Working full time and farming

Mtx

Anyone else struggle to do it? , I work a good distance from home making it tough. Have you found ways to work around it? Or make it easier? Dry stock farm .

grassroot1

Mtx wrote: »

Anyone else struggle to do it? , I work a good distance from home making it tough. Have you found ways to work around it? Or make it easier? Dry stock farm .

Technology and addiction is the only way I keep going. It is complete madness but still very hard to stop

Reggie.

Mtx wrote: »

Anyone else struggle to do it? , I work a good distance from home making it tough. Have you found ways to work around it? Or make it easier? Dry stock farm .

Dry stick here. Only small scale. See it as a hobby really. Only way it can be done atm

tractorporn

Mtx wrote:

Anyone else struggle to do it? , I work a good distance from home making it tough. Have you found ways to work around it? Or make it easier? Dry stock farm .

It's a real struggle. Cutting cow numbers here to the BDGP reference and once the 5 years are up they are gone, the ewes too. Drystock is realistically the only way I can see farming and a full time job working out.

Cavanjack

It's a disease that there is no cure for.
Keep it simple. Drystock suits best if travelling a distance to work. Only a few groups of stock, cut out the rooting, spend money on things that will cut Your time doing jobs and use contractors as much as possible.
When You come home from work on a winters evening You don't want to have another nights slavery ahead of You. Plenty of lights, hanging gates and good wintering and handling facilities a must.

Reggie.

Cavanjack wrote: »

It's a disease that there is no cure for.
Keep it simple. Drystock suits best if travelling a distance to work. Only a few groups of stock, cut out the rooting, spend money on things that will cut Your time doing jobs and use contractors as much as possible.
When You come home from work on a winters evening You don't want to have another nights slavery ahead of You. Plenty of lights, hanging gates and good wintering and handling facilities a must.

Make it as much it a one man operation as ya can

Siamsa Sessions

Do many part-time people work full-time off-farm? As in, do you work 5 days a week and then farm part-time as well?

Or would it be more 3-4 days off-farm and then the rest on the farm?

kk.man

Have ewes and dry stock here. I tell ya I'm like a zombie going around and back to work on Tuesday. Don't think I'll lamb next year.

Dakota Dan

I know a few that were dairying with a full time job, I don't know how they did it. Life's too short for that misery.

Who2

I work full time, approximately 50 hrs per week and keep 50 sucklers. I went through a phase a year or two back where I couldn’t keep on top of things but I decided that if I was going to sacrifice other things in life to keep farming then I was going to try and do it as comfortably as possible. Extra gates, lights, calving camera, whatever was needed would be got and stop analyzing every last cent on the farm that I would spend. It’s made a huge reduction in the amount of effort I was having to put in. You get used to it . The real early morning is far better than pulling late in the evening, at least that way I get to see the kids a bit.

Mtx

Siamsa Sessions wrote: »

Do many part-time people work full-time off-farm? As in, do you work 5 days a week and then farm part-time as well?

Or would it be more 3-4 days off-farm and then the rest on the farm?

5 day week

Mtx

tractorporn wrote: »

Mtx wrote:

Anyone else struggle to do it? , I work a good distance from home making it tough. Have you found ways to work around it? Or make it easier? Dry stock farm .

It's a real struggle. Cutting cow numbers here to the BDGP reference and once the 5 years are up they are gone, the ewes too. Drystock is realistically the only way I can see farming and a full time job working out.

Bdgp reference?

Mtx

Who2 wrote: »

I work full time, approximately 50 hrs per week and keep 50 sucklers. I went through a phase a year or two back where I couldn’t keep on top of things but I decided that if I was going to sacrifice other things in life to keep farming then I was going to try and do it as comfortably as possible. Extra gates, lights, calving camera, whatever was needed would be got and stop analyzing every last cent on the farm that I would spend. It’s made a huge reduction in the amount of effort I was having to put in. You get used to it . The real early morning is far better than pulling late in the evening, at least that way I get to see the kids a bit.

How do you calve cows while being at work?

arctictree

Why have a full time job anyway? You are just working for the tax man. Better off to make the farm as profitable as possible and maybe have another part time source of income if needed.

Mtx

arctictree wrote: »

Why have a full time job anyway? You are just working for the tax man. Better off to make the farm as profitable as possible and maybe have another part time source of income if needed.

Full time farming won't ever come to close to my full time job. Maybe if you go into sheep in a big way. But who wants that misery?

