Dairy Chitchat 4, an udder new thread.

jaymla627 wrote: »

If going with calcium lime youll have zero issues, but mag lime like roadstone have is a big no no if on wet heavy ground

You would have issues with Ca lime on black ground, from what I've read Conon has gravelly ground.
Ca loosens, Mg tightens, there's a large school of thought that as the proportions are important too.

Castlekeeper wrote: »

You would have issues with Ca lime on black ground, from what I've read Conon has gravelly ground.
Ca loosens, Mg tightens, there's a large school of thought that as the proportions are important too.

Roadstone I believe will mix cal and mag lime to whatever proportions you require.
There's a few I know are getting their soil test results and then are getting the lime mix made up to adjust their Ca:Mg ratio in the soil the way they want it.

I fell asleep during that IGA conference last night. Fair play to all the heros and what they achieve but the same old thing over and over gets tiresome. Woke up for a man near the end saying about so many people dairy farming that aren't meant to be I felt like the bold boy in the class for not doing what I was told and expanding like hell and taking on more ground,contracting out heifer rearing, etc.

mahoney_j wrote: »

Watched it all ,3 really good farmers 3 great stories lots to take from all 3.may not fully agree on everything but different strikes different folks

Ones interpretation of a good farmer can be alot of things but for me it's not one that burns themselves out at cows like alot of fellas are at. Not talking about the 3 lads there now. In fact I'm probably more guilty of it myself but I'm trying to move away from being a slave to the whole thing. I admire the lads that are able to drop the whole thing when they want and go to events, holidays, pastimes, etc. I'm here trying to get into the top 10% and even the top 5% and I don't know why because I was never in the top 30 or 40 percent of anything else all my life. Jeez I badly need a few phucking pints.

straight wrote: »

Ones interpretation of a good farmer can be alot of things but for me it's not one that burns themselves out at cows like alot of fellas are at. Not talking about the 3 lads there now. In fact I'm probably more guilty of it myself but I'm trying to move away from being a slave to the whole thing. I admire the lads that are able to drop the whole thing when they want and go to events, holidays, pastimes, etc. I'm here trying to get into the top 10% and even the top 5% and I don't know why because I was never in the top 30 or 40 percent of anything else all my life. Jeez I badly need a few phucking pints.

Well time off to me is just as important as profit, but it's hard to get there without putting in the hard yards first.

We went contract rearing last year for the first time, best decision we ever made.
Super uniform bunch of heifers from our best cows that in really looking forward to milking.
We were doing a good job on them but this guy is doing an excellent job, I'm not chasing my tail.during calving and breeding to go check heifers on the outfarm and I can devote my time to just the cows,
We're milking more cows and it doesn't feel like any extra work

Grueller wrote: »

At the mention of contract rearing. I have an outfarm that I am keeping sucklers on at the moment. I am looking for an exit strategy from sucklers and have an idea of contract rearing. The only snag is that I would want to batch them with my own heifers. I have plenty grass and housing for up to 45 on top of my own heifers. Would mixing the heifers be a deal breaker?

Tbf I wouldn't be mad about it and it would be be a deal breaker for us but there is guys out there rearing 3 or 4 groups of heifers from different farms

GrasstoMilk wrote: »

Well time off to me is just as important as profit, but it's hard to get there without putting in the hard yards first.

We went contract rearing last year for the first time, best decision we ever made.
Super uniform bunch of heifers from our best cows that in really looking forward to milking.
We were doing a good job on them but this guy is doing an excellent job, I'm not chasing my tail.during calving and breeding to go check heifers on the outfarm and I can devote my time to just the cows,
We're milking more cows and it doesn't feel like any extra work

Milking more cows but are you making more money. I prefer rearing them myself. I may have trust issues. Ha.

Farmer2017 wrote: »

Lads now that breeding season over what do ye do with the stock bull between this and next may

Sell him for more money than you bought him for and buy another next year

Paid too much for him to do that after one season

Grueller wrote: »

At the mention of contract rearing. I have an outfarm that I am keeping sucklers on at the moment. I am looking for an exit strategy from sucklers and have an idea of contract rearing. The only snag is that I would want to batch them with my own heifers. I have plenty grass and housing for up to 45 on top of my own heifers. Would mixing the heifers be a deal breaker?

If you have a good disease history and can show you do a good job, its certainly a runner. A friend of mine is doing it. He used to keep the bull calves to slaughter, bow he takes in heifers from another farmer.

He's a good operator and is motivated to have the contracted heifers better than his own. He'll pull amy light ones for extra feeding and keep them all on track.

The risk is a breakdown with either of them. If the rearer goes down, he's prepared to buy the heifers allowing the owner to source a new batch from the market place to fill his requirements.

If the owner gets locked up, they'll probably just let that group off to the market..

Gotta be prepared to be flexible as it's a little more complicated when the rearingbfarm has milking facilities..

jaymla627 wrote: »

I reckon in the next decade to comply with nitrates/environmental constraints and still have a viable number of cows to make a living without having to farm 100's of acres , herds will be fully housed and slurry only digestors will become essential to elimimate ammomia emissions, really intresting company called Biolectric specializing in this setting up a base in Ireland, no amount of protected urea our high ebi environmentally friendly cows in strict grass based systems been preached by teagasc is going to negate the eco-warriors and their enablers the green party who will have the dairy industry in their crosshairs

NO NO NO. Invest in cows that eat grass and don't spend money on concrete or roofs or all that rubbish. Bla,bla, bla. Sure where could it all go wrong.

straight wrote: »

NO NO NO. Invest in cows that eat grass and don't spend money on concrete or roofs or all that rubbish. Bla,bla, bla. Sure where could it all go wrong.

I reckon it'll be the other way.
Farmers without the scale will have to look to add value by becoming 'organic'.
Glanbia will start an organic division like other big processors in the world.
The public will want to see cows out grazing on land and not indoors like pig farms.
Farmers through innovation and biology will produce and use nitrogen on farm.
The caveat, farmers will have to look at producing all their feed on farm to be economically viable and have trust in the feed.

cjpm wrote: »

Would prefer a long apron for the warm evenings, however most aprons I've seen don't seem to cover the back of your shirt and trousers.

Any better aprons available?? That actually wrap around the wearer??

I have a 'Flexothane Bib and Brace' which has the coverage you're looking for without the risk of stepping on it and murdering yourself that seems inevitable with an apron.