Enterprise Selection at start of Farm Partnership

Neewollah

Evening all,

Looking for a bit of advice or thoughts from others who may have gone through some similar decisions in recent years.

In the very early processes of starting a farm partnership with my father. We currently have a Suckler herd of 35 cows selling stores to the mart. We have 80 acres of grazing on the home farm and 71 acres on an out farm 5 miles away. Also have 16 acres of rough grazing rented beside us for the last 15 or so years.

I work full time and doing OK for myself but I've always had a keen interest in farming and really want to get stuck in and transform the place. We've gone from 70 cows and over 200 head of cattle to where we are now. It's been hard watching it drift over the years and Dad has had some issues which are finally in the process of being resolved.

I have a great love of suckler farming and pains me to leave it behind potentially but if we are going to support 2 incomes tough decisions have to be made as Dad in relatively young still.

I am looking for peoples thoughts on milking 70 cows on a robot on the out farm with the 70 acres that are there. It is already paddocked off so would need road ways and I am hoping to be able to convert existing sheds for robot and cubicles etc...

Our home farm unfortunately is divided all over the place between roads and railways which makes milking cows there next to impossible there. I would consider keeping a 20 or 30 cow herd of sucklers at home along with dairy followers potentially as well as cut silage from there also.

I suppose the main question is does anyone else manage 70 cows on 70 acres? What are the key things to look at from the start. Thinking or trying to buy friesian heifer calves next year with an aim to start milking in 2 years after all going according to plan.

Farm would be on very good grassland but needs some serious fertility management in the next few years to get it back to proper soil fertility levels

I do qualify for all young trained farmer benefits.

Thanks in advance.

Mooooo

70 cows on 70 acres would be very doable, particularly with the ground at home to support. Robot is a possibility sure but would look around at different options first, perhaps join a local discussion group if you can. Working and dairy can be tough going, and while robots may alleviate some of it, it may not help much around calving or breeding as cows will still need the individual attention, even more so than conventional systems. An oversized parlour with a decent drafting system and cow flow may well be a cheaper and better option. But look at everything

Grueller

I milk here and have a herd of sucklers too. I also work part time off farm, about 10-12 hours per week. 50 cows and 40 sucklers roughly. I will carry 60 cows when I get a field back out of GLAS next year.
My advice to you is to ditch the sucklers. I am in the process of the long kiss goodbye with them. I calve them in Autumn to avoid doubling up on calving in Spring. I am now calving six months of the year almost while working off farm.
I am aiming a system of 60 cows, 60 calves and 60 yearlings, carrying the yearlings forward to a sale in August of their second year as stores. I have an outfarm where the beef enterprise will run.

emaherx

70 cows could be pushing the limit of one robot. And wouldn't be enough to justify a second one.

https://www.lely.com/us/solutions/organic-grazing/faq/

Neewollah

Thanks for all the responses to date. Much appreciated. So much to look at and many decisions to be made. I know a good few who have moved to robotic milking in recent years and all seem to be milking 70 per robot which is where I am getting that figure from. Will obviously be taking advice from the chosen manufacturer when it gets to that stage.