Dairy Chitchat 4, an udder new thread.

GrasstoMilk

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122590042#Comment_122590042

you sure that’s not the herd of cows he has between me and you he’s selling ? A 600 cow operation at home is a very big deal to be selling? Surely some sort of a partnership could be done with a guy that has the means to take it on

Say my name

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122591229#Comment_122591229

Have me doubting this now.

We may even be not on about the same people.

Not really the place here to be discussing any of this here really either. I shouldn't have posted any of it truthfully.

We'd only know properly if cows go to auction. Or auctioneer sells off herd privately.

Same source like grueller had marts had bookings for next year.

jaymla627

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122591229#Comment_122591229

Are ye still on 250kg/n down in your area, arguementsake why would any sane person chance a partnership in the above with the pending threat of having to find another 100 odd hectares of ground if 170 comes in nationwide in 2026

Jack98

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122591229#Comment_122591229

Why would anyone in the right mind get involved in a partnership of that scale, even a young person for the work that would be involved in managing a farm of that scale with labour etc there’s far easier ways to make money now without the headaches involved in that. It’s like the classic ag college/teagasc advice back in the day take on a unit get it going get labour in place and move onto the next unit. It’s all just madness unless there’s a farmer with several children involved these things just won’t work going forward. It might have worked for a few years when the shackles of quota were lifted but it’s getting more difficult every year with new regs

straight

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122591287#Comment_122591287

I'd imagine it's a wet dream for the ag college / been to new Zealand gang.

GrasstoMilk

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122591287#Comment_122591287

there’s a far better chance of someone making something out of farm that size vs trying to squeeze a 2nd income out of a 100 cow family farm that needs money spent on it. I’m not advocating it for ppl to do it but if you did a bit of research there is plenty of successful ppl that have taken on such opportunities and done well out of it.

visatorro

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122591302#Comment_122591302

I do laugh you can spot them at open days etc you can the style of operation from the clothing and hairstyles!

kevthegaff

I suppose if the stock is yours after a certain time period, you are building an asset which might include machinery, cows, Fodder and Co op shares. Know a guy done it for a few years on a smaller scale, he bought 15 acres and is building a house on it.

Jack98

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122591311#Comment_122591311

There’s very few farms with 2 people drawing from 100 cows now, the majority in my area with successors are 80-150 cow herds with the son/daughter helping when they’re not working off farm, most of them have college degrees on good money and helping the home farm progress. With work from home 2/3 days a week from a lot of the jobs from college degrees now I think these people are far better off than getting stuck into a partnership or leasing farms away from the home farm.

K.G.

Increasingly if you want to have the cows you gotta do the work.the days of spinning off to discussion groups and open days talking about how many cows you had calved in 3 weeks while someone else does the work at home are gone.as a guide it looks like labour will be guided at 150-one man, show ,300 1 hired labour unit and 500 plus is owner +2hired labour units.there are guys that could take over and run big units successfully but I ve a feeling you could count them on the one hand in the country but there's alot more that think they could do it.thats really a top 1 %game

GrasstoMilk

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122591341#Comment_122591341

I disagree but that’s personal preference. I have a very good friend who’s involved in a partnership on large farm and he’s doing very well from it. It’s not for everybody and that’s fine

Jack98

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122591351#Comment_122591351

I’ve no doubt there is some benefiting from it and it doesn’t suit others. We’ve no outside labour, the benefits of my job far outweigh any notion of me farming on my own right elsewhere now. Good salary, guaranteed bonus, share scheme, pension matched 1.5x what you contribute by the company and work from home 3 days most weeks. I know fellas in partnerships might be building assets such as cows leased into the partnership but it’s so easy to safe money off farm through all the benefits for a fraction of the work.

GrasstoMilk

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122591422#Comment_122591422

your job is a bit more than your run of the mill ag job straight after an ag science qualification I would reckon ? A lot of the ppl that you would find in collaborative farming arrangements have done an ag science course of some description. They can get a job in the Industry but they’re not going to get a share scheme and salary will only be average, they still have to use up there holidays, evenings and weekends relieving the parents at home or else end up relief milking/ being a part time labour unit to bump up there salary/keep there hand in

The few I know at it have more time off than I would and have better incomes from their own wages and a profit share. Now I have other perks that they don’t but there is plenty ppl out there that are happy with share farming/partnerships/leasing

Hyland17

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122590983#Comment_122590983

Read that too. I have had a recent experience with them. Still mental money been offered up. Couldn't justify the prices that were mentioned. Anyone that is offering the money quoted really needs to sit back and do the sums. Rent will always have to be paid. If oil price rises again and fert goes through the roof alot will be left holding debt to just to stand still. It's a funny time in farming, youth entering farming and handing over all payments plus a little bit more are going to be chasing their tail for along time and still feck all to show for it at current prices. Farming has to hold its own, can see alot of outside jobs propping up farm income at the minute. It will come back at some time

Jack98

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122591455#Comment_122591455

I didn’t do ag science, know plenty that did it and that’s fairly spot on a lot are relief milking or working on other farms as well as the home farm as salary and benefits is very limited bar maybe a company car and very little opportunity of hybrid working or working remote bar the odd day. The opportunities for college graduates in business/finance or engineering in hybrid working setups are much greater and better progression opportunities. A lot with ag degrees are only biding their time while waiting for parents to wind down, I can see why it might appeal to them to make more money to enter one of the setups above.

jaymla627

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122591349#Comment_122591349

A 300 cow unit relying on one hired in full-time labour unit is a terrifying prospect, a large unit where the owner wants to step back and isnt carrying alot of debt with good infrastructure in place going into partnership with a younger person and giving them the day to day running of the place and sourcing labour is a lot safer bet long-term than relying on hired in labour that can simply up sticks on two weeks notice…

Bass Reeves

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122591455#Comment_122591455

You walk into a lot of jobs with a degree in ag science not in the agri sector. Add a masters to it in another dipline down the line and away you go.

