worst investment you ever made

whelan1

following on from the best investment, mine was 10 calves heifers that i bought , 8 of them died, still paying the credit union loan for them 3 years later:eek::eek::eek::eek:

reilig

One of the worst investments I ever made was doing my green cert equivalent online in 2006. It cost in the region of €3000. The college advised me that this would be recouped when I got the installation aid. However, on the last day of the course they advised me that I was not eligable for installation aid because I did not qualify as a new trained farmer because I had my herd number since 1998.

Personally I found the course boring and of little relevance to the type of farming that i was doing. The module on animal health was impractical and really nothing that any one of us wouldn't know. The farm planning module was geared towards dairy farming and much of it could not be compared to suckler farming. The farm accounts section was complicated and impractical - you would need to be an accountant to figure it out, and even then, it was taking the long road IYKWIM. The succession planning module was out of date and was based on the farm retirement scheme which was done away with during the middle of the course. The in college days were a joke - one was a whole day on manual handling - you can only spend ao long lifting an empty box up and down onto a desk before you get pi$$ed off. We spent 6 hours! Another frosty day was spent standing beside a silage pit at an ag college learning how to measure silage. There were 17 people in the class and 15 out of the 17 made bales only. Nothing was relevant. Course content was all taught from books published by Teagasc in the 1990's. Nobody could think outside the box and teach content relevant to 2006 or relevant to the types of farms that the people on the course had. Everyone was doing the course to get the Installation aid - a number of us were told that we couldn't get it only after they had extracted the money from us.

I believe the course has changed since I did it, but that's of little use to me now. I learned more from 5 discussion group meetings this year than I learned in the 200 hours that I put into that course!!

snowman707

will have to think about this one as I've made many


off the top of my head , a very expensive LM stock bull back in the 1980's he must have been doped when i bought him.
turned out to be real fruitcake and I had to factory him at 3 year old , on top of that he proved to be a real difficult calver

bob charles

maybe 3 / 4 yrs ago bought 3 young bulls and a dry cow off a guy. the cow calved soon after and got uncureable mastitis and died, the 3 bulls died, and calf died aswell. so bought 4 animal and I had 5 deaths :rolleyes:, luck was out with those animals anyway

Dont be daft

reilig wrote: »

One of the worst investments I ever made was doing my green cert equivalent online in 2006. It cost in the region of €3000. The college advised me that this would be recouped when I got the installation aid. However, on the last day of the course they advised me that I was not eligable for installation aid because I did not qualify as a new trained farmer because I had my herd number since 1998.

Personally I found the course boring and of little relevance to the type of farming that i was doing. The module on animal health was impractical and really nothing that any one of us wouldn't know. The farm planning module was geared towards dairy farming and much of it could not be compared to suckler farming. The farm accounts section was complicated and impractical - you would need to be an accountant to figure it out, and even then, it was taking the long road IYKWIM. The succession planning module was out of date and was based on the farm retirement scheme which was done away with during the middle of the course. The in college days were a joke - one was a whole day on manual handling - you can only spend ao long lifting an empty box up and down onto a desk before you get pi$$ed off. We spent 6 hours! Another frosty day was spent standing beside a silage pit at an ag college learning how to measure silage. There were 17 people in the class and 15 out of the 17 made bales only. Nothing was relevant. Course content was all taught from books published by Teagasc in the 1990's. Nobody could think outside the box and teach content relevant to 2006 or relevant to the types of farms that the people on the course had. Everyone was doing the course to get the Installation aid - a number of us were told that we couldn't get it only after they had extracted the money from us.

I believe the course has changed since I did it, but that's of little use to me now. I learned more from 5 discussion group meetings this year than I learned in the 200 hours that I put into that course!!

I did it since and can honestly say I found it good.
We were put in with a discussion group and learned a lot at these. Books seem to have been updated. Only criticism is the coordinators were hopeless.


And as for worst investment, dont even have to think twice.

This yoke http://www.donedeal.ie/for-sale/beefcattle/2984459

Brother got it cos we've a lot of land rented with no handling facilities on site. I used it once and that was enough for me. Brother uses it a bit but most of the time it sits in the office.
I'd much prefer to box the animal home and look after him properly. Its a rough bastard of yoke with a big ignorant needle that usually lasts about 3 goes before its bent in sh*t.
Rough on the animals too, absolutely hate it.

whelan1

i bought that too, couldnt agree more biggest load of crap ever

pakalasa

So called galvanised gates we bought off a 'travelling salesman' years ago. All have fallen apart with rust by now.