Who2

arctictree wrote: »

Why have a full time job anyway? You are just working for the tax man. Better off to make the farm as profitable as possible and maybe have another part time source of income if needed.

That’s the great thing about farming it will keep the tax man well away.

memorystick

Who2 wrote: »

That’s the great thing about farming it will keep the tax man well away.

It's not as simple as that.


Keep drystock here and it's the only way. Putting in paddocks and hanging gates to make life simple. No maternity ward as don't live on farm and only go after work. It's working out for me.

Reggie.

memorystick wrote: »

It's not as simple as that.


Keep drystock here and it's the only way. Putting in paddocks and hanging gates to make life simple. No maternity ward as don't live on farm and only go after work. It's working out for me.

Same as that

Who2

memorystick wrote: »

It's not as simple as that.


Keep drystock here and it's the only way. Putting in paddocks and hanging gates to make life simple. No maternity ward as don't live on farm and only go after work. It's working out for me.

What’s not as simple?

tractorporn

Mtx wrote:

Bdgp reference?

We're in the scheme and you have to keep the number of cows from your reference year (Which for us is 30 cows) for the period of the scheme. We had 38 cows at the back end last year and had 4 empties earmarked for sale but then got locked up with TB. Gonna fatten those 4 and kill them and not replace them and hopefully sell 4 more once the calves are weaned.

Siamsa Sessions

arctictree wrote: »

Why have a full time job anyway? You are just working for the tax man. Better off to make the farm as profitable as possible and maybe have another part time source of income if needed.

That’s my thinking too. I work off-farm 4 days a week. We didn’t turn a profit since starting in late 2015 as we had to invest in stock, fencing, etc. but this year we will (in spite of the extended winter!)

So depending on what way finances go, I’d be looking to cut to 3 days a week off-farm rather than doing extra work and giving the extra cash to the taxman.

Mulumpy

I keep drystock as it ties in grand with my shift work job. Never gonna be rich but it's a relief to get out and away from the desk. An hour in the mornings and the odd day off keeps things going.

Panch18

Mulumpy wrote: »

I keep drystock as it ties in grand with my shift work job. Never gonna be rich but it's a relief to get out and away from the desk. An hour in the mornings and the odd day off keeps things going.

If I remember correctly you were dairying and working As well for a while?? How on earth did you do that?

Jimbo789

Is there any way of claiming back income tax as a PAYE worker if your farm business is making a loss?

Grueller

Jimbo789 wrote: »

Is there any way of claiming back income tax as a PAYE worker if your farm business is making a loss?

Yes. You must have the farm registered with the tax office though

anthony500_1

Work 39hr Mon to Fri here, 10min from home and job is very understanding if a cow needs checking they don't mind me tipping home to check her and if one is calving they just dock me the hours I'm gone. Small time farmer 8 cows, run a bull with them to cut down on watching for heats, have a further 8no, 12 to 30mth heifers, as I've said before here only started out in 2015, as another poster said due to setting up I've had to put all money earned back into farm, but that's the story with any startup business, I use a calving camera, I'm on agfood, in bord bia, not in glas or bdgp and I'm happy enough with the freedom it gives me that I'm not to tied entirely to the department and let's me do as I want with the farm. If my circumstances changed in the morning I'd hate to think I could not sell off the lot if needs be.

Dickie10

anyone ever annoyed by other farming people sort of whining at you for working off farm as well as farminig? its happened me twice in the last 6 months that girls have actually said "what the hell are u at?" didnt really want to go into my personal situation but i was a bit offended. lads dont seem to be as bad for some reason.

Mtx

Dickie10 wrote: »

anyone ever annoyed by other farming people sort of whining at you for working off farm as well as farminig? its happened me twice in the last 6 months that girls have actually said "what the hell are u at?" didnt really want to go into my personal situation but i was a bit offended. lads dont seem to be as bad for some reason.

People just think every farmer gets a large subsidy and in general most farmers are loaded.

Dickie10

yeah but these girls were from farms they should know better!

satstheway

I'm self employed and dairy as well.
I do sometimes wonder when on a Friday evening I'm working in someone's house at 6 (or later) and they say your working late for a friday and little do they know I have a minimum of 2 hours work to do at home after.

memorystick

Dickie10 wrote: »

anyone ever annoyed by other farming people sort of whining at you for working off farm as well as farminig? its happened me twice in the last 6 months that girls have actually said "what the hell are u at?" didnt really want to go into my personal situation but i was a bit offended. lads dont seem to be as bad for some reason.

Family are the worst.