WHAT DID YOU LEARN IN 2013

biddy2013

i learnt that winter feeding can go on well into may
That i wont let sheep in ever again to graze the ground during winter.
To ignore those that try to annoy me :rolleyes:
No matter how bad things are-the spring- it will turn out ok in the end.
There are alot of things i thought i wasnt able to do that i can do

Conmaicne Mara

Look out for no.1 no matter what.

loveta

Things have a habit of sorting them selves out!!................ is what ive learned

Marooned75

There is no manual for a newborn baby

Mac Taylor

Marooned75 wrote: »

There is no manual for a newborn baby

I beg to differ...... Loads of books out there just baby has not learned to read them yet!!!!

(I said exactly the same as you to mid wife once and that was her reply..never forget because she was so straight laced saying it)

mf240

Burgers are cheap for a reason.

delaval

Not to panic

Not to sell silage as once eaten people forget to pay

Not to put a roof over cubicles

Not to bull small late heifers

Not to try to do every thing myself

To be sure to take on more help for the spring

That Sat morning spent at rugby with kids is time well spent

That despite all my efforts my neighbour is a knobhead, yet the rest are really good

To price around for inputs

Spread more fert and make more silage

TUBBY

1. Don't pay over the top for cattle regardless of market. Things always dip again

2. Learned to take advice but make up your own mind. Nobody knows your farms capabilities better.

3. Have plenty of silage for winter.

4. I learned how to question purchases for the farm instead of just writing cheques.

jersey101

My father learned that tail paint is a lot easier than tryingvto find bulling cows in the morning.
Tightened up calving pattern a lot because of it
I learned tO not put small heifer s incalf-leave them on till autumn calving.
If I had better grass on the farm we wouldn't be in the situation we were in the spring

jomoloney

that even though you may be feeling well, regular health screening is vital
(especially when you're up in years)

renewing your health insurance is a better investment than repayments on a 131 car.

farming wise
that if you have 1 inspection in January, you can 4 more before year end

biddy2013

jomoloney wrote: »

that even though you may be feeling well, regular health screening is vital
(especially when you're up in years)

renewing your health insurance is a better investment than repayments on a 131 car.

farming wise
that if you have 1 inspection in January, you can 4 more before year end

on health insurance my mother was ill a few weeks ago, was sent to casualty on a saturday evening, she was in a bed on medication- albeit a trolley- within an hour , got a bed in a semi priivate ward, there was no one else in the ward , got mri scan done on a sunday... spent 3 days in hospital and said she was so happy to have the health insurance as it was 1 less thing to have to worry about. I am sure if she didnt have health insurance it would have been totally different

Miname

That there is an awful lot of begrudgery going on in Ireland. That it's from the least likely people out there that you will receive help.

darragh_haven

1.I learned there is little hope of me running the farm as a part timer on my own.

2. While I find it hard to work with the old fella, I've realised he is an excellent farmer, and has more knowledge of grassland management, animal husbandry, cost control, etc than I or any adviser could ever hope to have.

3. Health insurance is a must as soon you plan/have kids

4. For me, paying into a pension is a no-brainer.

5. I learn at least one good piece of information (farming or otherwise) on this forum every second day

Ps. 6. I'll always have a burger waiting for me at biddy's :-)

onyerbikepat

- You can't have enough silage.
- When push comes to shove, you depend on your family more than anything else. Even though you can fight like cats and dogs at times, they wil always be there for you.

rs8

no two years are the same!!!!!!!!!!

tomwaterford

A lot of farmers are great believers in capitailism (supply and demand)

until they are short on silage and whinge on price of silage.and openly mock part time/lowly stocked farmers who make excess silage every year to sell,
(seen this in my local pub btw), and complain when said part timers/lowly stocked farmers wouldn't sell them this year as they need them selves:mad:

also learned some winters can last till may and cause unbelivelble hardship..which bring raises my respect for farmers up the west

Milked out

If restricted again all bull calves will get the road, what ever the price they get, was locked up for a year from last oct and combined with the fodder crisis the extra stock and lack of space for them really put the pressure on. Also to set a day aside each month or 2 hours each week to do paperwork and see how things are going financially, will hopefully keep me focused and on my toes

TUBBY

Biddy2013. You mentioned about no sheep grazing down grass over winter. Why not if you don't mind me asking. Find they clean off ground deadly rather than leaving a dead butt.

reilig

- That winter can go on until June 1st.
- That grazing can go on to December 26th - so far
- That there are an awful lot of negative people out there who pedal negativity in everything they do or say to try to bring fear to other people in order to satisfy themselves.
- That tomorrow will be another day, the sun will bring brightness and today will be yesterday - life goes on even if you wish it didn't.
- That mole ploughing is the key to better grass growth and dryer land.
- That you can actually make more land through drainage
- And I reaffirmed that boards is just an internet forum. Great for information and advice. But still just an internet forum which shouldn't be taken too seriously.

severeoversteer

reilig wrote: »

-
- And I reaffirmed that boards is just an internet forum. Great for information and advice. But still just an internet forum which shouldn't be taken too seriously.

very true
we lost a few notable people(members) recently, I hope they weren't upset as people can get thick enough on internet forums thinking nobody knows who each other is and thinking that being abusive is ok,

its real people behind the computer at the end of the day

whelen1, pakalasa etc

Muckit

Smartphones and tablets are great!! (especially for keeping up to date on f&f)
I can only work with the weather and have no control over it
If l make extra silage it is no bad thing
I should never loose sight of the basics
l should never be afraid to laugh at myself
l should never try mole plough in unfavourable conditions as l can do more harm than good.
Exercise is a necessity for a healthy body and mind
it's never about the sh*t l encounter in life(as encountering sh*t is envitable), but how l deal with it.
patience should be practiced with both people, animals and machines!

