Dairy Calves 2024

Consider carrying the depreciation over eight years. It may pay to put spouse as a partner if she was in the high tax bracket.

Remember as well that the shed will drive farm profitably. But yes sums would be as you indicate.

For a young farmer or a woman farming the 60% grant and high tax bracket would mean a 70k+vat shed would be about 17k. The real catch is bring them in at the department costings. You need to be wide awake. It probably means subcontracting the complete shed

The problem is if you bring them elsewhere too young to slaughter it's a mess. Someone somewhere will get a video of some lads acting the bollax.

We pointed this out 2-3 years ago that milk processors would put in place penalties to stop it.

Bought six last Monday in the mart O grade Friesian 270 kgs for less than 500 including feed.

Never say never again

Them other lads has eaten about about 850 kgs of ration costing about 350 euro

I never bemoan Friesians, I just hope they never manage to successfully develop sexed semen. Although they seem to be getting there.

A lot of effort went into them TBH, they were hanging around a year and a half, mind you they were obviously the poorest in there bunches.

The thing with friesian's is some just take more time. Last summer did not help. Friesians need a lot of grass and will consume it if they get it. They will put on weight.

It not that dairy farmers cannot rear calves it more that many wish not to. Of course the vast majority have calf rearing skills. After all most rear there own replacement heifers.

Larger dairy farms have to employ labour for to run there operations, calf rearing another task added to that. As well every 50 calves an extra month on a farm means one less cow.

Ten ISH years ago the advice was to maximize cow numbers, to use easy calving beef bulls and get all non dairy female calves off the farm as fast as possible.

New nitrates legislation has pushed many dairy farms to the 250/HA. That is why some of these are leasing any land they can

The change in banding for cows will put a large number of lads that are not above 170 above. A lot of lads below 170 were probably exporting a bit anyway. I run a grass based beef system and I am hitting 170/HA.

As a dairy farmer from now on it will be virtually impossible to not be in derogation. Ya it's the heavier lads it will effect most but land is the new quota it's what some dairy farmers are paying stupid money for rented ground.

But nitrates are only part of the problem. If you have to keep 150+ extra calves ( many are selling at 14 days) for 6 weeks longer it's a significant labour issue where a farmer is using all labour to manage a 2 Nd or 3 rd unit.

For six weeks 150 calves are the equivalent of losing 5 ISH cows. Add in maybe losing 10-15 cows under banding and you see the turnover lost. If a 220kgN/ HA rule came they be.losing maybe another 20+.

You could see a dairy farm that had 200 cows previously now back nearly to 150 cows

Tanko

I reminded you I showed my 2020 account figures here on this forum over a year ago so the figures are not fables. Last year's were better.

Ya I agree that the land I have is good however it suffers from drought very easily. However alot of the the land is similar. A few lads f@@king around with suckler cows or buying calves and sling as stores.

I am stocked at virtually 170 kgs/ HA. I buy a poorer stores and try to maximise my profit from them. I just keep costs under control and make decent silage.

It has been constantly published for the last ten years it has changed little.

Just look at calving intervals, lad holding onto a cow to give her another chance. I think the average suckler calving intervals is nearly 400 days on average

Ask any Teagasc advisor for the figures. I know I was in discussions groups and those were the figures quoted as well.