Dairy Chitchat 4, an udder new thread.

Ah yeah winter milk sure it doesn’t pay

What % is contracted liquid, scrapped 43 cent here at 4.6/3.6, pin been pulled on autumn calving cows here next year, reducing numbers, and halving the area of maize sown

What about the volume they are consuming and the volume of time going into feeding and milking? 56c is a pittance imo

150k drawings isn't going far for 3 families. I'm not saying anything about the system.

Spring men can't afford machinery???

My system isn't efficient???? Well, I wouldn't spend a penny renting land but I've bought 55 acres last year.

100k gone into armchair farmers bank accounts sounds nice for them though.

I worked for a guy same as yourselves milking about 180, excellent farmer best farmer by a long shot I ever worked for. Full pedigree herd, bulls in the stations and winning shows up and down the country. He had 3 sons none of which are getting involved in the farm after seeing their father be a bit like King Charles and having three parties in his marriage except their fathers 3rd party was the cows and working all the hours god sent. If you want to be at the top of your game in that field you have to be married to the farm completely or else be lucky enough to have plenty help which many don’t so they opt for spring calving and get on just as well without their cream on top which is the replacement sales the pedigree guys get but their trade off is a far better lifestyle.

How much was the 55acres- tbh it’s a very poor return on investment - say 55 acres at 16000 plus stamp duty etc Is around 900k

with 900k I’d buy 9 houses locally and finance the rest with the land we own(zero debt)

around me the 9 houses would return over 20000 a month or nearly a quarter of a million per annum

just my opinion thou- land rented is far better for cash flow as it’s tax deductible

Why are you so insecure in your own farming system that you need to run down other farming systems.

On a hectare farmed basis your farm isn't any more profitable than a well run spring calving herd.

Like us all you are doing what you think is best for your farm but it is no more sustainable or profitable than well managed spring calving.

How am I insecure- I’m actually the complete opposite and have shown that with all the data I support everything I claim

160 high yielding cows needs at 220 derogation now need 77.3 hectares

using a 5000l plus spring calving herd as an example we would need 265 cows to produce the same output at 92 kg n that means these will require 110 hectares

110 - 77 is a difference of 33 hectares or 82 acres - 82 acres at 16000 an acre is 1.3 million- you would then need facilities for 104 extra cows which teagasc estimate to be 4500 euro per cow- which would need 468000€ investment

thats 1.7 million extra expenditure for the same return as my winter milking herd

profit monitors show that the best operators in either system make the same profit per litre

where are you getting the idea that they need the same level of land and infrastructure for both sysrems

There’s no Willy waving just showing some people reality

need any help this evening illl be in tinure and might need a break from the screaming kids😀

id agree with most things you say on here Stan.. but id have agree with Straight on the rented land... if u can buy it.. buy it.. you will be better off.. i see too many lads renting land sometimes for years and in the process really transforming the land from maybe in a rundown state into a position where it has been reseeded fenced and soil fertility brought up a few notches etc only for landowner to come along and give you your P45.... there are exceptions of course.. if land is bounding you.. you nearly have to rent it... which is fair enuf...

No I didn’t for the last exercise I used middle banding cows

Is their 1% of herds achieving 550kgs of a ton of meal and no buffering bar the shoulders of the year? For that matter are 10% of herds hitting 500kgs plus, the issue going forward will be having to farm more land then you actually need, so utilising this to grow forages like maize/wholecrop etc to cut down on concentrate needed and drive up milk solids will be crucial...

Where your farming in the country plays a huge role in what's actually achieveable, a herd doing the 550kgs plus of under the ton of meal and minimal buffering works year in and out bar a few blips like drought etc in the Golden vale, transplant that herd into a wet farm 600ft above sea level in cavan and hitting 480kgs ms would be good going

The father in a set up like this might not be drawing much from the farm, probably has the pension maybe his wife also and possibly a private pension too. So maybe two families drawing form 160 good cows which will have it's benefits over one man milking 80 year round. Buying land can be impossible in some parts of the country with land going for 40k an acre in places

Dairying in Ireland has had monumental change since 2016 and is still going through change. The skill set that farmers have developed is huge, just look to the influence of IT across dairy farms, grass measuring, financial planning that would be in the league of small manufacturing businesses. This has been driven and we all can agree by the farmer, who doesn't sit in a comfy chair in the upstairs office, but one who is a labourer, a vet, a mechanic, electrician, agronomist, builder, financial planner etc the list could go on.

We all strive to drive efficiency on our farms, and my goals are very different to a good friend who is full time farming. My are based around time, eg profit per hour while upping my beef stock numbers

Back to the dairying side, the past 2 years have been a rollercoaster ride on a number of fronts but the ride ain't over the loop the loop section is coming soon. Being open to ideas and seeing what can work well on your farm will be key.

Your comparison on systems is very flawed, because your equating output in litres with net profit/free cash.

For a spring calving herd to generate the same net profit/hectare, it doesn't need to send the same amount of litres as you. Therefore the 1.7 million figure with the greatest of respect is nonsense