Hi all. Looking for Manager/Herdsman

sheebadog

First Id better introduce myself. Im from rebel county and am very interested in the working of this forum. At middle age I find it hard to do this computer stuff but find that the way you bounce things around off each other most interesting.
Come from mixed farming background but have been away from dairying for some time now and thats the problem ye might be able to help me with.
Ive bought into a farm in France thats mixed and also includes a dairy herd. How do I find a cowman(woman) with necessary skills to undertake the task? The whole farm apprentice/farm manager structure seems to have disapeared.
Im tempted to stick an addvert in Farmers Journal but it probably would bring out the young/inexperienced that are bideing time until Dad retires.
Any help would be very welcome. Thanks

Arrow in the Knee

Welcome to the forum.

Am I right in saying that you bought a farm in France and you want an relatively experienced herdsman to work in France with the herd?

I would advertise in the Farmers Journal or even Farmers Weekly.

Are you looking for an Irish,UK or a French man?

sheebadog

Thanks Arrow. Yes Im looking for an experienced person to take on a high input/high output herd.
The thing is the FJ and FW is really a scattergun approach and Id rather refine the search.
The nationality does not matter. Being able to think outside the box and introduce new ideas is what Im looking for.

NewBeefFarmer

would be good if you could ask Adam from Adams Farm on BBC Country File.

he has a website. . ..
seems to be a straight guy

massive farm. .. cotswolds. . . lovely place. ..
love the highlander cattle.

contractors might know of farmers!. .. . good ones. .

Dont be daft

If it was me I'd be looking in France or for someone with continental dairy expierence.

I know if I was to hop on a plane to France and start managing a farm it would be a steep learning curve.
I'm presuming its not a grassland system, maybe even an indoor year round system. Skills acquired/valued in Ireland arent necessarily transferable.

It might not be as big an issue as I'm making it out to be but it would be at the front of mind.

sheebadog

Hmmm. The herd is a mix indoor and outdoor. I think that they are totally under using simple grazing systems and focusing on indoor high cost.
There has been a much better grazing season there, than here this year !!!!
What would be usefull is somebody with experience in USA, CAN, AUS etc. Then they could use the best of both

Dont be daft

sheebadog wrote: »

Hmmm. The herd is a mix indoor and outdoor. I think that they are totally under using simple grazing systems and focusing on indoor high cost.
There has been a much better grazing season there, than here this year !!!!
What would be usefull is somebody with experience in USA, CAN, AUS etc. Then they could use the best of both

I see what your saying alright. TBH I know sweet fcuk all bout continental dairy systems.

There's lads out there that fit the bill alright but the good ones are very hard to find. We've an Irish farm manager that spent two years milking in Holland for example.

I dont envy you trying to find someone, but I'd say your best bet would be to cast the net wide (IFJ and Farmers Weekly) and wittle it down with interviews.

sheebadog

Is there any agency/specialists that help to marry up potential employers/employees ??

Arrow in the Knee

Farming Recruitment Agency

www.farmsolutions.ie

Farming in France is affected by very dry summers and very cold winters so it's not like Ireland. Mainly Indoor Dairying in France or even the continent.

What about asking the owners or who ever your taking control over the farm about suitable Herdsmen in the area?

oldsmokey

Use a French / EU-wide agency...will have the best pool of people on the database...and make sure the kiddy can speak French AND English if you dont want mental meltdown.

sheebadog

Good advice alright. Maybe I should be looking for a partner/sharefarmer??
Anyone interested?

Wendell Gee

Farm Solutions have a good track record. Ironically they made their name bringing good farm workers into Ireland during the tiger years, and now are finding Irish workers jobs abroad, but also have overseas candidates.Definitely worth a call. A good working relationship with your employment agency is at least as important as that with the employee.