yosemitesam1 wrote: » If you were young and starting out again would you go down the same road or focus on low volume high price or avoid farming altogether?
6270red wrote: » It's being a good few years of grass growth but buying in winter feed in this country is a risky game and eventually you'll get burnt. It's being a bad period price wise. **** happens, I'll get through it like everyone else. I have no intention of going back to the job. You seem to have a lot of doubts about your profession, you mention on most posts about getting out. How many years will you hang around because it'll come to a stage when going back to the job won't be an option.
Waffletraktor wrote: » There is absolutely no future in producing most your output for the bottom end of the market, in Western Europe or costs have gotten too high. We are entering a new space where max output doesn't equal max income until tech balances the equation or everyone else's gets more expensive
Water John wrote: » I have a 'mental' ignore button which I have activated long ago for some on this thread. A dairy farm unit of the farmer plus contracting in services must be a viable entity. That is not a 90 hour week. That is the optimum size. It needs an average milk price of at least 35 cent including solids to justify. Back to the old song, getting larger is not equivalent to getting efficient. One just needs a certain size to be viable.
Timmaay wrote: » I suppose I'm eternally on the fence and an optimist about my future prospects outside of farming ha. In terms of going back to "the job", I know for one I'll never take another 9 to 5 office job working for whatever souless company, but there are several other areas that I'll happily get my teeth stuck into. Then again I'm not tidy down with family etc which obviously makes a huge difference. On buying in fodder, I'd disagree, you build up loyalty over time with afew different fodder suppliers, I had a deal done for 21 acres 1st cut next year already, I always have the pit of silage carried forward also as insurance, if I'm going to get burnt it will be a small fraction of my winter supply. This obviously isn't for everyone, but it's certainly a very viable expansion option once you are some way off the 3.5cows/ha on the grazing block, and alot better than having to snap up land at 10k/acre.
Water John wrote: » I accept the cheese angle in your case Dawgone but the infant formula is not a commodity product either. For many in Ireland half their milk is going into infant formula but farmers are only getting base commodity price. Every one else in the chain is declaring high profits each subsequent year, no matter what the product price is.
Dawggone wrote: » Use the ignore button...
6270red wrote: » Maybe take the friendly advice.....
Farmer Ed wrote: At what point does it become impossible for us to pay the guy fixing the baler? The trend is undeniable. The economics of it are simple.
rangler1 wrote: » Hard to see a margin for the silage supplier, wonder what does he reckon as to how much fertiliser is going out the gate in 21 acres grass, Will he look back in five years and say WTF happened my field
Dawggone wrote: » I'm way too old and grumpy to take life advice from an anonymous poster on a public forum. Press the button....you know you want to.
whelan2 wrote: » right............ any ideas for July milk price?
Brown Podzol wrote: » 3.9 cows/ha, projected 7,500 lts @ 7.8% solids delivered this year, 1.2 ton meal. Have 600 kg/dm per cow taken off as bales. 50% of grass silage bought in at 9/11 cent per kg dm, much cheaper than growing myself and at this stage have a choice of suppliers. Output up 50% and cow no's up 15% since quotas abolished. Thinking of going to 4.2 cows/ha next year as the grass grown figures over the last few years would support it. Extra land is just extra work. All crops are being sold at less than the cost of production. If supply dries up or gets too expensive I'll just have to take on an extra block of land which will increase cost and create extra work.
Brown Podzol wrote: » Timmaay wrote: » I suppose I'm eternally on the fence and an optimist about my future prospects outside of farming ha. In terms of going back to "the job", I know for one I'll never take another 9 to 5 office job working for whatever souless company, but there are several other areas that I'll happily get my teeth stuck into. Then again I'm not tidy down with family etc which obviously makes a huge difference. On buying in fodder, I'd disagree, you build up loyalty over time with afew different fodder suppliers, I had a deal done for 21 acres 1st cut next year already, I always have the pit of silage carried forward also as insurance, if I'm going to get burnt it will be a small fraction of my winter supply. This obviously isn't for everyone, but it's certainly a very viable expansion option once you are some way off the 3.5cows/ha on the grazing block, and alot better than having to snap up land at 10k/acre. 3.9 cows/ha, projected 7,500 lts @ 7.8% solids delivered this year, 1.2 ton meal. Have 600 kg/dm per cow taken off as bales. 50% of grass silage bought in at 9/11 cent per kg dm, much cheaper than growing myself and at this stage have a choice of suppliers. Output up 50% and cow no's up 15% since quotas abolished. Thinking of going to 4.2 cows/ha next year as the grass grown figures over the last few years would support it. Extra land is just extra work. All crops are being sold at less than the cost of production. If supply dries up or gets too expensive I'll just have to take on an extra block of land which will increase cost and create extra work.
Mooooo wrote: » Nitrates could be the next thing the EU could come out with to hit that system, obviously one can only play by the rules in front of you but if N limits are cut back what way do u think you'll go?
freedominacup wrote: » Muck out feed in. Simples if there is tillage in your area.
kowtow wrote: » I'm making the most expensive bales in munster this year, on outside ground, should third cut this week but when all costs are included it would make your eyes water if you did it at scale. Set me thinking about maximising quality from expensive silage rather than minimising costs.... From our perspective alternatives like whole crop wouldn't work (alfalfa might..) but I wonder where the limits lie in terms of price per kg dm... how much more per bale is the perfect bale worth over the average?
mf240 wrote: » Or sell the single payment and work away.
kowtow wrote: » The economics of it are that if there were less balers doing more bales whoever owned the baler would be able to afford to fix it.
Timmaay wrote: » Agreed, which is why I'm always open to other potential silage suppliers ha. Looking at the tillage sector at the minute I'm fully open to more maize or whole crop also however, in general it comes down to a c/kgDM for me. One reason why I'm changing my tune to expansion moving forward is a large part of the jigsaw is just slotting into place, that being the extra winter accommodation, going on the typical grand spec department costings I had assumed extra cubicles would be coming in at the likes of 1200+/cow (or say 800 after grand), however I'm just after pricing up a job, I should be able to get it for alot closer to 500/cow if I go non grant, or as low as 250/cow if I can get over the line with the 60% grant. It's only a 5year payback at that that sort of cost, which let's me remain nicely on the fence ha.
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