The best invesment you have made for the farm?

redzerologhlen

Whats's the best thing you have bought for use on the farm to make life a bit easier? It could be something as small as a proper calving gate, a hook drencher or a hayes wire strainers or something as expensive as a slatted shed. It would be interesting to hear of the things that make awkward jobs a little easier.

bob charles

best investment would probably be the direct seed grass drill. hours of stone picking done away with. As someone once said when your stone picking you have no friends.

bogman_bass

proper headgate and power box. wouldnt be without them now

redzerologhlen

bob charles wrote: »

best investment would probably be the direct seed grass drill. hours of stone picking done away with. As someone once said when your stone picking you have no friends.

Is that a moore drill bob? I havnt seen one out our way yet. What kind of a tractor do you use it with because I remember looking at their website and thinking that you would need a fairly big tractor to lift it.

bob charles

redzerologhlen wrote: »

Is that a moore drill bob? I havnt seen one out our way yet. What kind of a tractor do you use it with because I remember looking at their website and thinking that you would need a fairly big tractor to lift it.

Yes, mine is trailed and 3m wide. 100hp does the trick around here, any more hp needed and you shouldnt be in the field trying to work. My machine is a 80' icon now but identical in principle to the modern version

EpicPothole

Honda quad........ When you absolutely positively have to chase down those mad bastards of bullocks.... Accept no substitute.
It'll just mean my hip replacement will be in my sixties and not my late 40ies

redzerologhlen

bob charles wrote: »

Yes, mine is trailed and 3m wide. 100hp does the trick around here, any more hp needed and you shouldnt be in the field trying to work. My machine is a 80' icon now but identical in principle to the modern version

Oh, I though they were linkage mounted.

iron man

a wife....... and a son to take over....

EpicPothole

iron man wrote: »

a wife....... and a son to take over....

A wife...... That is a vet. Now that'd be nice

iverjohnston

A JCB 3CX, everything else about the place can break/fail to start/blow down/ burn up, but if the digger stops, everything stops! Iver in Cavan

bob charles

redzerologhlen wrote: »

Oh, I though they were linkage mounted.

New 3m ones are, probably available trailed as well though

vanderbadger

small crush inside in shed where calving pens are, its not perfect in terms of design or construction but has definately made it easier to manage cranky cows when calving

Black Smoke

Baler twine. It keeps the whole farm from falling apart, and my trousers from falling down:cool:

kevthegaff

bulk tank i got this year, auto washing and also saving on my elec bill:)

Cran

Fencing, handling unit, dog, and change of breed in that order but all nearly irreplaceable now

bbam

Two years ago we did a job and redesigned our cattle flow, holding area and crush.
It was basically the same one since the early 70's and I'd say it was a poor design for then too.

It has made testing or treating cattle much easier and safer.

tim04750

Head scoop

reilig

Quad - it means my dad can look at the cattle. What used to take him 2 - 3 hours can now be done in 30 minutes.
Slatted Sheds - has really increased output. No more outwintering, early grass, healthier cattle, store of slurry for fertilizing land etc.
4wd tractor - earlier slurry spread, can work in difficult conditions etc.

Tipp Man

Land for us - everything else we spend is a means to get more of it

tabby aspreme

An ear punch, left ear twins at birth to keep, right ear when giving trouble ,then sell sell

pakalasa

This year - a proper electric fence reel with rachet and new roll of tape. Handy for rounding up cattle. Money well spent.

bob charles

Tipp Man wrote: »

Land for us - everything else we spend is a means to get more of it

funny I have the oppose approach to farming and dont believe to owning any land, takes all types I suppose

locha

Two stand out for me.
1) the quad- get more use out of this then the tractor and digger
2) O'Neill Feeders - used to do an awful lot of dragging meal buckets/bags around to cattle. These things are great, no wastage and a huge time saver

maxxuumman

As a sixteen stone man,I'd have to say the quad was the best investment. My wife would not agree.

Tipp Man

bob charles wrote: »

funny I have the oppose approach to farming and dont believe to owning any land, takes all types I suppose

Each to their own

Milton09

iron man wrote: »

a wife....... and a son to take over....

