Dairy Chitchat 4, an udder new thread.

https://www.agriland.ie/farming-news/dairy-markets-ornua-ppi-sees-another-drop-for-april/

That will be the excuse for the price staying the same or going down for April's milk.

Agriland are quickly becoming it's advertisers puppets. Very quick to point reasons not to rise

How much are you feeding them? I'm back a bit from peak. Probably about 27 litres on 4kg nuts. About 12 cows more than last year so plenty heifers.

4.5 kg. They’re getting nice zero grazed grass off last years reseeds during milking. A lot of them lie down when they get back to the paddock

I read in the newspaper about Dairygold’s treatment of its members—it marks the beginning of the end for the current leadership. What that letter essentially meant was a declaration of war against their own milk suppliers. In a few years, Dairygold will inevitably require a bailout from Kerry Dairy Ireland. Frankly, the individuals running Dairygold couldn’t manage a sweet shop, let alone a dairy cooperative. Say what you will about Pat Murphy at KDI, but at least Pat is competent and certainly wouldn’t resort to running to solicitors with petty complaints.

Kerry Co-op had exhausted themselves sending me letters. Mundy Hayes managed to cling onto his position as chairman through endless crises, yet when one of the many letters he directed the co-op’s legal team to send me became public, he was forced to resign shortly afterward. He had been like a cat with nine lives until then. The irony of the situation was almost laughable—I was actively selling my shares and leaving the co-op, but Mundy personally blocked my departure, only to then threaten me with expulsion via solicitor’s letters. It’s comically absurd. He’s elderly now and looked unwell when I last saw him, so I bear him no personal ill-will.

Where we keep our heifers, there’s a Dairygold store nearby. After witnessing how Dairygold treats its own members, I refuse to support that store any further. The five unfortunate farmers targeted by Dairygold’s management should issue a collective legal statement in next week’s Irish Farmers Journal. They shouldn’t concede an inch to such appalling behavior. It’s disgraceful that Dairygold can’t offer a fair milk price, yet sees fit to spend lavishly on Ireland’s most expensive legal firm to send out intimidating letters. If Dairygold’s management can’t handle legitimate criticism, they should resign and leave it to those capable of doing the job without resorting to crybaby tactics.

For anyone that may be interested. Here is one of the countless letters my own co-op sent me. If anyone can put me in contact with the farmers being targeted with the DG managements smear campaign I’d love to talk to them. 

You could increase the cut in to 47 or 48.

I personally wouldn’t go any higher with the cut out if you are using alkathene particularly inch or bigger

Lads came the other day to collect my old packo milk tank. I traded it in when I bought new tank. It was a pile of ****, trouble from day one. Hope no one on here bought it.

A lad in Cork was seriously pissed off with a new bulk tank that he bought.

So he listed it on DoneDeal complete with the manufacturers name and wrote in Caps

SUITABLE FOR WATER OR DIESEL - DEFINITELY NOT SUITABLE FOR MILK

The ad was gone within a few hours 😂

Was planning on buying a diet feeder in back end for the winter feeding but going to buy soon now with imminent dry spell and feed cows if needs be, what size do I need to go for for 110/120 milking cows? Usually onlt buffer feediny and then just full time feeding dry cows .. like the look of the abbey tub feeders

I’ve a vf1250 abbey for 100 odd cows …dose the job fine ..if buying new get a metal detector ..you’d be surprised what it’ll get ….would probably of went for a 1500 only I’ve a narrow feed passage

they are a seriously well made feeder

https://www.agriland.ie/farming-news/milking-cows-successfully-at-600ft-above-sea-level/

Any one would think by the first few sentences that the high yields were from grass. My calculations sayes he fed 3 and a half ton of concentrate.

I'm thinking of buying a diet feeder too. They were never popular around my area so I never considered the need before. I guess it's all tub feeders now for bales. I have about 30% bales.

I thought a diet feeder was huge money but they seem reasonable on done deal.

Maybe mix brewers grain and silage. Might grow 7 acres of maize next year.

More than one way to milk a cow especially this year @ prices , see lads on twitter boasting about pulling nuts back to 2 kgs and replies being the race to the bottom starts now😅 true Should be no issue feeding the cow this year when milk price is allowing it