Future suckler or dry stock

Bass Reeves

Welding Rod wrote: »

What does the calf live on, from day of purchase to say six months old?
No meal??
Milk replacer .... how much??
Is it really just a case as you wrote of “keep them alive”, feed them nothing but grass and winter silage, and cash them in at the mart two years later for €850 - €950.

Personally, I have never yet seen any animal who didn’t get a good start to life, ever make anything of themselves. I wouldn’t class a bit of maverick, and straight to grass with no meal as a good start to a calves life. I’d be looking at a pot belly, and restricted growth for ever more, if they actually survived that start. At least in my place, I would.

I have taken it as a given that Silkcut used milkreplacer and ration and taht he is averaging a round bale of straw to every two calves. I would actually have expected that he might have fed ration during the summer, autumn and even the first winter. If he had his system would still have sustained it 3/4 of a kg a day on average to calves from12 weeks until 8 weeks before turn out would not break the bank it is really more of a lablur issue during the summer hauling troughs around. The cost of that would be about 50 euro. Doing it without ration takes a bit of grass managment Silkcut obiviously manages that. The only other challenge in his system is Autumn stocking. He be carrying weanling and decent sized stores as at the price he is getting for them Friesians they be over 450kgs during the autumn. However his low stocking rate during the spring allows him to comcentrate on the calves and close a good section of the farm for silage

His system would be leaving a direct margin of 400/head

20silkcut

Bass Reeves wrote: »

I have taken it as a given that Silkcut used milkreplacer and ration and taht he is averaging a round bale of straw to every two calves. I would actually have expected that he might have fed ration during the summer, autumn and even the first winter. If he had his system would still have sustained it 3/4 of a kg a day on average to calves from12 weeks until 8 weeks before turn out would not break the bank it is really more of a lablur issue during the summer hauling troughs around. The cost of that would be about 50 euro. Doing it without ration takes a bit of grass managment Silkcut obiviously manages that. The only other challenge in his system is Autumn stocking. He be carrying weanling and decent sized stores as at the price he is getting for them Friesians they be over 450kgs during the autumn. However his low stocking rate during the spring allows him to comcentrate on the calves and close a good section of the farm for silage

His system would be leaving a direct margin of 400/head

I’m not any great shakes at grass management I have good free draining land that lends itself to early turnout and grazing until at least mid November every year, the odd year early December, and a low stocking rate.
Most farms around me would have double and triple my stocking rate.

Young95

20silkcut wrote: »

I’m not any great shakes at grass management I have good free draining land that lends itself to early turnout and grazing until at least mid November every year, the odd year early December, and a low stocking rate.
Most farms around me would have double and triple my stocking rate.

What is ur overall stocking rate?

Track9

I'm in similar quandry as earlier posts.Last five yrs have been losing money.I have been subsidising our suckler farm yearly.did bits of maintenance & repairs.Dropped suckler herd by 40% as margins too low,for risks & amt of capital tied up

dohc turbo2

Track9 wrote: »

I'm in similar quandry as earlier posts.Last five yrs have been losing money.I have been subsidising our suckler farm yearly.did bits of maintenance & repairs.Dropped suckler herd by 40% as margins too low,for risks & amt of capital tied up

and how’s that going for u ?

20silkcut

Young95 wrote: »

What is ur overall stocking rate?

1.2 LU/ha overall.
I sell bales off about 40 acres. Zero graze it in spring and or Autumn.
If I want to increase the stocking rate will have to build sheds and tanks etc.