Feed crisis shooting

grazeaway

was chatting to my uncle last night and he had a story about some poor fella not being able to feed his animals.

he was only half listening to the radio so didnt get the whole story. he reckons this farmer was struggling to feed his cattle so went to the bank to get a loon to buy feeding, apperently the bank turned him down and as a result he went home shot the cattle then turned the gun on himself. Sounds like an awful sitution for anyone to find themselves in.

Anyway i hadn't heard anything on it so was wondering if there was some truth in it or if my uncle had mis heard it. He was very upset in listening to it on the radio but only half heard it and was wondering where it happened. He was at the mart last week and was chatting to a few fellas he knew that were at the point of dispair as they had to sell cattle as they had no feeding left, no grass and no money left to buy feeding. he was worried in case it as one of them.

on a side note, dropped over a trailer of silage bales to a fella over the road from me last week, while im tight for feed myself this lad has been struggling for the last month and his cattle had cleared off any grass he had left. I owe him a few favors so have no problem helping him out where i can.

Dunedin

grazeaway wrote: »

was chatting to my uncle last night and he had a story about some poor fella not being able to feed his animals.

he was only half listening to the radio so didnt get the whole story. he reckons this farmer was struggling to feed his cattle so went to the bank to get a loon to buy feeding, apperently the bank turned him down and as a result he went home shot the cattle then turned the gun on himself. Sounds like an awful sitution for anyone to find themselves in.

Anyway i hadn't heard anything on it so was wondering if there was some truth in it or if my uncle had mis heard it. He was very upset in listening to it on the radio but only half heard it and was wondering where it happened. He was at the mart last week and was chatting to a few fellas he knew that were at the point of dispair as they had to sell cattle as they had no feeding left, no grass and no money left to buy feeding. he was worried in case it as one of them.

on a side note, dropped over a trailer of silage bales to a fella over the road from me last week, while im tight for feed myself this lad has been struggling for the last month and his cattle had cleared off any grass he had left. I owe him a few favors so have no problem helping him out where i can.

Awful story if it's true but on the last para, farmers should remember it's a long road and a day will come when they are stuck for silage and won't appreciate paying €40 for a bale of silage - help your neighbours if you can.

grazeaway

Dunedin wrote: »

Awful story if it's true but on the last para, farmers should remember it's a long road and a day will come when they are stuck for silage and won't appreciate paying €40 for a bale of silage - help your neighbours if you can.

yeah excatly, this fella got me out of a hole back in 2010 when i ran out of bales in feb, least i can do is return the favor. there wont be any talk about cash, i know he'll repay me what he can, when he can.

bbam

A relation of my own had land taken last year for hay. After a week down it was wrapped up into a few hundered bales.
Roll on the fodder shortage and he's holding out for €40 a bale, for average fodder, I saw the results and bales opened.
Anyhow as he holds out he looses the rent on the land, probably as he wanted €40 a bale from the landowner for a few bales.
Landowner gives him a call and wants all bales gone within two weeks as rent is up.
They eventually moved tem all for €30 a bale which on an ordinary year would be too much for them.

Karma's a bitch, but it made me smile.
Gouging fellow farmers is just short sighted.

I heard another story where a fella went to his neighbour begging bales for stock, neighbour have them at €25 a bale to help him out. The bales were sold on for €35 a bale the following week on DD

sh1tstirrer

grazeaway wrote: »

was chatting to my uncle last night and he had a story about some poor fella not being able to feed his animals.

he was only half listening to the radio so didnt get the whole story. he reckons this farmer was struggling to feed his cattle so went to the bank to get a loon to buy feeding, apperently the bank turned him down and as a result he went home shot the cattle then turned the gun on himself. Sounds like an awful sitution for anyone to find themselves in.

Anyway i hadn't heard anything on it so was wondering if there was some truth in it or if my uncle had mis heard it. He was very upset in listening to it on the radio but only half heard it and was wondering where it happened. He was at the mart last week and was chatting to a few fellas he knew that were at the point of dispair as they had to sell cattle as they had no feeding left, no grass and no money left to buy feeding. he was worried in case it as one of them.

on a side note, dropped over a trailer of silage bales to a fella over the road from me last week, while im tight for feed myself this lad has been struggling for the last month and his cattle had cleared off any grass he had left. I owe him a few favors so have no problem helping him out where i can.

