Suckler to Dairy and OAD milking

Oak farm

I am currently a part time suckler farmer on about 90acres, I am considering changing into dairy and operating a once a day milking operation. Is this a good idea and what breed of cow works best for this system.

Grueller

Oak farm wrote: »

I am currently a part time suckler farmer on about 90acres, I am considering changing into dairy and operating a once a day milking operation. Is this a good idea and what breed of cow works best for this system.

In a similar boat to yourself op as I am part time suckling and on a roughly 100ac farm. I thought about doing the same thing as you are now considering but would have had to cut down drastically on the off farm work thus reduced income from there. My grazing platform for milkers would be only circa 55-60 acres. I made the decision to stick as I am because when I crunched the numbers I would have had the same income after changing as I do currently just more time spent on farm.
I would rather spend more time on farm, but my off farm income is very secure and until I have kids reared and educated I think that security becomes the main consideration for me. The key questions I think for anyone in our boat are
1. Will my income improve
2. Will my lifestyle deteriorate due to the change
3. Can my cash reserves after set up sustain a couple of bad years consecutively?

The answers to these questions did not suit me right now, maybe they will later in life.

Sam Kade

Once a day looks great on paper, would there be problems with cell count? If it were as good as it looks on paper there would be a lot more doing it. If you had an over sized milking parlour and milk twice a day would be better.

sucklerlover

Oak farm wrote: »

I am currently a part time suckler farmer on about 90acres, I am considering changing into dairy and operating a once a day milking operation. Is this a good idea and what breed of cow works best for this system.

I think there was an article on the journal a few weeks back about a guy at it. Maybe someone on here cud find the link.

mikefoxo

sucklerlover wrote: »

I think there was an article on the journal a few weeks back about a guy at it. Maybe someone on here cud find the link.

There was an article in the Farming Independent on 28th July about OAD, couldn't find it on the website though. Kind of hoping this thread gains traction, thinking about getting into milking too

rangler1

mikefoxo wrote: »

There was an article in the Farming Independent on 28th July about OAD, couldn't find it on the website though. Kind of hoping this thread gains traction, thinking about getting into milking too

I wouldn't be really in a dairy county, but I've been talking to three farmers in the last while that are changing over, one farm of 300 acres....obviously still attractive at 28c/ltr

Oak farm

Sam Kade wrote: »

Once a day looks great on paper, would there be problems with cell count? If it were as good as it looks on paper there would be a lot more doing it. If you had an over sized milking parlour and milk twice a day would be better.

Not sure on cell count, think its down to cow type and milking practice / hygiene.

Oak farm

rangler1 wrote: »

I wouldn't be really in a dairy county, but I've been talking to three farmers in the last while that are changing over, one farm of 300 acres....obviously still attractive at 28c/ltr

If any one has a link to the article. On the 28th July it would be great. They say the milk output will reduce bt 30 % with once a day milking,

Oak farm

mikefoxo wrote: »

There was an article in the Farming Independent on 28th July about OAD, couldn't find it on the website though. Kind of hoping this thread gains traction, thinking about getting into milking too

Have you looked into it in much detail. I'm on the the lookout for weanling heifers jersey cross or Holstein cross.

mikefoxo

Oak farm wrote: »

Have you looked into it in much detail. I'm on the the lookout for weanling heifers jersey cross or Holstein cross.

There doesn't seem to be that much info around about OAD. But I'm a long way off buying heifers yet!

orm0nd

Oak farm wrote: »

If any one has a link to the article. On the 28th July it would be great. They say the milk output will reduce bt 30 % with once a day milking,

The article is edited at this stage, here's a much shorter version

http://www.independent.ie/business/farming/it-was-either-once-a-day-milking-or-get-rid-of-the-cows-as-i-couldnt-cope-anymore-31407212.html

Timmaay

orm0nd wrote: »

The article is edited at this stage, here's a much shorter version

http://www.independent.ie/business/farming/it-was-either-once-a-day-milking-or-get-rid-of-the-cows-as-i-couldnt-cope-anymore-31407212.html

it's actually still all there, 3 links at the bottom of the page, here's the 1st one
http://m.independent.ie/business/farming/oad-is-an-attractive-option-but-it-takes-a-lot-of-finetuning-31407213.html

farmerjj

Oak farm wrote: »

I am currently a part time suckler farmer on about 90acres, I am considering changing into dairy and operating a once a day milking operation. Is this a good idea and what breed of cow works best for this system.

Why would you consider changing? Sounds like a very expensive route to go, putting in a milking parlour dairy, tanks for waste water, collecting yards etc and then trying to hold down another job. You could end up been a busy fool!

blue5000

Did OAD for a few months and british fresian cows get too fat doing it, Holstein cows might be better, don't know about jerseys. At current milk prices I'd be very slow to get out of suckling and face back into being a busy fool again.

Sam Kade

blue5000 wrote: »

Did OAD for a few months and british fresian cows get too fat doing it, Holstein cows might be better, don't know about jerseys. At current milk prices I'd be very slow to get out of suckling and face back into being a busy fool again.

