Dairy Chitchat 4, an udder new thread.

Wonder how many of those heifers will be around this time next year. To my mind while they are very stylish and milky they lacked the body capacity to support it.

https://m.independent.ie/farming/comment/why-now-is-the-best-time-in-decades-for-new-entrants-to-get-into-dairy-farming/a1816481523.html

Ain't it easy to be a writer. Just type in anything that comes in to your head.

Not one figure on start up costs, just physical fitness and ability to roll with the punches.

I must be getting old but it seems every day their are bills coming in the door, and hardly ever less than a thousand. Before it was this time of year to fatten the current account to be ready for a hungry spring.

Esb 1200. Bi monthly

Mechanic was 1100 for doing up the old jeep for the test

Vets tubes, sealers, vaccinations 1500

Farm insurance 1400

Tractor diesel I got in Oct, 1040

I'm going in to hibernation,

Myself and my check book won't be seen till March

They are what they are top quality holstein so if you dont run the 3 tonne diet feeder system dont buy simple as that.

The people in other jobs are no happier and just have a different set of problems.Average full time wage in Ireland is about 44k, less than 5% earn 100k. Whatever about hours worked their definitely isn't better money. Dairy farming at reasonable scale and done well provides a great living comparable to any profession.

There is a gang of us friends since secondary school. I am the only full time farmer. The other lads have different careers Gardas, teachers, accountants, engineers. They are no better off than me in terms of wealth or anything else

One of the lads has got on well in one of the medical companies in Galway. He is on 120k/ year. Taxed to the eyeballs. He has over 20 people reporting to him. Leaves the house every morning at 6 to get into work before the chaos of Galway traffic. He told me the company expects more or less 24 hour access to him. There isn't handy money anywhere

The amazing thing was the article was looking at young outsiders to start dairy farming.

The point we were making that even for established farmer, the costs are savage at the moment. Inputs, labor, machinery ect.

Not to mind not owning animals or land.

A lad in our discussion group started with no land, over 10 years has ended up milking 160 of his own cows on a lease farm. Actually bought a small bit of land a couple of years ago.

All this is down to personal preference, he really wanted to farm and has made a career out of it. Running any small business is an awful lot of graft.

A relation of mine told me years ago everything in life is a struggle, the happiest people pick their struggle.

share milking typically is a set buy in /sell out price. You don’t follow the market value of the cows. The share milker doesn’t supply working capital

Mike is trying to generate some business for himself.. he couldn't give a toss about young farmers..

Im fairly sure boviseal is the one with the green lid, its the best of them I think. Was at a meeting the other day and someone commented that the cow dries up better with antibiotic tubes compared to just sealers.

Thats from kiwiland, along with gypisey day etc, its a minefield the above craic in Ireland, contary ole lad and young lads usually dont work out, good family friend got into a lovely farm locally that was a share-milking arrangement that went sideways of a cliff, cows were meant to be 50/50, "share-milker" was owner on agfood, he factoried the land owners share of cows after, defied high court orders, it simply dosent work here

Any mention of blood testing the cows?

not sure I agree …I love what I do ,but I’m well established and I’ve the heavy spend on my farm to be compliant etc done,….i started in 2010 and could do it financially ,just about))…and didn’t have all the regs and uncertainty we have now to contend with ,there is far better opportunities outside the farm gate now ….if it was now I’d most likely either be a beef farmer who conteact rearers fr replacements aa well with part time job on side

I’m still good friends with people I would of worked with before I went farming ,they are def better off,some got redundancy and moved to other jobs ,some got promotions ,they all have great perks ,great holidays ,time off etc ….bar a young lad had parents with good sized established farm why would they want the drudgery of milking cows in an over regulated industry where no matter what you do to stay compliant it’s never enough

Christ ….that’s slow .wouldn’t think your a candidate for blooding herd yet anyway ….dont know what’s going on in depth recently ,reactors slow to move ,valuations slow to do plus get approved and notification of restricted herds to farmers bounds to breakdown don’t seem to be happening