Dairy Chitchat 4, an udder new thread.

I think it's gas the way "the industry" are very concerned about keeping the gravy train going. Most farmers I know are either discouraging their children or leaving the choice up to them.

The blue print involved making sure you had kids in your early 20's, so by the time you hit your late 40's, the heir to the farm was full-time on farm, you then hit a sweet-spot for maybe 15-20 years till the ole chap/lady physically can't stay slogging...

This is where historically the son/daughter now in their 40's would have their own sons our daughters to step-in to take up the slack from the now knackered older generation, but as we all know it's early/late 30's now before families are started, and with only 1 our 2 kids at that, the shadow/free family labour isn't going to be their anymore, along with mammies who probably are right don't want their childern next our near farming as a career.

Of course theirs exceptions to the rule, but their simply isn't enough coming through anymore

The average herd is 96 cows where there is a full time owner operator how much actually help would they need to run the farm. Can't see family labour making or breaking the farm

Haven't had any family help here the last 4-5 years. Thankfully both parents are still here but both have had a few serious health issues so have completely retired.

Kids are still young so just come out for the run around and the craic, everything takes longer when they are with me but it's great to have them out.

Milk 130 cows here with high use of contractor and relief milkers doing around four milking a week.,

if a reasonable amount of money is reinvested in facilities cannot for the life of me see how it's needs to be hardship.

Exactly our contractors are a bit part of our labour. Our contractor bill is one of biggest bills on the farm, but can't see much of a saving doing work myself. Any additional tractor work would have to be done by paid labour, so when you look at costs of machinery, breakdowns and hopefully getting someone reliable and competent, for me anyway it's not worth the hassle

Ah stop, so you were told at the start of walk about the restriction, told to stay on the designated walk area, but you went for a snoop around the yard anyways... and now you are the one complaining!

If the contractor is doing a lot of the machinery work, and you use relief milkers every week, then you can't claim that you are looking after 130 cows yourself.

I'm wondering what is the cost per litre in farms that use a contractor for most things. I feel faint, paying for silage making alone.

Fag box figures here would be 300 acres of silage @ 130 39k circa 300 hours at slurry/agitaing 24k and circa 100 ton of fert spread at 50 a ton 5k..

If you added in hedge-cutting, bit of reseeding/spraying which is all contracted out, you'd be another 7k, works out at 7 cent a litre and you still need a tractor/loader for feeding

Multi-cut here with wagon, all cow paddocks go into pit aswell, contractor charges 90 a load incl vat, and 14 a acre for raking, works out circa 55 a acre incl vat i mow and do the pit if he was to do the full job 130 a acre would easily cover him probably nearer 120

Contracting bill here last year was just short of 33 k

19 k on silage bales and pit

6.2k slurry

3.5k reseeding digger work

800 hedge cutting

1.9 k fertiliser

2.5k miscellaneous

Delivery 720,000 litres so just under 5cent/litre

I had a look, 8.8c/L was my cost last year. I contract out everything bar winter feeding. That includes plastic for silage, bales left stacked

Judging from this thread, I would have less liters and higher solids than most if not all in here

That's good in fairness. I suppose the large numbers of litres are diluting the costs.

Did you ever work off farm in a 39 hour week like...

It's not that farming is hardship but there are so many good alternatives now.

My biggest problem is that I'm too tied to the farm. I'm working on it. 😅

Our Parents never pushed us into farming. Educated us all and we all worked for 10 to 20 years off farm. 4 of us now are back farming in our own right and we have all bought land and are managing away. If my children want to take over, I don't mind but they will have to go and see the world and get educated and hold down a real job for some time first. My 12 year old reckons he could take the reigns now, no bother. 🤣

I don't mind working hard but I'd need to be putting away as close to 1k per cow per year to be bothered with milking cows.