With regard to the milking time we milk OAD and many others milk OAD in the spring, the cows adapt very easily in my experience. So the couple of hours early start in the evening shouldn't be an issue for the cows.
Each to there own though we are in a different situation and this route is working out fine..with regards filling my time, I have a full time job and am studying a degree in my "spare time"
All the model farms usually have those silent labour units be it a placement student/husband/son/daughter//parents/wife/heavy reliance on good contractors etc out doing a few hours here and their to act as relief valve....
It's the above groups lack of disbelief at one man bands been out half the night and not in with the feet up at 6 in the evening that's most amusing, alot of the above group would be in a mental asylum/cows sold after a season if you took away all the outside labour, and its often the case in failed dairy farms where they are passed on, that it's not because the next generation is any worse a farmer than the previous but his support network of the above mighten exist
Normally away with kids after milking in evenings or I spend time with my parents, neither of these should be neglected. Too many kids dont get to spend time with their parents anymore. We've an extra 2 hours in the day to do work on farm since new parlour went in. Maybe when kids move on I'll milk a bit later.
One thing I can never figure with this milking early evening. You get a couple extra hrs work done say between 330 and 530 every day that's 12 hours a week.when does that get done then.used to work and milk cows before so would-be used to long days.alot of talk about work life balance but I d ve a little question mark over what people are doing with alot of their free time.an awful amount of time now is being wasted on line in various forms. Myself included
If your contented that's half the battle....is everyone else content. Have you a small bit of a relief milker if you change about your milking time even A bit it may be easier get someone to give you an evening off .that's if you want it. It's hard with family stuff to get about to the jobs in the yard at some stages of the year. As Jack said if you're on your own then small things can cause tie to run away
Four times hes at it ......he's the outside buyer for the processing assets in Kerry...........🙃
Is it 2 or 3 times a day you’re milking?
There's more than one way to skin a cat. Running around like a blue arse fly all day with no time to smell the roses is no life either. Can spend time with family/friends during the day too.
I was that soldier once apon a time ,but eventually got a bit of sense .Life is far too short to be rooting with cows that hour of the night!!!
I'm contented. Between children and elderly relatives, farming is only half my day. That's probably the main benefit of being self employed in that you can juggle things around.
What’s your help situation like? My father was out after 9 every night before finishing the whole time in the spring while I was away in college during the weeks and living abroad for a year it’s hard get everything done in the day on your own and even going out in the morning and being met with cows calving the morning can slip away And that pushes your whole day out.
Once you can get some proper routine going if your on your own after the spring that would be the main thing.
That's no life.
It's usually 11pm, I let milking to the last thing. But this year I'm going to change..
You’ve a long day for the 12/12. It probably takes at least 30 minutes to get the cows to the parlour in the morning and maybe 2 hours at least again from the time you start the evening milking to finish. 7 days a week is a lot of hours
Nah quality over quantity every day
What time do you finish in the evening?
Some lads weren’t lucky enough to inherit land and have to work a bit harder than others 😉
Paying for every bit we’re farming here
Sure those lads are delighted with themselves. It wouldn't be for me. You see it here on this forum, some lads just want numbers of cows at any cost.
Ya, lads need to know how to read the EBI. I often see high EBI cows but half of that figure could be fertility with a milk index of under 100 and a maintenance figure of 30. Then that cow is going to be small and not be a great milker. I ignore the fertility index to a certain degree myself
That sounds correct at first glance.
But then when you think how he got to have a net worth of 3 million you would need to have a rethink. What person working for a wage can ever expect to have a net worth of 3 million.
No diet feeder, feeding about a ton, milking 305 days max. Prob average of 280 or 285. Best ones prob milking about 700
I was only thinking about it today myself. A 200 cow man between stock, buildings, machinery, land etc etc has probably got €2 to €3 million invested when you take into account the value of the land. For an asset worth we’ll say €2.5 million it’s a sad state of affairs that he can’t even take minimum wage out of it himself and it’s only touch and go if he can hire an employee just to get the basic work done. To have to work 7 days a week and put in all those man hours and to have all that money invested the farm would want to be making 20 cent per litre in profit every year. I know it won’t happen but it’s turning into a bit of a mugs game
Have off farm income. Partnership down the line possibly. Or see if these big rents stay normal for the foreseeable.
Yeah but my point is that so many cows that are sold for small money will never milk well no matter what you feed them
they have to have the potential
heres a cow who is 315 ebi with a milk index of 126 and she did 759 kg ms as a second calver and gained a month
a lot of these high ebi cows are only high on fertility and very low on milk index
life is about balance
Add calf tags and sample testing and the fact the calf crop no longer generates any return.
Are you achieving that yourself straight 🤔
Your not going to grass walks soo
I'd say a lot of lads are holding on by the seat of there pants praying for the milk cheques in Apr and may
200 cows man unless he has family help, in partnership with a son/daughter etc is probably the worst of both worlds, realistically you need 2 full-time labour units to run the place but in a year like 2023, the money wasn't their in alot of cases to be able to spend 40k on a outside labour unit
Of course you can if you feed her and manage her accordingly
It was once seems to be meeting in the middle at the moment few of my heifers have taken a huge jump in ebi mothers doing 9/10k per year
