2024 is coming, how ye fixed

Packrat

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122993637#Comment_122993637

Away out to Oz, and a few years of nobody around to bail him out might change the tune. He might be dam glad to have someone for it without any strings in a few years.

My old lad was one of these boys, and nothing only old age and no other option fixed him to the point that he'd hand it on and keep his nose out of it. I swore I'd knock him on his arse in the gutter one morning when one of his fkking limo "maiden heifers" went down calving in the passage. I put out my back dragging her out of it in temper. Sh1t and gutter and fences down all over the place. Nothing right.

After that he got two choices: I'd bugger off with the wife and young lad and sell my house OR leave me at it and shut his mouth and get out of the way.

He eventually chose the latter, I sold every last one of those horrible bastxrds of limo cattle and tried a few Dexters see could I ever like cattle again. I wired the worst of the sheep fences, got rid of all the 10 abd 12 year old lifting butches of ewes and 7 years later I'm happy out although I would be better positioned if I hadn't started so late (44 when I got full control)

In truth, there was some fault on my side too because when I discovered early on that I couldn't work under his law, I lost interest in my twenties and went away and built my own business, built the house, and always did exactly as I wanted to do.

He's now in a nursing home, doesn't know where he is, I'd have rathered to have him around whilst I was running the place, but he couldn't let go any bit of control himself either.

A good long stint away might change the dynamic. Long enough that he'll be worried you're never coming back..

queueeye

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122993737#Comment_122993737

First and foremost, look after number one.
The country is full of lads who spent their lives putting out fires on lost cause farms that they’re never going to get and **** is their thanks for all their efforts.

One day you’ll wake up at 50 and wonder where did the time go. Too late then to do what you should have done years ago.

memorystick

A lot of these old lads have destroyed families and middle aged men. My father is fairly elderly now. A lovely man with neighbours but an extremely awkward father and husband. I don’t harbour any ill feelings. There’s no future in the past as a fella says.

Every second farm has issues. A few weeks of dehydration in a bad nursing home might change the tune on some of these lads. Worrying about land at 80 years of age. Gobshits

tractorporn

This year is going to be a year of massive change for me. Change that has been blocked for the last four years since the farm was signed over. My father went into hospital 6 weeks ago and won't be home for another month or two.

We are hoping to build this year and have a deposit sown on a modular concrete house to speed up the build. On the farm I have arranged a dispersal sale in Ballymahon for the cows in the new year and have started buying calves already, sheep were sold as in lamb before Christmas. 30 acres of an outfarm is gonna be leased this year and things get too tight I've another outfarm that can be leased too. No plans for any spending above the completely necessary.

I changed jobs this year to a good state job but only on a contract so will push hard to get permanent this year and possibly a move closer to home as I'm commuting 3 hours a day at the min. Like most on here I'll be glad to see the back of 2023.

Well I can't say that I stuck to most of what's written above. My Dad never made it home from hospital and died last April, I was glad that most of the cows were gone at that stage as I got to put in a good bit of time with him and wasn't worried about a cow calving or the like.

I spent like there was no tomorrow and have probably left myself a little short for bills this back end, I installed an automatic feeder for calves and have nearly 50 calves reared this back end, also bought a teleporter and shear grab so that cleaned me out. Ended up keeping the out farm and had a digger in for a couple of weeks tidying up, plan is to put it in spring barley in the new year along with 9 acres of winter barley that has gone in.

Only thing I have stuck to is the job I've let the contract run out on the state job and I'm starting at the end of Jan in a new job 20 mins from home. I'm hoping the 2 hours a day will make a difference as I feel I can't keep on top of things here, I'm only managing to get to the daily stuff and haven't time for anything, the last straw for me was when I couldn't even bring the young lad to training at half 6 of an evening as I wouldn't have been home, so I took something local hopefully it will work out.

grange mac

2024 was a tough bstd of a year on me. Never know what's ahead so my mind and outlook has changed. I don't want say too much so I'll just say divorce, mental health, cancer, stress, breakdown, lactose intolerant, gluten free, job, nursing home care, fighting, perspective and money!

Still not out of woods so hopefully progress will be made in 2025 and every day is a school day.

Who2

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122994759#Comment_122994759

there’s one of those cows reared a hell of a charolais bull calf if it’s the same clearance sale I was thinking of.

tractorporn

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122995027#Comment_122995027

Our sale was the end of Jan with two other lads, I had a mixture of Charolais and Angus. Glad to hear she went well for you, what did you put on her this year. I was chatting a local man before Christmas and he bought some of the blues and have them gone back to a Limmy bull, he was happy he got 3 AngusXBlue heifers for replacements out of the batch he bought and they're all 5 star.

Who2

went back to a charolais again. She had a real square shapey bull . She was part of the first clearance sale that day.

tractorporn

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122996188#Comment_122996188

They were another man's so mine were in the middle he has savage stock in fairness, they were going milking.

roosterman71

I couldn't find the 2023 corresponding thread to see how I fared on my plans, or indeed what they were.

I don't have much plans myself bar carry on doing what I'm at. I'd like to do more but the father is in charge and there's no sign of a transfer despite being prompted by me, mother, accountant and solicitor! Besides that stuff, I've no plans. I'd like to get the bale trailer updated to something road legal instead of the homemade yoke we have. I'm building a new house and that's taking any spare minute I have. Mainly making decisions and reigning in the wife and her "dream house" notions derived from Instagram and the like.

How's the rest of ye fixed?

3 days till the end so I guess nothing more will change for 2024.