By any chance was it cork 96fm he heard it on? Prendeville was talking about it last week. He said it was his third time going to the bank for a loan to feed his cattle and sheep when refused he went home and shot his cattle and sheep before shooting himself. I checked the internet to find the story but nothing showed up, if it was on a news paper it would show up on the internet. Sounds a bit hairy to me. To kill livestock outright with a single shot you would need a rifle and be a pretty good shot otherwise you would need plenty ammunition. A shotgun will not kill livestock outright. If that many shots were fired it would arouse someone's attention.

grazeaway

sh1tstirrer wrote: »

By any chance was it cork 96fm he heard it on? Prendeville was talking about it last week. He said it was his third time going to the bank for a loan to feed his cattle and sheep when refused he went home and shot his cattle and sheep before shooting himself. I checked the internet to find the story but nothing showed up, if it was on a news paper it would show up on the internet. Sounds a bit hairy to me. To kill livestock outright with a single shot you would need a rifle and be a pretty good shot otherwise you would need plenty ammunition. A shotgun will not kill livestock outright. If that many shots were fired it would arouse someone's attention.

yeah could well have been, that eegitt prenderville luvs the shock value. I did a quick search myself and didnt find anything either whcih is why i was wondering if anyone else had heard it.

on the shot gun side, you can drop a cow with a single shot to the head, but you need to be close. was doing silage for a fella a few years back when a cow when down in the slats and broke her back. bank holiday saturday so no knackery open, and vet would have been a couple of hours so he put her out of her misery. i was the 1st time i had been it done but single barrel gun and one cartridge did the job. I'd say a moving target would be a much different job.

reilig

lads, newspapers don't tend to report suicides so it could well be true.

sh1tstirrer

grazeaway wrote: »

yeah could well have been, that eegitt prenderville luvs the shock value. I did a quick search myself and didnt find anything either whcih is why i was wondering if anyone else had heard it.

on the shot gun side, you can drop a cow with a single shot to the head, but you need to be close. was doing silage for a fella a few years back when a cow when down in the slats and broke her back. bank holiday saturday so no knackery open, and vet would have been a couple of hours so he put her out of her misery. i was the 1st time i had been it done but single barrel gun and one cartridge did the job. I'd say a moving target would be a much different job.

Yeah I know you could shoot a cow with a single shot, when she is down or in a crush. If he filled the crush with animals then the crush would have to be emptied for the next batch. Now imagine trying to shoot animals walking around with a single shot or animals squeezed tightly in a pen.

whelan1

lots of desperate people out there.... sad times, i have often seen the knacker just walk up to an animal and shoot it, you dont know if these animals where sick or what, but as someone said the gunshots would have been heard... ai man was saying he knows of 4 farmers that commited suicide in the last few months

mf240

Dont know whether I believe it about shooting the animals that bit may have been added by thge rumour mill. but as far as shooting himself goes the pressure some farmers are under its all too possible.

If anyone reading this is under pressure and thinking that way dont be afraid to ask someone for help, dont be embarrassed to sell some stock to feed the others. This will pass the sun will shine again just another few days and things will start to change.

Dozer1

Heard at the weekend that the dept were out to 2 farms near my inlaws that were overstocked and out of fodder, some cattle were shot on the farm and others moved to a feedlot, very tough to have happen and I'd imagine will have lasting effect on all farmers in the area,

whelan1

mf240 wrote: »

This will pass the sun will shine again just another few days and things will start to change.

thats what we have been saying for the last few months though.....

bbam

The problem is that for lads who are letting this get in on them.
Every day seems like a lifetime, listening to hungry stock, no cash flow to buy fodder, not wanting to ask for help as it seems like a weakness.

This has been a hard time on man and beast. So much talk over recent years about building stocking rates.
You rarely see reference to marginal farms, where a bad winter means 2 months more feeding in a bad year, I think these lads are caught badly.

I turned out weanlings at the weekend with only 1 week feeding to spare after selling 60% of what I saved last summer. I was starting to feel very foolish but seem to have got away with it.

mf240

whelan1 wrote: »

thats what we have been saying for the last few months though.....