I know a farmer that was milking cows all his life and had a job the last few years as well. He gave up milking this year rented out the land for tillage and held onto the job. He was lucky enough to have excellent tillage land. He's making a lot more money this year and the rent is tax free

Mulumpy

Unless your planning on staying home full time after a few years of setting up, I'd keep well away from trying to milk with a full time job. I'm at it for past 5 years and getting harder every year.

Oak farm

Do you find it very hard, would it pay to get someone in once a day to do one of the milkings.
I would be able to have the cows milked before heading to work in the morning and then once a day or get someone milk in the evening.
I did consider robots but thing I would need to be close to the farm I case something went wrong, I don't think robots work if your gone from 9am to 6pm.

Mulumpy

Oak farm wrote:

Do you find it very hard, would it pay to get someone in once a day to do one of the milkings. I would be able to have the cows milked before heading to work in the morning and then once a day or get someone milk in the evening. I did consider robots but thing I would need to be close to the farm I case something went wrong, I don't think robots work if your gone from 9am to 6pm.

I find it hard now mainly because I've a young family so a good work life balance is difficult. I've a guy doing half the milkings a week but that's because I work shift work. Cows give you great routine but an awful lot more work goes into them and if your not gonna be there someone else has to be.

Oak farm

Mulumpy wrote: »

I find it hard now mainly because I've a young family so a good work life balance is difficult. I've a guy doing half the milkings a week but that's because I work shift work. Cows give you great routine but an awful lot more work goes into them and if your not gonna be there someone else has to be.

Would it be worth your while to milk full time or is the job bringing in too much? Are you milking many cows?

Oak farm

blue5000 wrote: »

Did OAD for a few months and british fresian cows get too fat doing it, Holstein cows might be better, don't know about jerseys. At current milk prices I'd be very slow to get out of suckling and face back into being a busy fool again.

Are you still in dairy or did you get out. Am I totally mad thinking of dairy or would I be better off in the long term, I'm thinking that dairy will give a better return in 10'years time when my kids are in secondary school and thinking of college. This is when I will need every bit of money.

Oak farm

farmerjj wrote: »

Why would you consider changing? Sounds like a very expensive route to go, putting in a milking parlour dairy, tanks for waste water, collecting yards etc and then trying to hold down another job. You could end up been a busy fool!

Worked out I need to invest €250k to set up the farm.
After 5 years I'm averaging €800 a hectare, am I totally crazy.

kowtow

Oak farm wrote:

Worked out I need to invest €250k to set up the farm. After 5 years I'm averaging €800 a hectare, am I totally crazy.

I suspect putting 250k in a savings account and leasing the land tax free would leave you no worse off.

farmerjj

kowtow wrote: »

I suspect putting 250k in a savings account and leasing the land tax free would leave you no worse off.

+1

Timmaay

Oak farm wrote: »

Worked out I need to invest €250k to set up the farm.
After 5 years I'm averaging €800 a hectare, am I totally crazy.

Great question to ask and now is definitely the time to ask it ha, not when your knee deep in! Is the 800e/ha your expected profit after all labour (including yourown salary), it would be 8-9% return on investment at that. Tax will then take say 40/50%, so you would end up with 4/5% in your back pocket. Kowtows idea of a long term least, lets say 200/acre, 18k/year, thats 7%, plus the 250 sitting in a savings account, let's call that 1% take home. Ouch, ok Kowtow I hope that was sarcasm when you suggesting he'd be no worse off! Why is 250k needed bty, what's the breakdown on it, will most of it be sunk into concrete ha, making Kowtows option even more attractive...

kowtow

Timmaay wrote: »

making Kowtows option even more attractive...

If it were me of course, I'd go for it and milk cows, but I'm a bit unhinged that way.

Perhaps the real question is .. what day job could actually be attractive enough to make you half-milk cows? If that's the case perhaps you should stick with it.

blue5000

Oak farm wrote: »

Are you still in dairy or did you get out. Am I totally mad thinking of dairy or would I be better off in the long term, I'm thinking that dairy will give a better return in 10'years time when my kids are in secondary school and thinking of college. This is when I will need every bit of money.

No, suckling to beef for about 10 yrs.

Dairy will probably meet college expense better than suckling. The efficient established dairy farmers will survive at today's milk price, But I wouldn't like to be a new entrant, paying for a parlour etc. and have a business plan based on a 30c /L milk price.

On going to college, will they all be going? A good apprenticeship/trade might be as far on, or even better in 10-15 years than a bullsh1t arts degree.

There's quality of life issues too, I was down in West Clare last sunday until 9pm, if I was dairying I wouldn't have been doing it.

Limestone Cowboy

blue5000 wrote: »

No, suckling to beef for about 10 yrs.

Dairy will probably meet college expense better than suckling. The efficient established dairy farmers will survive at today's milk price, But I wouldn't like to be a new entrant, paying for a parlour etc. and have a business plan based on a 30c /L milk price.

On going to college, will they all be going? A good apprenticeship/trade might be as far on, or even better in 10-15 years than a bullsh1t arts degree.

There's quality of life issues too, I was down in West Clare last sunday until 9pm, if I was dairying I wouldn't have been doing it.

Jeez...you'd have been better off in the pit than you were spending a day back the west