12 acres

2time

got 12 acres, good ground tho but very small holding but maybe looking to buy some small calves and rear them, got a herd no. but do not have facilities like proper housing, crush for cattle. we are in tier 2 glas scheme so what the best way to maximize what we have, renting it is not an option,

Cattle wise what the best option, buy few months old calves,or go for bullocks etc.
Heifers seem to be alot of trouble and with calving etc
any info grateful

J.O. Farmer

2time wrote: »

got 12 acres, good ground tho but very small holding but maybe looking to buy some small calves and rear them, got a herd no. but do not have facilities like proper housing, crush for cattle. we are in tier 2 glas scheme so what the best way to maximize what we have, renting it is not an option,

Cattle wise what the best option, buy few months old calves,or go for bullocks etc.
Heifers seem to be alot of trouble and with calving etc
any info grateful

You'll need to get a herd number first. To get that you'll need a crush and shed for a sick animal.
After that weanlings are better than small calves and probably a summer grazing system.

laoch na mona

if you want stock you'll need the herd number to get that you need housing, a crush if you want cattle or cows, and a water supply on site. 12 acres is a small area for cattle you wouldn't make much at the end of it. Are sheep or pigs an option? less investment as you wouldn't need a crush and they need less space

2time

someone mentioned buying Hereford calves as good money in them

2time

laoch na mona wrote: »

if you want stock you'll need the herd number to get that you need housing, a crush if you want cattle or cows, and a water supply on site. 12 acres is a small area for cattle you wouldn't make much at the end of it. Are sheep or pigs an option? less investment as you wouldn't need a crush and they need less space

sheep i was told need alot more looking after than cattle,pigs i never thought of

_Brian

2time wrote: »

someone mentioned buying Hereford calves as good money in them

Yea, if you get them at €375-400 you'll be minting it.

laoch na mona

2time wrote: »

sheep i was told need alot more looking after than cattle,pigs i never thought of

sheep can be hard to mind (I've no experience with them) but the stocking rate per acre would be higher. Pigs if you can market them might be an option. It need not be meat you could sell the weaners .

_Brian

laoch na mona wrote: »

sheep can be hard to mind (I've no experience with them) but the stocking rate per acre would be higher. Pigs if you can market them might be an option. It need not be meat you could sell the weaners .

I buy weaners of a lady who keeps six sows and a boar.
I'd say she makes some money all right but by the time feeding and heating costs are taken out I'd wonder. Fully grown pigs eat a lot of stuff !!

Bunnyslippers

Don't forget too if you have cattle they'll trash the land in winter so a hard standing with a shed is your best bet to keep the pasture for summer grazing or you'll be spending a fortune on feed. You have to by law have a shed and cattle crush for cows in ireland as they need to be routinely tested for TB, even if you only have 2! The only way you'd benefit from cows on 12 acres is if you're say doing 2 and keeping one for your own freezer and selling the other to the butcher to cover the costs of rearing them, so you get a cows worth of meat almost for free basically - if nothing goes wrong! I don't think you'd make a profit off twelve acres and cows, or any livestock for that matter - been there tried it!!;). In farming you never get paid for the amount of time you put in, or if anything gets sick vets aren't cheap!

Sheep are pretty high maintenance, I used to breed pedigree suffolks, taste nice but dear god are they stupid, I only had one that lambed itself out of 40 odd breeding ewes, luckily I'm not bad at lambing so only needed the vet once! They need wormed, fly sprayed - and checked regularly for maggots, sheared, feet trimmed, dagged etc so at least something every few weeks, they also need to lamb indoors if the weather is bad, so yes a bit of a faff care wise! They also have a tendency to die for no reason!

I have 15 acres at the mo of not great upland farmland and the only thing I'm doing with it is stuff for the table for myself and selling the excess to pay for the feed etc of the animals, am going to get some sheep but really good fencing is in order for them as they will escape and drive you and your neighbors nuts! I may get a couple of pigs as weaners to fatten next year - again a house, water and good moveable fencing is needed by law before they'll give you a pig number, pigs make a huuuuge mess of the land so rough land is the best for them, they also like to escape, so living nearby is a must!
I do poultry too - turkeys for Xmas and meat chooks, as well as a few layers, again fencing and vermin proof housing is a must and it's better to be living on or nearby your land as they need a lot of attention and are quite tying as they need to be shut away before dark.
I've also tried deer in the past - don't bother is all I can say, plus they're very friendly and ours ended up as pets so we never actually got to eat any, plus you need 6 ft fences!:D

I don't think there is anyway of turning an actual profit on a small holding unless you're producing a finished niche market product or maybe breeding a rare breed animal, the outlay costs are big - fencing, housing, vet care, pedigree animals etc, it's good fun though and well worth it to feed your family on nice meat that you know have lived well and been fed properly, which to me is worth far more than anything, I also trade meat for other things so handy too!:)