contract heifer rearing

bt12

looking for opinions on contract heifer rearing, hav been
asked by local dairy farmer to rear heifers for him

John_F

from a uk website but raises same issues http://farmingforum.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=35162

dar31

John_F wrote: »

from a uk website but raises same issues http://farmingforum.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=35162

read through the dairyco heifer rearing contract.

http://www.dairyco.org.uk/library/farming-info-centre/health--welfare/heifer-rearing-contract.aspx
(had to open this using word pad for some reason)

plenty to think about in it
have been thinking of getting heifers contract reared my self, but its still a good few years out still.
let us know how you get on,
my biggest concern would be mixing cattle. eg rearer has his own cattle on same farm along with dairy heifers, reckon its a big no no.
ideally the heifers would want to be reared on a stand alone block with sheds.
a retired dairy farmer would be my ideal candidate for the job

bt12

currently hav sucklers n wud sell if i go ahead so only wud hav his stock,
think dat is the best way, wil keep u posted

dar31

the farmer you are thinking of rearing for, must be stocked heavy with cows or is plannig that way, is their an option there for you to provide some of his silage requirements if their isnt a distance problem, or if it a bit far for silage maybe maize. this would help boost your income,

moy83

did anyone here rear any heifers this way yet or contract it out ? how did it pan out

bt12

have been doing the contract rearing since last autumn and going very well so far. Basically we will rear 25 to 30 calves and 40 incalf heifers a
year, the farmer rears 10 to 15 calves aswell and they will join the herd in the spring as weanlings. we started inseminating the 3rd week of april and were finished the first round after 20 days and a bull is used after this.
The farmer lives 5 miles away so we checked for heats and he inseminated them, the heifers will stay on our herd until 2 to 3 weeks before calving

stanflt

what about bio-security:eek:

moy83

bt12 wrote: »

have been doing the contract rearing since last autumn and going very well so far. Basically we will rear 25 to 30 calves and 40 incalf heifers a
year, the farmer rears 10 to 15 calves aswell and they will join the herd in the spring as weanlings. we started inseminating the 3rd week of april and were finished the first round after 20 days and a bull is used after this.
The farmer lives 5 miles away so we checked for heats and he inseminated them, the heifers will stay on our herd until 2 to 3 weeks before calving

Are you happy with the way its going ? do you think it will work well money wise for you

bt12

Its working very well so far, i know the farmer v well so this was one of the main reasons why i decided to do this. Money wise its making more than the sucklers, if our herd or his herd is locked up with tb we can move the incalf heifers back to the milking herd but both herds are locked up.

moy83

bt12 wrote: »

Its working very well so far, i know the farmer v well so this was one of the main reasons why i decided to do this. Money wise its making more than the sucklers, if our herd or his herd is locked up with tb we can move the incalf heifers back to the milking herd but both herds are locked up.

Glad to hear that its working out well i wouldn't mind doing a bit of it myself we got out of milking a few years ago and are keeping a few sucklers now but id rather try something different

porter shark

I'm suckling and doing a bit of hire work, mostly working off rented land.
My problem is not an agricultural one really. It's that the bank won't give me a mortgage. I've a fair bit of stock built up in my 5 years farming and would consider selling out and rearing heifers. It would mean startin building suckler herd and dry stock again slowly but Its the only way I can come up with money now. Would I be crazy?

moy83

porter shark wrote: »

I'm suckling and doing a bit of hire work, mostly working off rented land.
My problem is not an agricultural one really. It's that the bank won't give me a mortgage. I've a fair bit of stock built up in my 5 years farming and would consider selling out and rearing heifers. It would mean startin building suckler herd and dry stock again slowly but Its the only way I can come up with money now. Would I be crazy?

I dont think its crazy at all . What good are a load of low margin cattle if you cant use the profits to secure a loan for your house ?
Flog them on and start building . Will you have enough for a deposit or enough to build a good bit of the house with the proceeds ? If you have enough to build a good chunk of the house I'd imagine you would get a stocking loan handy enough after to get your numbers up for a few years .
Less cattle for a year or two will free up alot of time for a self build too if thats the way you are going .

bob charles

moy83 wrote: »

I dont think its crazy at all . What good are a load of low margin cattle if you cant use the profits to secure a loan for your house ?
Flog them on and start building . Will you have enough for a deposit or enough to build a good bit of the house with the proceeds ? If you have enough to build a good chunk of the house I'd imagine you would get a stocking loan handy enough after to get your numbers up for a few years .
Less cattle for a year or two will free up alot of time for a self build too if thats the way you are going .

