is entering dairying still an option

dh1985

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119722114#Comment_119722114

Hard to know on the wfh been a permanent fix. Alot of the mnc are pushing for people to be back in the office more. Apple, tesla and alot others. Since September traffic is visibly heavier than anytime since start of covid. If a recession happens and employers get the upper hand over employees regarding recruitment/job opportunities, then the pendulum will swing back to employers calling the shots again. Government agency might be different but I wouldnt bet on it.

Would agree with the verdict of keeping the day job though. Surely pensionable also.

Bass Reeves

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119722281#Comment_119722281

Most of them no longer require staff to be in the office 5 days per week if you can do your work from home.

Son works in a investment bank and only goes in 2 days a week most of the time. He has actually worked from home two weeks on the trot.

Most companies have leases in buildings and are reluctant to see them empty. However that will change as leases end

Tileman

Most people in my work place have option of 2 days wfh and have to be in office the other 3 days. More and more people are coming in 4 days themselves as they prefer the social side and with the cost of heating home etc they are in more. Definitely see it in traffic for last 3 weeks

Siamsa Sessions

@onrail Is there any chance you could take a 12-month “career break” from the semi-state job?

You could go milking what’s there at the moment then for a year and you’d have a real insight into what it’s really like.

Don’t change anything, only take the reins from your father and carry on his system for the 12 months.

Even if you think it’ll be turned down at work, it won’t cost anything to ask. And you never know what’s going on at management level in any job so they might surprise you.

onrail

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119723189#Comment_119723189

Ya, in theory they offer up to 5 years of a career break and I was already thinking that'd be a good option to take. I'd probably need to see if the missus can get sorted with a permanent job first though.

Posters above are right in saying that 4 days WFH is only 'for now'. There are whispers of adding another day in the office, but I'd say there'd be mutiny if it increased any more than that. Most people have long commutes and can't afford to live near the office.

Full time commuting would make the decision easy for me!

Say my name

@onrail Even if you don't go back milking yourself. A nice present to your father would be mats in the pit. Maybe clusters on the other side (double up) later.

It's surprising how mats can improve the whole body well being and take a tiredness off.

Pinsnbushings

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119724581#Comment_119724581

Would doubling up a short pit speed up milking much do you think, only have a 5 unit at home and it's a big job to extend as tank is right up to back of parlour and there is a big drop off to the front?

cjpm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119725394#Comment_119725394

They are a bollocks. I know a guy who doubled up a 6. Milked in it for a few years before blowing down the back wall and put the 6 extra units on the back to make a 12.

Say my name

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119725394#Comment_119725394

I've an eight unit and I'm thinking of it.

Right, people say a row takes 10 minutes , others 7. But we'll go with 10 for the calculation.

Say there's 8 rows for this calculation.

8 rows × 10 minutes = 80 minutes.

Now for a double up.

You stick the clusters on the first row. 5 minutes in you stick it on the the other side. Now both sides are running as independent of the other. So the first row side takes 40 minutes and the second row side is finished 5 minutes later. So 45 minutes to milk as opposed to 80 minutes. That's theory. But you'd be busy.

Mooooo

If you want to minimise building cost double up are an option if you have a wide pit but tbh a 14 to 20 unit swing over would be the way to go for thru put imo at 70 to 150 cows. You'd be kept going most of the year and have em out fast enough. 7 to 8 rows max imo if it can be done. Obv the financial side has to make sense in that regard. But for most its the job that has to happen twice a day, every day so make it as efficient as possible

yosemitesam1

Are many actually taking 80+k in drawings from cows. Might be wrong but most seem to only do that by living off depreciation to some extent.

If things are tight for onrail at current wage, hard to see it improving at all by going milking when it sounds like a lot of capital expenditure needed

onrail

Sorry, I'm half taking over this thread lads. But one last question - and might be a bit personal, for those at Dairying full time, do you have many sleepless nights because of your job?

