Relief milking- is it worth it?

DJ98

Looking for something to do off farm as another source of income. See alot of adds seeking people for relief milking and wanting to look further into it.

What is the rate of pay like as a relief Milker?

What are the terms and conditions that come with it, I.e do you get to pick what mornings/evenings you work or is this done by the farmer?

What level of knowledge of dairy would you require and how would you learn the skills involved? Is their a training course you complete?

Siamsa Sessions

Contact the local Farm Relief Services maybe. They run milking courses but you need to have something like 100 hours experience in advance

Water John

I think OP you're lining yourself up for a load on PMs. 'Please, will you milk my cows?"

ruwithme

Whatever you do op, don't go near the well known relief services.enough said.

I'm thinking by your post your not experienced in milking. Your going to have to look to gain experience in this by offering yourself free, to gain a understanding of the job.

Finding the right candidate that will allow you to learn this & not just want to take advantage of you will be the hardest part.

If you can find the right farmer, and your top notch at it, then you could charge a very good rate I'd imagine.

Bangoverthebar

I had an 18yr old lad start this year. He did 7 milkings in a row and the 8th milking on his own.

I paid him 35euro a milking for the month of june at weekends and now he has plently experience he gets €50. Suits us both.

Bass Reeves

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120963017#Comment_120963017

Milking cows must be one of the few jobs where you are not paid d for training. Imagine your child starting in a pub or restaurant and being told they had to work for a week or so training unpaid

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058308832/relief-milking-is-it-worth-it

Its the farmer that picks the days he wants relief in. I will be mostly weekends except when he wants to go to Cheltenham or the Galway races

JustJoe7240

Where is this notion that you don’t get paid for training come from? 😅

J.O. Farmer

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120964206#Comment_120964206

I would say here where it is suggested that as the OP does not appear experienced in milking they are going to have to look to gain experience in this by offering yourself free, to gain a understanding of the job.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120963017#Comment_120963017

Gaining experience milking sounds a lot like training to me.

JustJoe7240

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120964348#Comment_120964348

I understand that but another poster also mentioned it which leads me to believe it’s acceptable, Which it most certainly isn’t.

I’d much sooner take a genuine young lad with a good attitude than some of the “experienced” operators from FRS.

Donald Trump

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120964639#Comment_120964639

It would depend. Why would you pay some randomer who has never milked a cow, but has some vague idea that they want to give it a go, to stand in your way in a pit and watch you milking because they want to build up this 100 hours experience quoted above. It would be different if you have a local fella who is already helping you out with other stuff and wants to give it a go maybe.

Castlekeeper

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120963925#Comment_120963925

???

I'll just rock up to my local haulage company so and tell them to pay me while I learn to drive, get my licences, safety passes etc.

Bass Reeves

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120968341#Comment_120968341

Friend is getting his heavy truck licence paid for his employer. Your employer if you are directly employed pay for all safety courses and at present because of full employment will take you on without any safety certificates and get you on the fastest SP course available.

Even the private bus companies are.now training bus drivers. Retaining them is the problem for them.

Also milking is low paid low skill work. Nobody expects low pay workers to be unpaid while getting minimal training. Than god we are from the so called graduate programs

kerryjack

Done plenty of it back in the day used do morning milking 5 days a week and the odd Sunday evening or weekend for the same lad so knew set up well, if you like early starts, like I used have cows in the parlour at 6 and I would be home and hosed for 8 so you fine long day to enjoy after that.

jaymla627

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120968357#Comment_120968357

Define low payed low skilled work, with the quality standards co-ops are enforcing at the minute it's anything but, had what could best be described as a clown here last summer relief milking he cost us the best part if 5k in milk quality fines and mastitis issues, and was getting 70 euro a milking for his troubles, was relief milking the past 10 years and still was a disaster

K.G.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120963925#Comment_120963925

I m sorry but what kinda pricks don't pay a fella they are training in.that day is gone.you wouldn't pay a full milking rate until they do the job on their own but you would give them an hourly rate while you are with them. I m sorry bass but you and me are living in different worlds when it comes to whats going on in the dairy industry

Danzy

Not paid to train up in the parlour?

Don't entertain a man who doesn't pay you, especially in an area crying out for labour such as dairy.

