Profit in Summer Grazing

I know the thread title mentions profit, but margins are miniscule whatever the system. You need to be rolling big numbers in drystock and lads doing this in reality are few and far between. Anyways, decoupling of payments is the reality and it happened a long time ago.

Back to looking at the summer grazing system.
Lets break it down by looking at the advantages first off. No silage to be made. No slurry to be spread. These are two of the biggest contractor bills on drystock farms. Now imagine cutting fertiliser bill (because no silage) or having the 'luxury' to spread all your current annual fertiliser allocation on grazing. Big saving on outgoings.

Payments will not be affected once minimum stocking rates observed for ANC, and in reality these are easily met.

Now lets look at the time savings. 5 months off. And let's face it they're 5 of the least glamorous months farming wise! 5 months of zero commitment to the farm. Teachers only get 3months off ffs!!

I've managed to fine tune and pare down my summer routine. Stock have continued to thrive for me with fewer man hours. Investment in 'grazing infrastructure' (fencing, water troughs) has paid dividends in this regard.

Now l haven't managed to be able set up a system to do this in the winter time. Basically stock need to be seen daily. They sh*t in water troughs, silage needs to be shoved in. I believe there is an opportunity for some inventor to automate and address these issues. l calculate there is roughly 3 times the man hours with stock in the wintertime.

Cons.. with summer grazing there would be more time needed to source stock in springtime and more stock to be sold in backend. The logistics of this would have to be looked at. If a good lad could be got to source cattle and drop in yard in spring, it would leave only the selling for the farmer to contend with.
A lot more topping to keep control of grass in May and June. The option to bale and sell surplus could be looked at.

Definitely food for thought. It is something l will be giving careful consideration to.

Tomjim wrote: »

Anyone with a link to a previous thread where a poster was bragging about the return he was making from I think it was summer grazing

There is a thread going somewhere about compulsive lying, I think You'll find him there.

Never wrestle with pigs wrote: »

Don't think that there should be any profit in it if the real farmers that winter stock can't make a Bob.

What is a real farmer. For years part time farmers were called hobby farmers by the FJ and IFA and a few others Any farmer that was not full time was a.hobby farmer. Nearly every second beef farmer that is so call full time either hauls cattle, is a factory agent, a dealer or a small time contractor. Most of the lads that do nothing else are single men in there sixties.

As Seamus Mallon said the Good Friday agreement was Sunningdale for slow learners. Well it was the same for with the snobbery about part time beef farmers. It was name calling by slow learners. My attitude to anything is to look at the numbers and if they do not stack up exit it. Winter finishing is a dead duck until we get forward pricing for these cattle or processors stop acting the dick from Christmass on.

Willfarman wrote: »

I was against him ding dong. Look if we all ran our farms like we were renting them, graze it extensively, and sell silage bales off the swarth.. no maintenance, p and k , drainage, reseeding,hedge trimming, building, it would appear to leave a profit but how long would that last before the soil grows little but crows foot rushes or rag worth.. Then the wet years and the freak of this summer drought. No get rich quick.. ap2016 or something similar.

Restive has it AP2014. His system did not suit everyone. He lived a bit away from the land he inherited. He maximised his SFP ANC and REPs at the time. He stocked and a bit with it to collect his payments. If I remember he may have fed a bit of silage in the spring and autumn to maximise cattle returns. I remember it was pointed out to him about P&K loss in silage and he was starting to take that on board. Himself and wrangler had a few set too's

Bass Reeves wrote: »

Never wrestle with pigs wrote: »

Don't think that there should be any profit in it if the real farmers that winter stock can't make a Bob.

What is a real farmer. For years part time farmers were called hobby farmers by the FJ and IFA and a few others Any farmer that was not full time was a.hobby farmer. Nearly every second beef farmer that is so call full time either hauls cattle, is a factory agent, a dealer or a small time contractor. Most of the lads that do nothing else are single men in there sixties.

