Fodder Crisis

whelan2 wrote: »

Reggie

I can guarentee you I would have gone back for it

Giving out about sellers squeezing now is a bit rich. In other years lads buying put them to the wall offering €12-15 a bale when it is plentiful.

Also, this is going to sound harsh, but in any 5 year period there are now at least 2 "crisis" years. If it is that hars on your farm to make enough silage you need to review stocking rates or if the land is so poor, exit farming. I love farming but the stress of not having enough fodder is savage. I was in that boat when the east wind was burming me up in spring 4 years?ago. If I was regularly getting caught I would get out.

Dakota Dan wrote: »

True but the silage selling game is a dead loss when you add up all the costs, it would make more sense to let a farmer get a few grazings off it during the summer and get a few bob for it and keep the grass down without the huge costs of silage making. Even with your own machinery it doesn't make sense.

A lot of the reason for that is that most silage made to sell is crap. Lads not putting fertlizer on it waiting until they July to make it and then often after failing to make hay of it. Unfortunately the costs of making bales silage is a high front cost. Know a few lads that do it fairly right and they make a small profit every year. Even in the years of plenty of silage they average high 20's delivered. Know another fella that go'es the low cost route and he sells it into ex yard averaging low 20's most years. He has his own baler and wrapper but seems happy enough at it.

The thing that kills bales silage is productions cost , in reality pit silage is little different if sold ex yard. As well bale silage has a poor reputation a lot due to FJ journalists calling it lucky bags. However good/middling quality high DM bales are worth 30 euro delivered at least.

Take 72 DMD silage @35%; DM a bale 750kgs gives 262kgs of DM @35 euro/bale delivered into yard it is costing 14c/kg DM if all bales are good

Even sialge 65-70DMD at 40% DM in a bale weighing 700kgs gives 280kgs DM @30 euro/bale delivered into yard it is costing 10.7c/kgDM

But in general you will not buy this type of silage. Most lads now making high DM silage are putting extra wrap on it and know the value of it. Nowadays silage bales are 100kgs heavier than 5-10 years ago. As well some lads are starting to use the plastic film instead of netting to hold the bales togeather.But at the end of the day it comes back to value for money and cost into yard not ex yard.

patsy_mccabe wrote: »

I think lads are fierce judgemental here. Do guys in the East know that it rained almost constant from July . Ye would drown if ye had to live down here.:D
I was lucky this year in that I cut mine a bit early as weather was fine. Left me a bit short, but if I left it a week later I would have been caught.

+1

The last crisis was caused by a bad spring. Most people learned their lesson and kept extra ground for silage.

Although the outcome is the same this years problems is caused by not being able to cut that extra forage.

I know guys selling bales and most years they hardly cover costs so this year is good for them. Like Bass says I dont have a problem with them charging a lot but why do other farmers pay it. I've been substituting ration in because I had cattle in since the end of August and I've stretched out my own silgae fairly well because of that. If we get a decent spring I should be ok. Ration might be dear but in feed value terms compared to the cost of silage bales, its cheap.

croot wrote: »

+1

The last crisis was caused by a bad spring. Most people learned their lesson and kept extra ground for silage.

Although the outcome is the same this years problems is caused by not being able to cut that extra forage.

I know guys selling bales and most years they hardly cover costs so this year is good for them. Like Bass says I dont have a problem with them charging a lot but why do other farmers pay it. I've been substituting ration in because I had cattle in since the end of August and I've stretched out my own silgae fairly well because of that. If we get a decent spring I should be ok. Ration might be dear but in feed value terms compared to the cost of silage bales, its cheap.

The end of August Jaysus, if I had to do that here I'd shut the gate and walk away from it.

croot wrote: »

Gates????

Us poor farmers cant afford them. Its pallets and bailing twine

You have pallets??? Your well to do

Around here the pallets and twine get eaten in a bad year.:D

KatyMac wrote: »

What would you consider a fair price for 'okay-ish' bales? Mine are nothing to write home about, but had a lad asking and I'd hate to see someone stuck. They are dry, sweet smelling and my cattle are doing fine on them. Major issue is there are rushes through them. At the same time the cattle are leaving very little behind (and they are not so hungry that they'd eat anything!!). I literally got them out of the field day before weather broke completely last July, think it's rained since then this part of the world.

If they are not leaving much behind and you are in an area where there is a scarcity 25 would not be outrageous. Lads buy late June and 2016 bales around paying 22-26/bale and transport on top around here. Will be costing 30-35/bale delivered 60+ miles

I suspect there are a good few 'glas' bales, July cut, around the country. Got some myself. I presume that's what you are describing, Kathy.
Will sell to a neighbour who I know needs them. Offered some for North West of Ireland help. no one got back to me.
We sent some down to Bantry in 2000, when they needed them. Wouldn't be hard on people caught with wet land and a long winter.
Another neighbour helped 6/7 other farmers in 2012, no fanfare.

wrangler wrote: »

I think if you add in everything darragh haven has it right, €10+ machinery cost, €10 fertiliser, land use €10....your costs won't be much less than that.
Imight be high but selling at €25 is losing money

Willfarman wrote: »

If they are well packed bales of dryish silage then 30 is fair.

darragh_haven wrote: »

This man offered 20 cash, ok for small amounts. You'd want 24 through the books, otherwise your loosing money. It costs nearly the same to make a bad bale as a good bale

It is all relative. IMO the ex yard price is immaterial compared to the delivered price. For OKish bales with rushes in them compared to 3-4kgs of ration and minimum roughish I would not be buying it above 20-25/bale.

Into my bin at the moment I can get a fairly good finishing ration at 220/ton, neighbour is paying 210 for a forage stretcher, barley is above 200/ton and hulls 220/ton either is better value than low dmd bales. . Cost of making bales is immaterial, in a way market is immaterial. UFL one to the other hard to price especially when idiots are paying 280/ton for hi-maize :rolleyes: bags of ration with a nice molasses smell.

I know what it cost to make good bale silage, lots of lads here that are on the other side o the fence are now are suddenly converts. But 30+ for bales with rushes in them made in July.

K.G. wrote: »

a friend says people forget a good turn quickly but they never forget when you screw them

Sounds like you could never keep those type people happy. You'd probably be a fool to try.

Following on from what Bass said about expensive ration, I've never heard anyone hold a grudge against a miller. Funny old world.

tanko wrote: »

Plenty of farmers who had their herds wiped out by BSE would have a few things to say about millers.

Well l suppose that's a different story. I was just talking purely from a price perspective.

Bass Reeves wrote: »

What is worse most of the price gouging on bag rations are not Merchants and Millers but co-op's and usually you are getting lucky bag stuff as well with plenty of fillers in it. It is amazing we are in the business of farming and very few have much knowledge of rations and different constituents that millers use. As well often trying to get a breakdown from miller/co-op is like third secret of Fatima.

Most lads dont even ask the price of what they are getting never mind what's in it. Alot of farmers buy off the same place all the time. Only themselves to blame for being screwed