And I would consider it a crazy idea:D, what anyone wants to own capital is beyond me as it a completely illiquid. unlesss you want to live in galway city most rural rent figures are quite low. You house isnt going to make you any money where at least with the cattle they can be flogged at short notice if you really have to and they provide an opportunity to make money. If house prices start rising, banks will start providing easier credit allowing more mortgage applications get approved. prices go up everyone makes the same mistakes again

moy83

bob charles wrote: »

And I would consider it a crazy idea:D, what anyone wants to own capital is beyond me as it a completely illiquid. unlesss you want to live in galway city most rural rent figures are quite low. You house isnt going to make you any money where at least with the cattle they can be flogged at short notice if you really have to and they provide an opportunity to make money. If house prices start rising, banks will start providing easier credit allowing more mortgage applications get approved. prices go up everyone makes the same mistakes again

I suppose everyone is different . I would sooner be rent or mortgage free and then concentrate on building up a herd . Especially with a family to rear I would prefer to have as little outgoings as possibe and the nest feathered aswell . Now if I was a single person I would be happy to rent a single bed anywhere .
I had many happy days renting in galway city but it just wouldnt suit me now

hugo29

I don't know moy, what you are saying is sensible but a small mortgage is the cheapest loan you will ever get and this could free up capital to invest into the farm which in an ideal world should give you some sort of a return

I wonder how the lads are getting on contract rearing, twas something I have often thought about

moy83

hugo29 wrote: »

I don't know moy, what you are saying is sensible but a small mortgage is the cheapest loan you will ever get and this could free up capital to invest into the farm which in an ideal world should give you some sort of a return

I wonder how the lads are getting on contract rearing, twas something I have often thought about

Im probably over cautious but I was stuck with a 1500 P/M mortgage for the last few years when work was lean and dont ever want to be stuck owing anything on the home again .

There is no one contract rearing around me but id probably chance doing a few to see . Rules and targets would want to be well laid out and adhered to or there would be disappointment all round .
Suckler lads on bad ground mightnt be able to do heifers as well as the farm they came from on grass and I see that being a problem for some lads

bob charles

moy83 wrote: »

Im probably over cautious but I was stuck with a 1500 P/M mortgage for the last few years when work was lean and dont ever want to be stuck owing anything on the home again .

but then why would you advocate selling the stock to buy a house instead of renting? its still much more prudent to rent in rural area over buying

moy83

bob charles wrote: »

but then why would you advocate selling the stock to buy a house instead of renting? its still much more prudent to rent in rural area over buying

I was presuming if he sold the stock he wouldnt need much of a mortgage to build or buy and that would be a big relief going forward .
Like I say everyone is different , what ever about building in the country at the moment I think there is good value to be had in buying a house ( for yourself , not to be hoping to make a quick buck off )

Different again if cattle are your livelihood , then you cant go selling out or you have no income at all . But in this instance I think the cattle are part time and he has his own job so can probably afford to be without the cattle for a year or two and use the price of them to get set up with his house

porter shark

Thanks for taking interest fellas, didn't know if anyone would.
I'm d only son. At home wit old boy farmin >500acre between us plus a bit of contracting. Nearly everything is in his name.
My long term plan was to drop one block of land that I've rented in a few years and with the extra revenue tackle a self build. We've too much land now anyway.
Now the ideal house is for sale, almost on the 'home land'. But still far enough away to sell if circumstances arose.
The heifer rearing seems t be the only option that would free capital now and show the pricks in the bank some sort of future earnings and give me use for the leased land obviously.
The issue is I know nothing about it and the fact that we're talking about all rented land would it justify?
I'm renting a 2 bedroom cottage now by the way €3,500 per year if a baby made its way in here I think there wouldn't be space for me!!!

hugo29

porter shark wrote: »

Thanks for taking interest fellas, didn't know if anyone would.
I'm d only son. At home wit old boy farmin >500acre between us plus a bit of contracting. Nearly everything is in his name.
My long term plan was to drop one block of land that I've rented in a few years and with the extra revenue tackle a self build. We've too much land now anyway.
Now the ideal house is for sale, almost on the 'home land'. But still far enough away to sell if circumstances arose.
The heifer rearing seems t be the only option that would free capital now and show the pricks in the bank some sort of future earnings and give me use for the leased land obviously.
The issue is I know nothing about it and the fact that we're talking about all rented land would it justify?
I'm renting a 2 bedroom cottage now by the way €3,500 per year if a baby made its way in here I think there wouldn't be space for me!!!

Just on the self build, regulations change in ireland on 01st march so the days of the self build could be over

49801

A crucial aspect of the whole contract rearing system is if you can find a dairy man that you can work with and think you can maintain a long term relationship with.

It is not every fella you can work with.

OP do you have a few potential dairymen in mind?

adne

hugo29 wrote: »

Just on the self build, regulations change in ireland on 01st march so the days of the self build could be over

Tell us more hugo? Whats changing, too late now to get planning approved before that date

hugo29

adne wrote: »

Tell us more hugo? Whats changing, too late now to get planning approved before that date

You need to have commencement notice lodged before 01st march or else you will be bound by new regulations

Changes have to do with building control, getting sign off by architect/ engineer is not as straight forward as before,

porter shark

My understanding of the new regulation is that it will simply add about 5k to the cost of getting planning

hugo29

porter shark wrote: »

My understanding of the new regulation is that it will simply add about 5k to the cost of getting planning

id read it again it so, its not about getting planning, its the liability issue, banks will change their approach to mortgage approval now as well