As Seamus Mallon said the Good Friday agreement was Sunningdale for slow learners. Well it was the same for with the snobbery about part time beef farmers. It was name calling by slow learners. My attitude to anything is to look at the numbers and if they do not stack up exit it. Winter finishing is a dead duck until we get forward pricing for these cattle or processors stop acting the dick from Christmass on.

Willfarman wrote: »

I was against him ding dong. Look if we all ran our farms like we were renting them, graze it extensively, and sell silage bales off the swarth.. no maintenance, p and k , drainage, reseeding,hedge trimming, building, it would appear to leave a profit but how long would that last before the soil grows little but crows foot rushes or rag worth.. Then the wet years and the freak of this summer drought. No get rich quick.. ap2016 or something similar.

Restive has it AP2014. His system did not suit everyone. He lived a bit away from the land he inherited. He maximised his SFP ANC and REPs at the time. He stocked and a bit with it to collect his payments. If I remember he may have fed a bit of silage in the spring and autumn to maximise cattle returns. I remember it was pointed out to him about P&K loss in silage and he was starting to take that on board. Himself and wrangler had a few set too's

Love the Seamus Mallom quote!

Siamsa Sessions wrote: »

Straw poll: if you won 5,000 Euro on a scratch card and wanted to spend it on cattle next March, what would you buy?

Cull cows, I think they are going to be scarce as anything that blinked wrong the last 12 months got a happy meal.

Mooooo wrote: »

The only person I know at summer grazing picks up cull cow's early in the spring and kills them thru the summer. Over winters very few cattle at all. Its the buying in price where he looks for profit more than the selling price

This is a logical approach as the growing is done and weight goes on quickly, they can be bought right in late feb ,early march and pushed out when prices peak and grass starts to fail in late july.

Siamsa Sessions wrote: »

I'm going to give the game away now and outline my brilliant plan to make a fortune from cattle!

(Most of it came from reading threads on here)

1. Buy yearling HE or AA cross heifers in March/April, around the 250-300kg mark (550-600 Euro); if coloured ones were available at the right price I'd look at them too
2. Put 150-180kg on them at grass on til October, and house then in our own straw-bed shed; budget is approx. 200 Euro for silage, meal, and straw
3. Sell out of the shed in March, at north of 500kg and hopefully 250kg deadweight

At 4 Euro/kg, they might leave 100-150 Euro per head after various other costs (transport, dose, fixed costs, etc.)

Are these figures wildly optimistic or just regular optimistic?

I dont think any cattle finished out of shed leave anything.
Had an angus heifer calf march 17 bought to suck a cow, kept ticking over. Shes being killed today. I think she'll kill 260 kilos maybe more. Sold to butcher,might get 3.90 we'll see. Prob make 1000 or a bit with it. Bought for 250e as a calf.she didnt cost the world and got only 80kg meal to finish her. Should increase the ko a bit. You would Prob buy weanling heifers over 200kg for 400 now. Would be a nice turn in them. Easier kept than heifer twice their age in a straw shed

Genghis Cant wrote: »

Here's a bullock I bought in spring late April. Red Lim, 595 kgs €1440. Killed late Sept 393 kgs R=3=, €1503.
Never again.

Jaysus, how much did you lose on him after all costs? Anyone remember that money in beef thread by APR14, he was going to put his figures up but it still wasn’t possible to figure out the profit he claimed as he just gave a shoddy snapshot of his sales docket.

He came back later with an update only saw other posters mention him after writing this post, here’s a link.

https://touch.boards.ie/thread/2057349066/1/#post93549914

This thread has me baffled.If summer grazing doesn’t pay then it pays for no one including the man who lets his stock out of the shed on first April.Whats the difference?

BENDYBINN wrote: »

This thread has me baffled.If summer grazing doesn’t pay then it pays for no one including the man who lets his stock out of the shed on first April.Whats the difference?

+1 No point in buying small store cattle in the spring and returning to the mart in the fall with the hope of a twist.