getting back into milk

dasheriff

Im thinking of going back into milk ,my father milked on the farm up to 15 years ago when he retired from it due to other work commitments,I took it over again in 06 and have run a suckler to weanling system since,im now out of work and the once a year payment isnt viable for me anymore so i was thinking of going back into milk,i could run about 50 cows without any serious investment in housing or taking extra land etc..
I have farm roadways,a paddock system on most of the land and i have a slatted shed with cubicles already in place..the only big investment would be quota which i dont know anything about getting,and a parlour which i could build into an existing barn thats in good condition with a holding yard already in place..
Any advice is welcome in all aspects of my idea and if iv left anything out just ask..Thanks in advance..

blue5000

50 dairy cows-only 1 word I can think of to describe it and that word is slavery.

grumpyfarmer

blue5000 wrote: »

50 dairy cows-only 1 word I can think of to describe it and that word is slavery.

Nothing wrong with 50 cows.. If down efficiently a perfectly viable one man enterprise. i personally can't understand why people think you need huge amounts of cows to make a living. big numbers = big investment. big expense. big costs in terms of labour and running costs and at the end of the day would one be any better off compared to a small efficient one man herd... if you are prepared to do the work and have an interest and love for it 50 cows would be a good starting point. any agriculture adviser would be able to explain how to go about getting quota and there should be a good supply of good quality second hand milking machines available with the amount of new big ones being installed...

5live

dasheriff wrote: »

Im thinking of going back into milk ,my father milked on the farm up to 15 years ago when he retired from it due to other work commitments,I took it over again in 06 and have run a suckler to weanling system since,im now out of work and the once a year payment isnt viable for me anymore so i was thinking of going back into milk,i could run about 50 cows without any serious investment in housing or taking extra land etc..
I have farm roadways,a paddock system on most of the land and i have a slatted shed with cubicles already in place..the only big investment would be quota which i dont know anything about getting,and a parlour which i could build into an existing barn thats in good condition with a holding yard already in place..
Any advice is welcome in all aspects of my idea and if iv left anything out just ask..Thanks in advance..

You may be entitled to new entrant quota but too late for that this year i think. If your father sold his quota you may be entitled to priority access to quota in the restructuring scheme. Your co-op/teagasc would be better able to sort out the details than anyone else so give them a shout first.

You should be able to sort out milking parlours easily enough, donedeal or journal classified for secondhand or the manufacturers for new/secondhand.

One word of advice on your tank though. If buying a secondhand tank check that the compressor has the new gas or is able to be converted for the new gas. The old gas is only available for 2 more years iirc so a leak in old compressors could mean a new compressor fairly soon

Farmer Pudsey

Do your sums 50 cows would be a viaible enterprise. Assuming a cows milking 1200 gallons at 30 cent a litre a turnover of over 80,000 euro on milk alone as well as your SP and calves.
Now is a good time sucklers cows are making good money you would be able to get at least a 1to1 swop. Due to milk quota limitations cows will not be very expensive for the next two years so a good time to buy.
I get out of the sucklers asap as I believe that there will be a bit of a drop next year. Even starting with 30 cows would be viable and expanding as you exit sucklers.

dasheriff

thanks for that lads, i like what im hearing so far anyway, the first thing so is to talk to teagasc man i suppose and see where i can go from there..