For me, it's much of a muchness. Father still in charge, I'm the man for the hardship at weekends and the odd evening. Currently laid up with a torn muscle across my chest after bullocking big lumps of timber up onto a log splitter. Father didn't want them made smaller with the chainsaw for reasons that shall forever remain a mystery.

Moved role in the day job so it's a bit busier. Mrs still off on maternity leave but is back to her job in January. That will cause havoc with childcare and we're still not the wiser of what to do.

On the farm, he leased out another block at the start of the year so the work was reduced. I wasn't really for it. Let down a few regular customers who buy the silage as the growth was poor. Never changed the bale trailer but did change the tanker. Few weeks now I'll have that out for it's first spin.

The house still isn't finished. Have been royally fucked around by my electrician who seems nothing short of a chancer at this stage but I can't get anyone in to finish his work. Understandable. Next few weeks better get it sorted or knees may have to be decapped.

Sheep breeder

Had third surgery in July to fix problem after two unsuccessful ones didn’t work and seems to have worked now and slowly recovered, daughter after 4 years and 4 spinal surgeries is finally nearly fully recovered and looking forward to leaving cert and getting on with life, the biggest hardship in this time is dealing with admin in hospital, farming is slowing down here with a lot of the craic gone out of it and not a great future out look with a financial return, as for the guy here thinking of going to Australia, he should travel and life’s for living and enjoying and for anybody that wants to work hard and get on it’s the country for it, best friend went nearly 20 years ago for one year and came back here and couldn’t settle went back and has done seriously well for himself, the same problem his auld fella thinks he will live forever and has the place rented out.

whelan2

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122993399#Comment_122993399

How Are you doing now?

Kevhog1988

I found 2024 a mental busy year.

Late Lambing went well but I still have lambs hanging around. Didn't get as much fencing done as I would have liked but getting there slowly.

I'm a bit peed off with the day job as was sold a dream to tempt me away from a cushy number and the total of what i was offered hasn't materialised. Now asking for a 3rd day in the office is an additional kick in the boll1x when driving from leitrim to blanchardstown.

Hoping for a better year weather wise in 25... especially on the 1st of March as I'm getting married.

Hope to do more fencing

Hope to buy an easycare ram to see if it would suit my system.

Reggie.

Infection is under control thankfully. Found the medication abit strong but doing OK now. Just waiting on surgeon to contact me

kollegeknight

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123005238#Comment_123005238

best wishes- my wife has something similar on her Brest. It has been very sore and has taken 6 weeks of antiobiotics straight to get on top of it. Like that waiting on surgeons to get back to her. Trying to figure out insurance coverage etc.

Must be a nightmare to have it on your back.

kollegeknight

2025 plans

house: improve the garden.

Build a clothes drying shed for OH

Hope to start on upstairs

Repaint downstairs.

Personal: continue working out- CrossFit, personal training and running.

Run a marathon in May. Hopefully get fitter.
Get out more with the OH.

My mam is starting to go downhill a bit- mobility starting to go so trying to pit supports in place there. Siblings aren’t great at helpful my out. Just me and my sister really.

farm: rebuild ditches and fence out neighbour-

Few acres NPIs. That will be it due to finances. Redo avenue and clear yard in early spring.

Work:

Keep pushing for a new room- I have officially the worst engineering room in the country. I am the places could be worse guy when I go anywhere. So keep chasing politicians and the dept really.
also get out as quick as possible.

Esel

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123005741#Comment_123005741

Build a clothes drying shed for OH

Buy a Meaco dehumidifier instead. Thank me later.

Diarmuid B

are they not fierce heavy on electricity to run?

Esel

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123005792#Comment_123005792

Not expensive to run afaik.

If the alternative is to build a drying shed (what is going to dry the clothes there?) the Meaco is a no-brainer.

JustJoe7240

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123005792#Comment_123005792

About 1.50 a day

Esel

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123005808#Comment_123005808

Just watching a UK test on YouTube there. The Meaco cost 20p to dry a load (4 hours). Tumble dryer cost £1.50 to dry the same load.

Bass Reeves

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123005801#Comment_123005801

A clothes horse in an open shed will allow clothes to dry to the stage where you can bring them indoors after that they go.over the range. Clothes horse is left inside here we do not have a dampness issue because of it.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123005808#Comment_123005808

Is that for 24 hours or for while you use it. Probably grand if you have solar panels and you target your drying to them, however it's only winter drying is an issue. Over a two month peiod it's 55 euro on the bill if in use three days a week

davidk1394

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123005751#Comment_123005751

Have one here since November because there's damp in the house. It's a game changer for drying clothes

cjpm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123005822#Comment_123005822

@esel

Any chance you’d post a link to that vid ? Please and thanks.

JustJoe7240

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123005824#Comment_123005824

I was a bit off, I was looking at the power consumption of a small one, A 20L one for a medium space uses 216 watts, Not sure what the current unit price is, but at 40c/kWh, You'd be talking 8.2c per hour.

kollegeknight

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123006160#Comment_123006160

any specific model? I’m trying to convince the OH there.

Esel

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123006280#Comment_123006280

I was on YT on the TV, sorry.

The one they were comparing the Meaco with was Electr... something and was nearly 50% less efficient.

davidk1394

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123007542#Comment_123007542

This is the one I bought. 5 year warranty and they stock all the parts. It arrived at my door the next day. Its after taking gallons of moisture out of the house and made dry clothes easy indoors

https://www.chmarine.com/meacodry-arete-one-20l-dehumidifier-air-purifier/

older by the day

I wonder will we be lucky to avoid blue touge this year.