I will milk Mon to Friday this week. Both times. I charge 750 euros for that and have most of the day to my own place.

I view it as worth it.

Donald Trump

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120968602#Comment_120968602

There is a difference depending on who is the one asking. We don't need or use relief workers here as there are enough family members around as backup.

A few years ago - around the time of the end of quotas and expansions - a fella who was a newly qualified teacher and who had some family connection to a neighbour - asked if he could come in and try to learn to milk cows as he had a notion he could do relief milking to earn money during the Summer. He grew up in a town about 10 miles away and would have never done any agricultural work.

Anyway, I think he came about 4 times until he realised it wasn't for him. We did it more because it came through the neighbour and didn't want to cause awkwardness by saying no - but how much do you think we should have paid him to basically stand there and watch and then make a few half arsed attempts at putting a cluster on a cow.

If you are training up someone to come and actually do relief milking for you then that is different.

Siamsa Sessions

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120968720#Comment_120968720

Agree - horses for courses.

I’m going to stand in a pit for a few milkings next week. No money will change hands. It’s just a little experience for me as I haven’t put a cluster on a cow in 20 years.

But if I went to the FRS and said I wanted to go relief milking I wouldn’t expect to work for free for the first 2 weeks.

I did work for FRS for a summer back in the 90s and I think the “training” then was milking in a local parlour with an experienced man and I got paid half the regular rate for those first few milkings. The regular rate then I think was £7-ish punts per hour.

Danzy

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120968979#Comment_120968979

7 punts an hour was good money back then.

Bass Reeves

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120968467#Comment_120968467

The major different categories of work are ( there will be sub categories within these)

Professional ( Doctor, nurse, engineer etch) it takes a professional qualification for to do the job

Skilled( plasterer, chef, mechanic) it takes a 3-4 year training period often on the job when you will be on a training rate.

Semi skilled ( drivers bus, digger, heavy haulage window fitter handyman etc) training often takes 3-6 months

Low or unskilled often refered to as a General operative. The skill for the job can be attained in a short period ( 10-20 hours or within a month) and minimal over seeing after the training period. I think.milking cows falls into this category.

In any work categories you will find people that do not the job properly from Surgeons to believe it or not relief milkers.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120968550#Comment_120968550

I agree with you. However this started from what seemed was an expectation that a person should do something for nothing until they were trained. And yes maybe at the start a lad would be on a training rate. However remember that minimum wage legislation abolished training rates for over 20 year Olds

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120968720#Comment_120968720

There is a difference between a lad coming looking for experience and expecting lads to train themselves for a low skilled job.

Danzy

I farm and there was dairy Cows here when I was a gosser.

Have worked with a lad, knew nothing about cattle but a grafter.

You'd see that he didn't know Cattle, all little things that you would have learnt on a farm before you even knew you were learning it.

Donald Trump

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120969096#Comment_120969096

Your situation is different as you already know those things and - more importantly - have an idea of what you are getting into.

That nuisance that came into us that one time was never going to stick at it. Not that he would have been doing any for us anyway. He just had no idea of what it was he was going to try until he tried it.

cute geoge

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120969084#Comment_120969084

Fair enough you are rating relief milking as low skilled/unskilled work but you then have to factor in unsocialable work hours ,responseability of keeping any prohibited milk out of the milk tank .You really talk out of both sides of your mouth ,so if you did a relief milking you would accept minimum wage

50 euro is the smallest now a days to do a relief milking might be a small bit cheaper for multiple milkings for 50/60 cows .

Bass Reeves

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120979522#Comment_120979522

I disagree, it is a low skilled job. The premium pay associated with it is due to multiple factors which you highlighted. Unsocial hours from the point that it mostly Saturdays Sundays that DF's will require you, work shifts are short which mean a lot of wasted time for the worker( traveling to and from the job), if worker is required for both milking shifts are 8-10 hours apart. There is also the other factor if you are hold down another job you need to probably go home and shower before you go to that workplace.

Because of these factors and as well because a worker who is not diligent can cause the loss of thousands of euro as @jaymla627 pointed out

Water John

Generally I would rate it semi skilled with responsibility. The more skilled will be able to spot health problems early and that has an added value.

green daries

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120979617#Comment_120979617

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