The best..........and most expensive!:D

snowman707

a wife who for over 30 years has stood beside me "for better or for worse"

dog

calving camera

fencing

wintering facilities

red ear tags = 1 way ticket

an indy agri consultant , who provides an excellent service for a moderate fee.

good vets, accountant, solicitor, and reliable feed merchant all add to an easier life

supersean1999

a proper dog ,and better breed of rams,

Charlie Charolais

The green cert & a semi auto skulling gate

babybrian

quad, quad, quad

whelan1

the heat time system, saves me hours of heat detection.... alsomy dads 1996 isuzu trooper jeep, would be lost without it, never ever gets stuck- well only once:p- have it since 2000 wouldnt part with it now.... and of course my kids:cool:

alderdeer

without a doubt it has to be the stopper for the cattle crush no more running up and down after the same bullock or even when full just pop it in when a space is made between them and best of all only €45

J DEERE

Roadways and reseeding i'd say

Bought our own slurry tanker a while back, has more than paid for itself between money saved paying a contractor and being able to spread as we want, when we want

blue5000

Fencing, loader, Angus bull:)

AntrimGlens

Quad, Sheep handling system, a new dog to train before the current one gets too old. Farming with a full time job is now achieveable, means i can have anything done with the sheep that i need before work or in the evenings. Still havent decided on whether or not i'm gonna build a purpose built sheep house, going by this years trade i'll leave it for a while.

TUBBY

alderdeer wrote: »

without a doubt it has to be the stopper for the cattle crush no more running up and down after the same bullock or even when full just pop it in when a space is made between them and best of all only €45

What type is it Alderdeer and where ya purchase. Am on the lookout for one.

DMAXMAN

foot bath for sheep and a good dog.no point trying to have sheep without either

stanflt

a flat splashplate for slurry tanker about 10years ago for 75quid-gives an even spread.

more recently the weighing scales

gps for spreading and spraying

i see reseeding as an input(like buying meal or fertilizer) not as an investment-its a nessecity

pakalasa

stanflt wrote: »

..gps for spreading and spraying...

What do you use and how much does it cost?

jpos

O'Donovan moving barriers for the cows. No more sore backs from hours of forking in silage every day. Cheap at twice the price.

Dont be daft

Suprised nobody has said their tractor. We were plodding along with an old 2wd John Deere for years relying on contractors.

Changed it on 08 for a JD 6230 and it has to have paid for itself 3 times over at this stage.

The father said it would be the last new tractor he'd ever buy. Now he's talkin about changing it for 6430 next year.

But small things, has to be the footbath in the crush.
Comparing the vet's statements last year to this year the reduction in tetroxy bought alone will see it pay for itself over the next 10 years.

Interesting to see how many of ye have mentioned quads. On the wish list here.

me julie

A good sheep dog!

freedominacup

Fencing and roadways. Fairly complete at this stage but the last lot increased the efficencey of the entire farm no end. Best return of any on farm investment.

emaherx

blue5000 wrote: »

Fencing, loader, Angus bull:)

Angus bull, beats any fancy sculling cage.

Grecco

A paper shreader --- then put the Cheque book and credit cards through it

Manoffeeling

A row with the father over his unfair will. Then a lot of money with a solicitor and barrister to get it sorted.

So for me, it's my legal team. I salute you.

leg wax

my wife with her good job:D

bbam

Years ago I bought a sack barrow..
Jesus you'd be amazed how much stuff you can mauwl round with a good sturdy one with decent pneumatic wheels

whelan1

bbam wrote: »

Years ago I bought a sack barrow..
Jesus you'd be amazed how much stuff you can mauwl round with a good sturdy one with decent pneumatic wheels

we have a 40year old one,its a bit twisted but still gets a load of use

bbam

whelan1 wrote: »

we have a 40year old one,its a bit twisted but still gets a load of use

We actually bought a second one two years ago. Cheap one from woodies, it has two buckets screwed down permanently.
This allows two buckets of milk sit in and be moved round easily if I'm feeding milk away from the dairy, field gate etc. handy with a bad back.

yessam

Masses 4WD with loader. Needed for every job