Black Smoke

€7.5k of AIB shares in the boom times. Guess what they are worth today?Sweet fkuk all:mad:

td5man

pakalasa wrote: »

So called galvanised gates we bought off a 'travelling salesman' years ago. All have fallen apart with rust by now.

The galvanise must have still been wet when you got them

Black Smoke

Well this is one quiet thread, compared to the best investment thread!
There's only a few of us that bought into "lemons"!! -:)

1chippy

Bank of Ireland pension fund and Bank of Ireland personal Insurance. Absolute cowboys.
Brand new jeep during the boom.

cjpm

Black Smoke wrote: »

Well this is one quiet thread, compared to the best investment thread!
There's only a few of us that bought into "lemons"!! -:)

At least no one mentioned their wife in this one!! Yet!!!!!!;)

Manoffeeling

I invested my ssia in a fund which will be up next year. The only good thing is that it's 80% guaranteed. Shed money.

topgeas

10 lovely fr bull calves last oct for 220 a piece. good british friesians the nice dealer said, they"ll be good square cattle in a year he told me.im still waiting and waiting ill be.........
what was i thinking


:mad::mad::mad:

porter shark

i'm with relig, out dated course. i thought it a good investment when promised installation aid and entitlements from the reserve.... never got a penny from either.

bbam

We bought four nice continental heifers in April.. CH & CH*LM about 250kg to run with our bucket reared ones as I thought calves were too dear.. Two died suddenly during the summer within ten days of each other prompting an autopsy and samples to be taken by vet..
The remaining two will just break even..

Bad investment all round.. we hadn't lost an animal in three years.

AntrimGlens

Sheep Turnover crate - far less hassle to catch a ewe and turn her over than try and get them into the crate and turn them without them kicking and getting their feet caught. Only positive side was i got a 40% grant on it through FMP!

ballynag

Thinking of buying 6 freisan weanlings at present, 250kgs, €375.hopefully I won't be posting about them in this thread next year :-)

ballynag

Thinking of buying 6 freisan weanlings at present, 250kgs, €375.hopefully I won't be posting about them in this thread next year :-)

locha

Paid 1,200 gns for a purbred ram lamb about 20 years ago. He was a champion texel and I had a flock of purebreds.. Dead 3 weeks later... still remember it well...

just do it

The engagement ring ;-)

Mac Taylor

Showing my age here!!!! Eircom shares.:eek: I like many others were going to make a fortune from them. Ah well!

The second WISE investment was investing in a friends dot.com adventure. I was going to make a fortune.

2 expensive lessions. Unfortunately you cannot put an old wise head on young sholders:D

SilverKrest

A McHale Bale splitter, biggest waste of time ever, the saleman said it would chop bales no bother, but it stops about half way, it is not suitable unless youve got a high hydraulic pressure on the tractor

pakalasa

There seems to be a common theme going through all this. Most regrets are invesments outside the farmgate. Invest in what you know.......;)

Black Smoke

pakalasa wrote: »

There seems to be a common theme going through all this. Most regrets are invesments outside the farmgate. Invest in what you know.......;)

I think you need to go back and count again;) Seems we are as bad inside the farm as outside it:rolleyes: . But I agree now with the premise "stick to what you know". Thank my lucky stars everyday, I never bought into the property craze in the boom. I was tempted many times, but something held me back

Farmer Pudsey

Bunch of nine bulls that I bought off a lad they were of varying weights had an eye infection when they arrived,one got warts on his rod and had to be sllaughtered as a canner, another got menegetis and is a runt and a third got his spine damaged and had to be sold early as well one that never thrived.

as long as it stays outside the door:cool:

towzer2010

I bought 6 heifers two years as future replacements. One was already in calf and was only over a year so I had to send her back. Two turned out to be free martin's and one that looked healthy turned out to be a PI after a blood test. The fifth one was AI'd 4 times and ran with a bull for 2 months but never went in calf even though vet tested her for various things and she was healthy. The last one calved last november and is what I was looking for but 1 out of 6 is a p!$$ off.

One of my worst and best investment's is the same thing - The slatted shed. Way over priced with the inflation brought about by a stupid deadline that pushed up the price of everything but still the best think I have done so far.

darragh_haven

towzer2010 wrote: »

I bought 6 heifers two years as future replacements. One was already in calf and was only over a year so I had to send her back. Two turned out to be free martin's and one that looked healthy turned out to be a PI after a blood test. The fifth one was AI'd 4 times and ran with a bull for 2 months but never went in calf even though vet tested her for various things and she was healthy. The last one calved last november and is what I was looking for but 1 out of 6 is a p!$$ off.