Yes we've come this far well get through another few days.
This year will be better.

royalmeath

If you cannot feed your cattle then you must sell them, so what if you lose money on them. This is a true story but these guys
dont realise when the shoot themselves the problems they have are now in the gift of their wives and children. As far as I am aware
Life protection policies do not cover suicide.

whelan1

royalmeath wrote: »

If you cannot feed your cattle then you must sell them, so what if you lose money on them. This is a true story but these guys
dont realise when the shoot themselves the problems they have are now in the gift of their wives and children. As far as I am aware
Life protection policies do not cover suicide.

yes but if you are unwell you dont realise this.... this crack of people saying it will be alright next week is total ****e... that has been said for months.... people have held on for the next week and its not much better, feed bills etc are not going to disappear next week, its ok saying to sell cattle but you've got to remember alot of the stock would have been bought at crazy prices last year, they have been fed on expensive feed and now there are feck all buyers....

Massey10

whelan1 wrote: »

lots of desperate people out there.... sad times, i have often seen the knacker just walk up to an animal and shoot it, you dont know if these animals where sick or what, but as someone said the gunshots would have been heard... ai man was saying he knows of 4 farmers that commited suicide in the last few months

There is little or no noise from a .22 at close range . you would not hear it at 50m away

bb12

shocking story if its true. surely the feed stores need to be a bit more lenient in the current crisis and offer more credit? it's just one bad year. they know they'll get their money when the animals are sold.

leg wax

just loaded my contractors silage trailer with pit silage for his cows,said we would work things out later when everone gets going again.

mf240

whelan1 wrote: »

yes but if you are unwell you dont realise this.... this crack of people saying it will be alright next week is total ****e... that has been said for months.... people have held on for the next week and its not much better, feed bills etc are not going to disappear next week, its ok saying to sell cattle but you've got to remember alot of the stock would have been bought at crazy prices last year, they have been fed on expensive feed and now there are feck all buyers....

Whelan I'm surprised at your attitude so what if they lose money **** it sell a few and spend the money on meal for the rest.

Shooting yourself is final there will be no next week.
What else have we if we don't believe the weather will change.

Massey10

grazeaway wrote: »

yeah could well have been, that eegitt prenderville luvs the shock value. I did a quick search myself and didnt find anything either whcih is why i was wondering if anyone else had heard it.

on the shot gun side, you can drop a cow with a single shot to the head, but you need to be close. was doing silage for a fella a few years back when a cow when down in the slats and broke her back. bank holiday saturday so no knackery open, and vet would have been a couple of hours so he put her out of her misery. i was the 1st time i had been it done but single barrel gun and one cartridge did the job. I'd say a moving target would be a much different job.

he could have done it by using his shock factor

whelan1

mf240 wrote: »

Whelan I'm surprised at your attitude so what if they lose money **** it sell a few and spend the money on meal for the rest.

Shooting yourself is final there will be no next week.
What else have we if we don't believe the weather will change.

you can only think that for so long.... we have been thinking that since last may at this stage.... people do not realise how bad things are ....

mf240

whelan1 wrote: »

you can only think that for so long.... we have been thinking that since last may at this stage.... people do not realise how bad things are ....

I know but at the same time anything is better than ending it all.

THE WEATHER WILL CHANGE.

whelan1

mf240 wrote: »

I know but at the same time anything is better than ending it all.

THE WEATHER WILL CHANGE.

i agree, but its very fecking annoying at this stage

grazeaway

mf240 wrote: »

I know but at the same time anything is better than ending it all.

THE WEATHER WILL CHANGE.

the weather can change ina few days, but your bank balance wont. Hungry cattle dont care about where their food comes from.

as has been pointed out on few other threads soem of the people on here have had 1st hand experiance of dealing with depression and the aftermath of sucide (lucky enough i havent) so this will colour their view.

you cant just say to fella go and sell half the cows. while it may make sense to an outsider selling animal for less then you spent on it is very hard to do.

Having seen what the poor lads up north have had to deal with over the last few week it seems like we have it lucky down here, at least our animals can be feed.

Zizek_style

I heard this story alright. Think it was in South County Cork, or thereabouts. Something needs to be done about fodder, and the only party proposing an emergency response to the crisis has been Fianna Fáil. They did it a few years ago when the situation wasn't half as bad as it is now.

Conmaicne Mara

There were a couple of people pointing the finger at Teagasc last night, saying a lot of farms are over stocked thanks to their advice. I wonder what the views here are on that?

case885

I heard that story on the radio alright very sad. And as to teagasc and their response i have a feeling they wont feel one bit responsible even they are encouraging farmers to up numbers. It happened 20 years ago when developing dairy farmers were promised quota if they increased numbers, never happened and left farmers with huge super levys they dont care all they want is there fee for filling out a few forms.

rancher

Conmaicne Mara wrote: »

There were a couple of people pointing the finger at Teagasc last night, saying a lot of farms are over stocked thanks to their advice. I wonder what the views here are on that?

