Just use land for graze milkers and silage

countygorey

Not from a dairy area do many people in Ireland use land for milkers and silage-- sell all calfes and buy in heifers calfed about to calf thanks

blue5000

Not done at all AFAIK for two reasons;

• Irish farmers like to breed their own replacements
• Most dairy farmers have land surplus to quota, spare land is used to rear replacements.

This was more common in UK, they had 'flying herds' where everything was milked, not sure if there are many doing it now there either.

countygorey

Post 2015 do ye think farmers more wiil do it on the grazing block

funny man

ALL depends on the demand and price of processed milk products.

5live

countygorey wrote: »

Not from a dairy area do many people in Ireland use land for milkers and silage-- sell all calfes and buy in heifers calfed about to calf thanks

Yeah a neighbour does it. Buys in a herd or two every year, calved or close to calving. He milks them for about 8 months and sells them off in the autumn. No silage made as no stock over wintering, calves sold as soon as cards back.

Then he buggers off abroad for a few weeks on his holidays:)

PMU

5live wrote: »

Yeah a neighbour does it. Buys in a herd or two every year, calved or close to calving. He milks them for about 8 months and sells them off in the autumn. No silage made as no stock over wintering, calves sold as soon as cards back.

Then he buggers off abroad for a few weeks on his holidays:)

good for him!

mattthetrasher

as long as they are screened for disease on entry its fairly similar to contract rearing hfrs and if ye buy well ye could fast track the genetic merit of your milkers use a aa or lim bull on cows and sell calves asap. i would even sell ya the hfrs:)