With my current off-farm job I'm awake at 2-3am far more than I should be, lots of worries, other peoples money on the line, lots of deadline pressures etc. but the flip side is I know exactly what I'm getting at the end of the month. The way I've seen the aul fella, he's flat-out, long hours, endless drudgery and hard on the body, but he never seemed emotionally stressed once he (eventually) came inside for the evening. The big worry I'd see is that uncertainty once price and input pressures come on - probably dependent on the level of borrowings.

mr.stonewall

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119727965#Comment_119727965

It's finding a balance in with work life, I think is the key at the moment. Switching off from the job and maybe taking on less is the key. I see it in my workplace the yes people keep getting landed with more and more projects, then they turn around and say to me, I would love to be more like you, happy where your at and taking on extra projects if you only like it. A lot has to be said for saying no to people at times. You have only worry about yourself. The best move I made was remove the work emails from the phone. They know it, and understand now my reasoning. This culture is changing, and they do not want to lose good staff

I'm similar to you seriously considering the switch to milking and carefully weighing it up. Looking at going job share with work and the only major investment is a parlour. The cons are the springtime and labour.

Life is for living and doing what you enjoy is often underestimated. Best of luck with the plan whatever you decide

arctic8dave

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119724394#Comment_119724394

I'm certainly not going to tell you what to do but don't underestimate the work load of part time dairy farming. Your father is fit and active and long may it last. But god forbid that something may happen to him whts the plan then? No offense but what will happen Saturday/Sunday when the need to milked calves fed silage put out . Part time dairying here with 5 years on my own. Granted my job is only 25/30 hours a week working from the shoulders down PITA in others words. But when I clock out I don't give one thought to it until clocking in tomorrow. Maybe yourown is different. Also another thing to consider is calving time and help. As I'm on my own I take 3 week work holidays for it and personally makes no odd to me no kids no wife in late 30s. Something you have to consider with a family. Also another thing people will say get a good contractor to all machinery work. As Jay says there here come by and especially for smaller jobs also a bit of preparation for them also necessary after a days work and evening milking its again another job. BTw I love dairying & plan to quit my job in a little over 2years time when my mortgage is cleared. Best of luck with your decision.

cosatron

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119727965#Comment_119727965

it all depends on your outlook on life and work. you either a glass half empty or glass half full type of person. One thing you have to decide is whether you work to live or live for work; some farmers choose the later and they regret it when they get older.

Siamsa Sessions

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119727965#Comment_119727965

If you're stressed in the current job and you have young children, then making big decisions at this stage might not be the best idea. Even if milking cows (or any farming activity) might reduce stress in the long run, the transition won't happen over night - it'll take years.

I'm in a somewhat similar position as yourself. Working off-farm in a job I'm not mad about and hoping to go full-time farming. We have 3 boys and my other-half works part-time. There's a lot of mental energy needed inside the dwelling house and I need to be careful not to let the farm take too much of it.

Keeping the show on the road is a result for me at the moment. I consider that progress in its own right. You don't have to be swimming all the time. Some times you just need to not sink.

davidk1394

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119727965#Comment_119727965

I was in a different position to you getting into cows. I had no mortgage, no family or wife to put first. I stated with a clean slate going in. I had the stock but no money. I took a big gamble starting out where I started building before I had the loan secured and I owed 150k before I got my first draw down Christmas week. The only sleepless nights I had was when the parlor was built but money wasn't coming back in. Once the first milk cheque came in and things started to settle down I relaxed and focused on the task of making it work and pay.

The only sleepless nights I had since then was due to cows calving. I tend to do my worrying during the day if I have any and once the evening comes I leave them in the yard. I understand that's easier said than done.

Green&Red

I'm in a position where I left a good job to get back into milk. Haven't regretted a minute of it.