just do it

Grass is king

biddy2013

TUBBY wrote: »

Biddy2013. You mentioned about no sheep grazing down grass over winter. Why not if you don't mind me asking. Find they clean off ground deadly rather than leaving a dead butt.

worked brilliant other years but with no growth this spring i had no grass for cows also had no silage

biddy2013

severeoversteer wrote: »

very true
we lost a few notable people(members) recently, I hope they weren't upset as people can get thick enough on internet forums thinking nobody knows who each other is and thinking that being abusive is ok,

its real people behind the computer at the end of the day

whelen1, pakalasa etc

100% if people could re read what they write before they post it could save alot of upset to others

Poor Farmer in the hills

keeping suckler cows is costing me money

Robson99

severeoversteer wrote: »

very true
we lost a few notable people(members) recently, I hope they weren't upset as people can get thick enough on internet forums thinking nobody knows who each other is and thinking that being abusive is ok,

its real people behind the computer at the end of the day

whelen1, pakalasa etc

Didnt realise they had stopped posting. Thought it was only on the siccer Forums that things sot out of hand

Timmaay

I'm not even going to attempt to list what I learnt this year, all I'll say is it was some crash course for me in how to run a dairy business (in no small part thanks to a serious amount of knowledge from all of yas here on boards :cool: ) , I've come out the other end in a far better shape than the start, and a decent bit more confident of how to lead the farm onto bigger and better things, bring on 2014!!!

Muckit

You will not change people, only how you deal with them. A leopard might change it's username but not it's spots

Mac Taylor

The biggest thing I've learned is that I have alot of learning ahead of me. We're making progress but it's baby steps. But as a buddy of mine says "How do you eat an elephant - bit by bit !!!"

mahoney_j

1 that grass is gold and you can't graze or grow enough of it
2.that high yielding ,high ebi Holsteins have a very valid place on my farm,and that jex ain't a runner but have a place in certain farms.
3 that costs need to be monitored and controlled at all times.
4 cheap rations aren't good rations,there cheap for a reason.
5 price around for fertliser and bluff every quote you get to secure a good deal.
6 boards farming and forestry is as good as a discussion group.
7 .dont disagree with delaval or jersey!!!
8 loads more but I'm off to the pub!!

TUBBY

Mac Taylor wrote: »

But as a buddy of mine says "How do you eat an elephant - bit by bit !!!"

Your friend is either very wise or has a hoor of an appetite:D

Roll on 2014. May we be all posting about savage successes this time next year.

awaywithyou

Farming is simple... Don't complicate it....

Look after the land (soil test regularly and fertilise it with whatever is necessary)... And it will look after the cow... And she will look after you...







And diet feeders are a great job

hugo29

Most important thing in life's is your family, farm should come second,

Mulumpy

That this farming malarky isn't so bad after all.
Good help is vital at peak times.
Working full time and dairy farming is difficult but it does make you a very organised person.

jaymla627

Halocur is a mainstay for my entire farming lifetime be it short our long never ever want to through another outbreak of cyprto like I got back in the spring, most heart-breaking thing I've ever had to deal with throughout the years which includes losing 20 plus calves to bvd back 7 years ago.

locky76

mahoney_j wrote: »

6: boards farming and forestry is as good as a discussion group.

I agree with this wholeheartedly, fair play to all contributors for making this forum such a useful resource!;)

Farrell

locky76 wrote: »

I agree with this wholeheartedly, fair play to all contributors for making this forum such a useful resource!;)

+1

razor8

Also reassuring that things go tits up for other people and not just yourself!

bob charles

I found a heap of new ways of doing things, that dont work

milkprofit

Originally Posted by mahoney_j View Post
6: boards farming and forestry is as good as a discussion group.
only about half as good

Conmaicne Mara

bob charles wrote: »

I found a heap of new ways of doing things, that dont work

Process of elimination Bob, you're closer to success now than ever

ABlur

That the first year farming on yo ur own is hard work but any mistakes made are all yours likewise all successes!

bob charles

Conmaicne Mara wrote: »

Process of elimination Bob, you're closer to success now than ever

Im going to print that in big writing and look at it every morning im dragging myself outta bed

Brown Podzol

bob charles wrote: »

Im going to print that in big writing and look at it every morning im dragging myself outta bed

We will know it all when it's time to retire.:D

simx

Learned that stitching fields is a no go here again, can't have enough silage, winter can stretch till may, that sucklera should have gotten the door here long ago

munkus

About 5 or 6 lads claim that sucklers are costing them money, what have ye done instead? Buying calves or stores?

simx

munkus wrote: »

About 5 or 6 lads claim that sucklers are costing them money, what have ye done instead? Buying calves or stores?

ill go first then, have gone the route of bullocks and cull cows, i think the cull cows are just so i still have some hardship

Sharpshooter82

munkus wrote: »

About 5 or 6 lads claim that sucklers are costing them money, what have ye done instead? Buying calves or stores?

i always buy in calves and rear them up to 22 months or so. no cows around here

simx

Sharpshooter82 wrote: »

i always buy in calves and rear them up to 22 months or so. no cows around here

would you buy them private or mart? fr or cont.?

Sharpshooter82

simx wrote: »

would you buy them private or mart? fr or cont.?

always off same farmer was always but dont think he is going to sell anymore so might have to go to mart or a calf farm
They were always AAX but might try HEX this year

simx

Sharpshooter82 wrote: »

always off same farmer was always but dont think he is going to sell anymore so might have to go to mart or a calf farm
They were always AAX but might try HEX this year

So.... The million dollar question, Would you reckon it's more profitable than sucklers then?