They have been warning farmers for a longtime now to ensure they have enough fodder to mid april at least, and they are always available to give advice on winter feed, quality or quantity.
I think it would be foolish to base your farm business plans on this year, sure we should learn lessons but if you base your future stocking rate on this year you'll only be letting 2012 cost you every year....if a system works four years out of five , why change

blue5000

Looking like 3 years outta 5 being bad though isn't it?

rancher

blue5000 wrote: »

Looking like 3 years outta 5 being bad though isn't it?

2012 is the only one that sticks in my mind.....are you writing off this year already, hope you're wrong

Conmaicne Mara

rancher wrote: »

They have been warning farmers for a longtime now to ensure they have enough fodder to mid april at least, and they are always available to give advice on winter feed, quality or quantity.
I think it would be foolish to base your farm business plans on this year, sure we should learn lessons but if you base your future stocking rate on this year you'll only be letting 2012 cost you every year....if a system works four years out of five , why change

I was thinking about it today walking my own farm. There's no one responsible beside the farmer, advice doesn't have to be taken.

The weather is something we're at the mercy of and, to me anyway, it does seem to be changing and if anything becoming less predictable and less seasonal. How to plan for that, I've not made my mind up yet, I am leaning towards the side of caution in terms of a later date to be a little more sure of grass growth.

Is the lack of predictable weather just a blip, or a more permanent trend that'll only be known in time.

fastrac

Im after hearing so many versions of the story and all it reminds me of is the one about the new combine getting stuck during a wet harvest and wrote off when they tried to pull it out. A wise man once told me things are never as bad or as good as the so called experts predict.

moy83

I dont know about anyone shooting their animals before shooting themselves , I just dont think its something a suicidal person would be wanting to do .
There was a fella found dead on his farm last week , he had run out of feed and had no money left to buy any more . There were a few dead cows in the yard that he couldnt afford to get taken away so maybe thats where the story about shooting cows came from . Its an awful sad story , and a pity that this winter has been so long on people .
Lads dont be afraid of selling a few cows if it takes the pressure off feeding the rest of them , I think it would be better for the head and probably the pocket if a lad sold two cows and used the money to feed up eight cows .
Instead of looking at ten thin cows and maybe losing one after calving through malnutrition , it would give peace of mind to have a couple sold and the money there to keep the rest going and in good health until grass comes

whelan1

moy83 wrote: »

I dont know about anyone shooting their animals before shooting themselves , I just dont think its something a suicidal person would be wanting to do .
There was a fella found dead on his farm last week , he had run out of feed and had no money left to buy any more . There were a few dead cows in the yard that he couldnt afford to get taken away so maybe thats where the story about shooting cows came from . Its an awful sad story , and a pity that this winter has been so long on people .
Lads dont be afraid of selling a few cows if it takes the pressure off feeding the rest of them , I think it would be better for the head and probably the pocket if a lad sold two cows and used the money to feed up eight cows .
Instead of looking at ten thin cows and maybe losing one after calving through malnutrition , it would give peace of mind to have a couple sold and the money there to keep the rest going and in good health until grass comes

while i fully agree with you, ye seem to miss the point that mentally alot of people will not sell the stock, they have paid top dollar for them, fed them this far and there are feck all buyers.... also this crack of watch out for your neighbour, if your neighbour does do something stupid is it your fault for not "watching out for them" - more pressure, look after your own and keep yourself right, you have enough to be worrying about

moy83

whelan1 wrote: »

while i fully agree with you, ye seem to miss the point that mentally alot of people will not sell the stock, they have paid top dollar for them, fed them this far and there are feck all buyers.... also this crack of watch out for your neighbour, if your neighbour does do something stupid is it your fault for not "watching out for them" - more pressure, look after your own and keep yourself right, you have enough to be worrying about

I know alot of people wont sell stock now but if it comes to the point where there is no more money left and cattle are going hungry the profit is more or less gone out of them at that stage anyhow .

bb12

moy83 wrote: »

I know alot of people wont sell stock now but if it comes to the point where there is no more money left and cattle are going hungry the profit is more or less gone out of them at that stage anyhow .

agree. you have to know when to cut your losses. you're running a business not a hobby. sell a few and buy feeding for the rest to get them over this hump. it's just a bad year and there'll be plenty of good ones to follow. but use this year as a learning experience for the future.

