repetitive work and you can catch the Asian or South American workers for accommodation costs( preferably in cash) which again put the labour cost into focus.

Unfortunately the truth is still the truth. Is it a harsh reality. When it comes to machinery most lads have no problem investing. Whether its a slurry tanker or a zero grazer. I could add a few more but it's time in the saddle or the maintenance of it where's the margin is.

Beef is similar. Lads will buy a smaller tanker, cut there own silage, get the hay bob before the baler, rather than pay a bit extra for a mower Conditioner or a rake.

Farming is a small-lower medium margin game its about protecting your inheritance especially where its over 3-4+ generations. I am absolved from that issue. I am a starter, @wrangler seems at the end of a farm lineage of 6+generations. Mine will never achieve that I expect even though reaching back through 4× generations of where I came from there is farming In the background. After all I probably come from Calf Rustlers. Cryptic.

Sorry you got offended CG. Look after yourself never realised until now the edge when I replied to a post.

Get a bucket of detergent in powder form and run the whole bucket through the machine in the one wash. Melt it down in 2 buckets of warm water (don’t melt it it hot water ) and add it into a hot wash

be careful melting it, make sure you’ve someone with you stirring the bucket you’re pouring the detergent into and you both have good gloves, apron and face mask on. It’s dangerous when mixed at such a concentration, it’ll be red hot itself from being so concentrated and it’ll cause savage burns if you get any in your skin

any way, melt the full bucket down and add it to a hot wash and run it for 10 minutes through the plant- make sure you have a new filter in aswell

give the machine a good rinse then

when you’ve dumped that rinse do the same with a 20 l drum of acid, put in a new filter again

that’s exactly what arc farm do to clear out youre machine

change all the rubber ware on the machine aswell

don’t leave it sit over the winter with out doing anything because the machine will be red rotten with bacteria and it’ll be a massive job to shift it

We had to do that with our machine last year bang no bother since, the milk filter game out yellow with all the bio -film that was stuck on the plastic

using arc farm stuff now with s cold wash twice a day and no issues this year

I only have second level qualifications, howe6I worked in a very technical area during my career with virtually degree level education at the end. Howe6by my fifties I found it harder and harder to keep a rest if technical changes in that industry. I taught it was only me, however I have friend now around the same age working in IT saying the same to me. I retired now nearly 5 years and would find it impossible to re enter that area of expertise, I might manage an administrative position but the cutband trust of the technology had left me

While you have two third level qualifications many farming have only the green certificate. Even if lads had trades and are away from it for 5+ years beyond 40 years of age its would be hard to return and be at a decent wage level in there sector.

I see people that have retrained and they are retiring my the time they really get up to speed in the new work area

Ya I'd agree straight I'd say nearly all farmers under 50 have a trade or college qualification or have worked in another fairly skilled job at some point in their careers. Some of the older lads are some of the best fellas on the go ....talk about well able and Intelligent people. Bass has a chip the size of a football on his shoulder .

The National Farm survey is operated as part of the Farm Accountancy Data Network of the EU and fulfils Ireland's statutory obligation (Council Regulation (EC) No 1217/2009) to provide data on farm output, costs and income to the European Commission.

National Farm Survey data is collected from an anonymous group of farms using a pre-defined set of criteria that are used across countries. You don't volunteer for it. The data are published (and legally have to be) using the FADN criteria.

The data published every year comes from these farms. It's all here, from every country in the EU. https://agridata.ec.europa.eu/extensions/FarmEconomyFocus/FADNDatabase.html

Teagasc or any other internal state body do not get to cherry pick what's published and what isn't.