What if any changes are you going to make to you're current system with costs going out of control.

Important to keep in mind that prices will be equally high next year, 2024 at the earliest before things might look more normal

We already tried it. Sowed 19 acres last year with 5kg of clover per acre. Fed 70 heifer calves last year for 6 months on a half bag of urea and only 7 acres got approx 3000 gals of slurry. Think the whole grazing block of 60 acres is getting clover in May.

Trying to reduce the fert burden

It's upto each farmer really but the most accurate way is stitching with airseeder. It's hard to be accurate with spinners or wagtails as the seed is so small the slightest amount of wind will affect it so there's no way to be accurate with it. Also unless it bulls rain there's no way it'll get to the soil even after the rain. I use a guttler here and its never failed yet

2 farming lads on live line yesterday 1 lad blaming the large dairy lad for running farming talking over all the small family farms, mad stuff how much some lads hate the large scale dairy farms.

Listened to that lad.

He was off his melt.

Though off topic, his Amish approach is very successful in Agriculture in America where they are buying land nonstop.

I agree with him in that it is skewed against the farming industry.

2017 to 2020 I was ramping up numbers of sheep, pondering what to do with the loss making sucklers, and generally trying to get this run down place back in shape having come back into it in 2014.

Workload went mad (I have a summer occupation as well) and winters became utter misery with bad house/yard setup, poor fencing and grass management etc.

After being at home all 2020 and most of 21 due to Covid (No tourism) all I had out of it was bigger co-op bills, more work needing doing, more stock and no money with herself getting right sour over it all.

I had decided to go organic before the current sh1tshow and had changed out the Limo/Shorts for Dexters.

I culled the ewes ruthlessly last Autumn and will cull again this year.

No fertilizer going out bar dung and a bit of imported slurry this year, and I've barely any ration fed to sheep yet.

Those two alone will halve my coop bill and assuming I get in, the payment will be for jam.

I really wanted to build up the operation, but it's pis5ung against the wind with input costs, workload, and modern life.

I'm 48 and the housing/slurry management investment alone I'd need I couldn't ever pay back without breaking my hole until I'm 80.

My children are small and if they ever want to go farming, they'll know how and have the land, but not grow up resenting it because I'm never there.

I'm planting a couple of ridges of garden this year for the first time in decades because I have the few minutes to spare.

When I was doing an MBA a few years ago the first thing they taught us was "Turnover is for vanity, and profit is for sanity"

I'm looking at it from the beef side of things. Fertiliser applications are few and low. This stands us in a better position if we can sort some self sufficiency around the grain issue. 8-9 fertiliser applications is just chronic, it's the crack cocaine of farming

The 3 F's are now the major pressures. Feeding beef cattle on grazed grass has the lowest of the requirement, when not over stocked. It's about finding that sweet spot in every farming system.

Fuel and fertiliser is going to have a big pressure on these indoor systems. Just look at the chronic situation with the pig industry across Europe. It's the price of inputs that has pinched their margin. European dairy and beef will be under pressure.

Never waste a good crisis

This time is about the change the view on food production and security in europe. Being aware of international factors and a willingness to make changes inside your own farm gate is key to riding this situation with a strong business

Heard it too - some craic Was on long work drive so it certainly passed the time. 😂😂

Nothing much beyond what we would have been doing anyway. 2 cows to cull that got a free pass for a few years.

Had some reseeding planned, but that is now on hold. All non-essential spend on infrastructure is on hold until prices drop.

Will try to make some better quality silage for the weanlings.

Part of my solution is a third more ewes. Lol

An acre is an acre no matter how many of them a man has. And x amount of grass will grow on permanent pasture without any artificial fertilizer. I simply cannot see how you’d have a return on the fert out of extra grass grown to convert to beef. A lot of aul lads used to lecture us on the merits of sucklers with that same “have to keep your system” spiel. The taxman will get it sometime regardless.

I can graze one two year old beef/dairy’s fattening bullock across here to the acre(starting with that in April) with zero fert and and an avg of 300kg barley ration. Start killing with Gods grace and Favour in early July and all gone by October. I will have available nitrates to help out a oligarch farmer by taking a bit of slurry I hope.

If the weather comes wet I won’t be stressed out like I was in times past.

every farm has an optimum stocking rate, a sweet spot and this year it has moved back for a low margin enterprise like beef. in my opinion of course.

Your in a different enterprise. Fert and meal against milk price is still a big + under the equation.

Didn't take that long here

I hate liveline never listen to Trinity educated, socialist, fat salary Joe. Even though that was my Alma mater.