One thing I pushed on my children was never have all you eggs in the one basket. Factories in Limerick are paying 50k+ for such qualifications and progression is fast.

You Would need your head screwed on going into a share milking scenario. Most lads with the equity( land stock etc) are not idiots. It's similar to renting pubs or resturants you can be putting a sh!tload of hours in for an ordinary wage.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122591349#Comment_122591349

Those outfits running with them labour unit numbers are contracting in everything and at the 500 cows it's a rotary parlour. That is serious investment and cashflow to manage such an operation. You are trying to keep ten different balls in the air, it's not the top 1% it probably the top 0.1%.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122591322#Comment_122591322

The problem is of the plug is suddenly pulled ( you lose the main lease or are given 12 months notice even) where do you go. Where do you head to with a couple of hundred cows, a tractor, loader, dietfeeder etc.

Youngest lad is gone to London he is flying home to play the last few county championship matches. He is now earning as much as I was at my peak at 25 years of age. He never minds doing farm work or being on a tractor. However I explained to him the reality of being a tractor jockey and farming at 14 years of age.

K.G.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122591817#Comment_122591817

Can't disagree with alot of what you re saying but the thing is it all depends on where you start and what you want to achieve.nowadays it's rare to be in one occupation you re whole life and if you can think you can gather some wealth in say a 15 or 20 year span at it and then sell the cows and move on,happy days.in Ireland it's seen as failure if you don't continue but it's only a failure if you make no money and aren't happy at it.

visatorro

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122591349#Comment_122591349

would be fair operations at those labour units. contractors bill would come to 2 labour units aswell? remember there was a thread on here years ago, the price of efficiency, for 1 labour/150 the need to spent money tp save on labour would nearly be a labour units wages in cost/year aswell. so your up on 5 labour units now for 300 cows. maybe im looking at this in a backward way. not sledging hope my point is coming across

Say my name

Another way of looking at it. Is if you do your own work. Machinery, etc, as much as possible, is you require less cows.

If you start getting the contractors to do everything little thing. Suddenly you require 500 cows to make a living.

The journal and teagasc like and promote the second model as it's more money for contractors, more money for the spin off services from each individual cow to the service providers.

If you can afford new machines yourself they should last a lifetime with the reduced work and be there when you want them.

whelan2

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122592780#Comment_122592780

But then you've the running costs, parts aren't cheap. You never know the day or the hour you'll be let down by a machine

Say my name

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122592953#Comment_122592953

Same goes for contractor. Nothings perfect.

whelan2

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122592963#Comment_122592963

Ye but you dont have the headache of fixing the gear. I know the machine is there when you want it and all's good when things work out but nothing worse than looking for parts on a Saturday night

Say my name

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122592967#Comment_122592967

Can be more favourable than trying to talk on the phone to some contractors. 🤪😬

Some you are expected to know when their mower is on and when their mower is off the tractor and then you are expected to believe their weather forecast that it won't rain for the week.

Don't ask..🙄

ginger22

Farming must be fair torture for anybody doing it solely for the money. You need a love for it also, like the machinery and stock breeding and making progress every day.

mahoney_j

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122593044#Comment_122593044

gave 10 years working for multinational …great money ,perks pension etc …..an amount of bullshit to put up with but didn’t bother me ….I was lucky in I got vokuntary redundancy and my dad wanted to retire ….I absolutely love what I’m at now and all the hassle and shite that goes with it ….yep it’s frustrating some times but it beats dealing with jumped up little **** of line managers in out of college and no offence…women …majority were fine but some if you had an argument or they didn’t like something you did or said might forget it for few days or a week or month etc but they never forget and you’ll always get it back both barrels 🤣….give me cows any day

green daries

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122591311#Comment_122591311

Yes

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122591349#Comment_122591349

One man 150 cows ........well that's one way to ensure no successor....your really going to have to walk me through those figures kg

green daries

Absolutely it's an animal welfare event plus a farmer tragedy waiting to happen 90 cows per man/woman max that's it after that the farmer would be an indebted slave

Siamsa Sessions

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122593196#Comment_122593196

I’m working in an organisation with a similar type of atmosphere, albeit I’m only officially there 3 days/week. €80k per year, pension, 31 day’s annual leave, travel if you want it, etc. - easy enough to get a position like that in there. But you need to have a certain political or manipulative mindset as technical ability will only get you so far in most of those places with “good jobs”.

cute geoge

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122593822#Comment_122593822

And your walking away from that security to go milking ,Fair does to you