Dairy Chitchat 4, an udder new thread.

Crazy prices. I'm just delighted I have so much done so far.

Done a cubicle shed and tank here at the start of covid when prices where on the floor, all in was 150k with shed put up by ourselves, 300k wouldn't build it now I'd say tank and slats at the time came to 55k, we draw bulk cement into the concrete crew that done the tank he was 35k at the time for the tank , he done a similar tank lately and it was 80k, slats where 20k at the time and would be well over 40k to buy them present day...

Whatever about the costs,intrest rates are the real kicker

We are stocked over 3 cows to the ha on milking platform of 96 acres with 12 acres of this rented. We own another 40 acres of an outside block along with more ground rented for silage and rearing cattle.

As jaymala says if we were to lose rented ground and derogation to go it would be a serious hit to the viability of the farm.

We’ve cut a lot of bales off milking platform this year already and have 60 of the calves still grazing on it too. 3 cows to the ha is easily managed it just won’t be doable in the future with regs.

If we were to cut stocking rate you’d be topping every day of the week.

I work off farm currently and am in partnership with parents also. I will never part time farm or work and milk cows I see it as complete lunacy.

Either go full time farming or let the place out, nothing would entice me to come home from work and prick around with dry stock or worse again be milking cows before and after work during the week, have a neighbor at it and he has no life at all.

At the moment I milk 3 evenings during the week when I work from home and do 3 milkings on the weekend, this allows me to play on 3 different teams…my neigbor doesn’t even go out at the weekends he’s so burnt out from work.

Looks like you are coming around to the reality of the situation

You'd need 134 acres for 100 cows, if they never calved.😪

You’re talking 170 acres for 100 cows, 20 calves and 20 replacements in a no dero scenario…you could nearly rent out 30 acres of that for two cuts of silage you’d have so much excess land.

Why don’t you do what all the smart dairy farmers do and get yourself a local national school teacher, tip away at your seventy cows and take it easy.

Feelings in the Dept of Ag specifically? Or general coalition government

Of course the spouse should be working. What else would she/he be doing. It never made sense to me for fellows to be working and more milking after the farm has reached max capacity. In fact when you are gone in to the higher rate of tax as a couple, it's time to start taking it easy. I have six kids by the way so it's busy but we both do our part.

In the department itself.was told that some of the stuff they dream up were so off the wall.a good recession and food shortages would sort out a lot of this nonsense

I think it would help if the dairy industry here could come up with a coherent argument as to why they need the highest nitrate derogation in the EU to operate.

Agreed. Some of the stuff that the Department conjure up defies logic . I have been filling in forms for various types of subsidies for a number of people for decades . Recent changes have almost flummoxed me. As an example take the stocking rates for the ANC for this year. Equines can only make up half the requirement, a dairy cow is one LU but if the cow is non dairy she is only .8 of an LU . And the overall qualifying SR for 2023 is .10 per hectare while it was .15 in 2022.

As you say, a good spell of hunger would sort a lot of this BS

There's going to be nobody bursting there hole working full time and minding 60 cows at home after ........ now unless he's a hermit,celebte, a suckered for punishment and an absolute hooor to work 🙄