What is a PI?

whelan1

darragh_haven wrote: »

What is a PI?

bvd positive

bbam

darragh_haven wrote: »

What is a PI?

please tell me your old enough to remember

Black Smoke

darragh_haven wrote: »

What is a PI?

Answer here :cool: http://www.google.ie/imgres?q=magnum+pi&um=1&hl=en&sa=N&biw=1680&bih=933&tbm=isch&tbnid=VnoBDAbuNEBk2M:&imgrefurl=http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/news/Magnum-PI-Season-8/8565&docid=iTvuaeerhHcFjM&imgurl=http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/graphics/news3/MagnumPI_S8_menu1.jpg&w=400&h=300&ei=bdhZULPMC82ChQfdvIDAAg&zoom=1&iact=rc&dur=306&sig=118245169698702385738&page=1&tbnh=117&tbnw=156&start=0&ndsp=51&ved=1t:429,r:1,s:0,i:139&tx=82&ty=72

whelan1

Black Smoke wrote: »

Answer here :cool: http://www.google.ie/imgres?q=magnum+pi&um=1&hl=en&sa=N&biw=1680&bih=933&tbm=isch&tbnid=VnoBDAbuNEBk2M:&imgrefurl=http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/news/Magnum-PI-Season-8/8565&docid=iTvuaeerhHcFjM&imgurl=http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/graphics/news3/MagnumPI_S8_menu1.jpg&w=400&h=300&ei=bdhZULPMC82ChQfdvIDAAg&zoom=1&iact=rc&dur=306&sig=118245169698702385738&page=1&tbnh=117&tbnw=156&start=0&ndsp=51&ved=1t:429,r:1,s:0,i:139&tx=82&ty=72

i used to think he was gorgeous:cool:

darragh_haven

bbam wrote: »

please tell me your old enough to remember

Unfortunatly...... Yes

bbam

whelan1 wrote: »

i used to think he was gorgeous:cool:

and now ?

whelan1

bbam wrote: »

and now ?

there are nicer men around now;)

Black Smoke

whelan1 wrote: »

i used to think he was gorgeous:cool:

But would he be any good, on the end of the calving jack, I wonder:rolleyes:

Black Smoke

darragh_haven wrote: »

Unfortunatly...... Yes

Can someone with a brain, tell me how to put a picture in a post
I just cannot make it work:(

whelan1

bobby from dallas was another one

towzer2010

Black Smoke wrote: »

Can someone with a brain, tell me how to put a picture in a post
I just cannot make it work:(

Rovi put up very good instructions here

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055376129

JohnBoy

whelan1 wrote: »

bobby from dallas was another one

????

Jaysus, never knew poor bobby had BVD.

you'd imagine all that scouring would have put the ladies off

blue5000

Worst investment I can think of was a 1000L plastic oil tank for white diesel. Can't ever afford to fill it now:o:o

djmc

8000 shares in anglo irish bank
but that wasnt even my worst

pakalasa

djmc wrote: »

8000 shares in anglo irish bank
but that wasnt even my worst

Ouch !!

locky76

djmc wrote: »

8000 shares in anglo irish bank
but that wasnt even my worst

Jeez, my commiserations, at what point did you buy them (or are some questions better off unanswered...)

Richk2012

whelan1 wrote: »

following on from the best investment, mine was 10 calves heifers that i bought , 8 of them died, still paying the credit union loan for them 3 years later:eek::eek::eek::eek:

What happened that the 8 died????

whelan1

Richk2012 wrote: »

What happened that the 8 died????

ragworth posioning....didnt get it here

Black Smoke

djmc wrote: »

8000 shares in anglo irish bank
but that wasnt even my worst

Anglo shares went to €17.31 at peak. That made your 8k shares worth nearly €140k !!!!!

bbam

Black Smoke wrote: »

Anglo shares went to €17.31 at peak. That made your 8k shares worth nearly €140k !!!!!

And pointing this out helps how ??:rolleyes:
Some losses are best swept into the past... if required lots of alcohol helps this process..

Conmaicne Mara

£/€3,000 (whatever we had then) Eircom shares. That and 10 or 12 wether lambs I bought to fatten, got everything going and just broke even.

just do it

whelan1 wrote: »

bobby from dallas was another one

Bobby's back..... again! Didn't see the new Dallas, have they aged well?

just do it

One word - Property:(