Lads can make things hard on themselves or they can make things easy on themselves, that choice is up to yourself a lot of the time

We've had two kids since I did and I would think it has made things easier, you're more available, you're not rushing home from work for the hour before theyre off to bed.

Yes spring time is hard but its exhilarating at the same time, anyone who has ever had a cow calving will know its the best thing that happens on a farm, so you're buzzing and when you do get into bed its the best sleep you'll ever have

I got offered what was meant to be a nine month role last January, dropped my wife to the maternity ward the morning I started, came home from work the following evening with the two of them. Went through a couple of milkers in the spring, first lads back wasn't up to it, second was red rotten and had to run him. Had about five weeks on my own, that was tough, my wife fed the calves. My dad is in his 80s so can keep and eye on things and get me down if I was needed but its not something I'd recommend and I wouldn't do it myself again.

I was lucky enough to come across two lads in a week that milk for me now, fingers crossed I'm well set up for this spring.

A few lads mentioned having a wife thats on board, couldn't agree more, mine knows the story with February and March and we talked about me going back to work, the financial security it would give us but that it came with sacrifices for both of us. So if I have to wait late doing a job I'm not getting it in the ear but likewise if I can contract out a job I will.

FWIW stress has never come into the farming side of things for me, I'd naturally be positive but I do understand that feeling of being awake half the night thinking something over, that has never happened with the farm but then in the 8 years I've been in control of it I've never had any major issues

Green&Red

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119713884#Comment_119713884

 It is a food production facility after all.

You make this sound like anyone who doesn't spend half an hour washing out their parlour is somehow failing in their duty of care as a food supplier.

When the truth is there's a KPI to measure exactly how "clean" the milk coming from your yard is, low TBC is what's important, having your parlour shining every morning and evening is personal preference IMO

straight

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119730571#Comment_119730571

Don't take everything so seriously lad.

Green&Red

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119730682#Comment_119730682

Sorry, I know I shouldn't be triggered by your nonsense about money not mattering, or time management in this case.

I'll do my best to ignore it in future

straight

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119730854#Comment_119730854

Do. Or maybe better again if you can learn how to accept a different opinion or different outlook. Would make life much easier for you. 👌

whelan2

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119730960#Comment_119730960

Bit of the pot calling the kettle black there....

straight

Definitely not. Have changed my life several times over. Have seen both sides. Someone close to me is dying in hospital at the moment. They spent their while life trying to build wealth and they are not too worried about money today.

Tileman

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119729628#Comment_119729628

Jeez lad why would u take on another role in spring and when ure wife was also expecting. Were u under financial pressure or got an offer u couldn’t refuse.

Green&Red

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119731914#Comment_119731914

A combination of things, I'd be out for two years and kinda felt that if I didn't go back now that I'd be closing that door for the future, I could explain that career gap for two years but longer would be hard to. We're hoping to break ground on a new house before Christmas. This contract will help ease everything, the way things are set up its fairly tax efficient, so it's giving us a great step up

Like I said the two of us talked it through, as much as you can with these things, and decided we couldn't turn it down

Donald Trump

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119721140#Comment_119721140

If you go farming in your 20's and the arse falls out of it, you might not be going back at a "decent" level into the workplace in your late 40's

Whereas if you go to the workplace in your 20's, it's no bother to switch back to farming in your late 40's (unless you have become soft and used to the handy life of course!)

Donald Trump

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119725642#Comment_119725642

How long are you standing there scratching your hole in between sides at the minute? Probably very little. That time would be the time saving you would make doubling up.

When you have the 8 on one side and you done checking the other side for mastitis etc? I don't think you are going to get the 16th one on before the 1st is finished!

It might speed up with acrs or if you get someone in to do it with you the odd time. Fully automated feeders as well maybe.

Donald Trump

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119731037#Comment_119731037

You see some people who want to build wealth or land or even just a good setup ... but not necessarily for themselves .... I understand that, but to an extent. The person who gets it might not appreciate it at all