simx

bb12 wrote: »

agree. you have to know when to cut your losses. you're running a business not a hobby. sell a few and buy feeding for the rest to get them over this hump. it's just a bad year and there'll be plenty of good ones to follow. but use this year as a learning experience for the future.

agreed every year would want to be took as if it was last year with this years spring

audam

As we look at the spring thus far it is obvious that silage will be 1 month behind on average years. I heard last week that farmers should use may 10th as a guideline when making provisions for winter feed (i know easier said than done) this would be a sensible move if it could be managed. The climate has changed and we have to change with it. It always amazes me when i hear stories about farmers who are thinking of dramatically increasing herd size be it dairy or beef, i personally think a slight downsizing would be way more practicle. When you downsize remember that your ancillary costs will decrease accordingly, and make your current farming situation much more manageable given the dreadfull climate. First post, just my two cents.

bb12

audam wrote: »

As we look at the spring thus far it is obvious that silage will be 1 month behind on average years. I heard last week that farmers should use may 10th as a guideline when making provisions for winter feed (i know easier said than done) this would be a sensible move if it could be managed. The climate has changed and we have to change with it. It always amazes me when i hear stories about farmers who are thinking of dramatically increasing herd size be it dairy or beef, i personally think a slight downsizing would be way more practicle. When you downsize remember that your ancillary costs will decrease accordingly, and make your current farming situation much more manageable given the dreadfull climate. First post, just my two cents.

for the last couple of years my hay has been made in august and sept vs june, july years ago...this year i'm not expecting to get my hay made till sept...if the weather turns before that then great, if not then at least i'm prepared for it. the seasons are definitely shifting and you have to move with them or get stuck like a lot of people have been this year...

6480

bb12 wrote: »

for the last couple of years my hay has been made in august and sept vs june, july years ago...this year i'm not expecting to get my hay made till sept...if the weather turns before that then great, if not then at least i'm prepared for it. the seasons are definitely shifting and you have to move with them or get stuck like a lot of people have been this year...

the weather is ****ed up big time for the last 15 months or so , its mid april today and ots a day like in mid january , no growth and its spilling rain all day and night here , its a bit of a joke tbh ,

whelan1

6480 wrote: »

the weather is ****ed up big time for the last 15 months or so , its mid april today and ots a day like in mid january , no growth and its spilling rain all day and night here , its a bit of a joke tbh ,

dont worry it will all be better next week:cool:

mf240

Next few days giving bad but high pressure coming in at weekend so good chance of a settle.

Conmaicne Mara

whelan1 wrote: »

dont worry it will all be better next week:cool:

And then back to unseasonable temperatures after that.

mf240

Whelan ffs theres every chance weather will take off, interest rates are low, prices are good, and if ya have your health you will get through this.

I know thats all a bit touchy feely for some of ye but fcuk it im sure yeve all got through issues before.

THE WEATHER WILL CHANGE.

bbam

mf240 wrote: »

Next few days giving bad but high pressure coming in at weekend so good chance of a settle.

That could be last weeks or the previous weeks outlook !

whelan1

mf240 wrote: »

Whelan ffs theres every chance weather will take off, interest rates are low, prices are good, and if ya have your health you will get through this.

I know thats all a bit touchy feely for some of ye but fcuk it im sure yeve all got through issues before.

THE WEATHER WILL CHANGE.

tbh if i see that written here once more that could just be the straw that will break the camels back!

mf240

whelan1 wrote: »

tbh if i see that written here once more that could just be the straw that will break the camels back!

There's no straw left for the camel.

blue5000

mf240 wrote: »

There's no straw left for the camel.

Good one! made me laugh for the first time today, Jeezus tthis thread is fair depressing.

Muckit

fastrac wrote: »

Im after hearing so many versions of the story and all it reminds me of is the one about the new combine getting stuck during a wet harvest and wrote off when they tried to pull it out.

Hear that one too a few years back.... was it true or something concocked down the pub?

yellow50HX

Muckit wrote: »

Hear that one too a few years back.... was it true or something concocked down the pub?

heard that one too think it was 2009 or 2010. heard it was soem poor lad in limerick had bought a new combine for teh season, got stuck in a field and had to get a tractor to pull it out, chain snapped and the chassis got bent and damaged to machine to the point of it it only being useful for scrap/parts. not covered by insurance. dont know if it was true or anothr urban myth