Zero grazing

That's some field but i can just imagine that outfit on those tyres in a wet hilly field around here.
It would be a laugh.

Interesting rig. If you bale fresh grass, you'll have to break them out straight away as they'll start to heat.
Where a rig like it has a place is, so many farmers often themselves mow a strong paddock with an 8/10 ft mower. The contractor then has to either drive around the field to bale 10/12 bales or else bring a rake to swarth the 4 acres, then go back with the baler to do 12 bales. A rake in front would be a great option but cannot see it being allowed in that format on a public road.

Markcheese wrote: »

Anyone using a baler to zero graze ? https://youtu.be/i6mWOA0u9hI

You'd need to mow first obviously , but the same kit would do during summer for baling , the bale trolly on the back would allow you carry 4 bales off the field at once , wether you carry them home on the rig ,or put them on a bale trailer ..

I’ve never fed zero grazed grass but I did feed fresh bales they didn’t seem to like them very much. I’m not sure if the baler damages the grass more but it starts to heat very quickly

GrasstoMilk wrote: »

Couldn't think of anything worse to be at tbh, you'd be tied to the farm every day of the year
I had thoughts of buying a zero grazer before and up sr around to MP to 5 but again extra concrete, sheds, cost of extra cows, time and needing at least a part time labour unit those 40 cows wouldn't be half as profitable as the current herd, thats marginal milk to me
Running around all year for what?

Now it's probably more profitable than anything else you could do with that ground apart from leasing it out

The problem with expansion at present is the way regulations are changing. You could spend money now and have to go double or quits in 2-5yesrs to maintain that level.if stocking.

Nitrates per cow are increasingly from 85/cow to 100/cow over next 3-5 years. As well there is talk of the EPA becoming involved in nitrates management for those in derogation similar to intensive pigs and chicken farmers. Add in that there is hint that platform stocking rates are coming in as well maybe at 3.5 cows/HA. When cost is added to any system you need to see a return in sub five years. There was another one flying 12-18 months ago where for larger turnovers flat rate vat refunds would be stopped. That has the potential to take nearly 2c/L off high solids milk.

As with most things in life there's a balance ,

The farm I work at got a lad with a zero grazer for a week or so this autumn , did a good job , ( used it to extend cheese making on farm by a week or so ) ,
It wasn't cheap though . but you can't expect a contractor to have the machinery there just "for a week " ,
If there's grass to be zero grazed in spring they'll probably have another go at it ..
The big plus on a heavy soil farm would be having a contractor available for that really bad spring ,when there's some grass ,but it's too wet to graze ... And the silage is running out ....

richie123 wrote: »

Bass excellent post.just to add a small bit to it.
Machines I call them.men who work themselves to the bone to end up with **** all extra and a bigger tax bill.the same men who'd laugh at you for going on a hike or a weekend away.
We have a lot of machines of men in this country doing far in excess of what's required and know nothing else.
Larry relies on these machines for his cheap supply of beef.
If we all cut back by just 5 per cent each.it would do wonders for farming.
Machines of men is what's destroying farming in this country.
Bite off only what you can chew comfortably.
No wonder mental health hip/knee replacement s and cardiovascular disease is so prevalent in farming.
Cut back, do it better and dont over extend yourself and don't begrudge a few pound to a relief milker or labourer.

Best post so far IMO. Bass is also 100%correct

Timmaay wrote: »

I've got 10ac 2miles down the road which has no water, poor fencing and a landlord who isn't keen on grazing, I usually take 3 cuts a year off it, but the April cut is usually sh1te, growing since the previous September and hard to get grass to wilt anyway proper in April, too few hours of sun, so I'm half thinking of baling it up any dry opportunity in March and feed straight into the milkers and calves immediately. Anyone see any major issues with that?

None of baling and feeding within no more than few hours ,u no one locally with z grazer on hire ??

GrasstoMilk wrote: »

Cut it the first week of May when it has a bit more structure
Made our first cut this year the 10th of May, wasn't grazed at all
Cane out at 78 dmd and 12me
Cows milked really well on it in the back end, hopefully have enough to get us through spring now

I done five acres the same around that date. Came in 72 at 14% protein, it will be getting the same treatment this year too.

richie123 wrote: »

Bass excellent post.just to add a small bit to it.
Machines I call them.men who work themselves to the bone to end up with **** all extra and a bigger tax bill.the same men who'd laugh at you for going on a hike or a weekend away.
We have a lot of machines of men in this country doing far in excess of what's required and know nothing else.
Larry relies on these machines for his cheap supply of beef.
If we all cut back by just 5 per cent each.it would do wonders for farming.
Machines of men is what's destroying farming in this country.
Bite off only what you can chew comfortably.
No wonder mental health hip/knee replacement s and cardiovascular disease is so prevalent in farming.
Cut back, do it better and dont over extend yourself and don't begrudge a few pound to a relief milker or labourer.

Could you apply the same to part time farmers?
Like - lads who might have good off farm jobs and just come home to farm for no reason, other than to be machines of men?
Sure they might take some holidays - but couldn’t they just work the standard 9-5 and be happy with that?

I am not sure what the answer to improve beef farming is, but I don’t think placing it at the door of lads who are killing themselves with work is the answer? Especially when it could be argued that a lot of lads on this forum probably don’t depend on farming to put bread on the table - it’s only icing on the cake for them...

Dinzee Conlee wrote: »

Could you apply the same to part time farmers?
Like - lads who might have good off farm jobs and just come home to farm for no reason, other than to be machines of men?
Sure they might take some holidays - but couldn’t they just work the standard 9-5 and be happy with that?

I am not sure what the answer to improve beef farming is, but I don’t think placing it at the door of lads who are killing themselves with work is the answer? Especially when it could be argued that a lot of lads on this forum probably don’t depend on farming to put bread on the table - it’s only icing on the cake for them...

Ya it could be a.partine lad. It could be a small builder. I heard a story of a husband and wife one a guard the other a nurse. They were the same age to a few months. They worked opposite shifts so that they did not pay childcare. They worked any I overtime available. One was coming in the door the other going out.

After 40+ years they had to retire and did so within weeks of each other. They had nothing in common and separated after six months. The only time they had really been with each other in the last 40 years would be during holidays. Generally as the kids were younger they only took a week to 10 days together again to avoid childcare during the summer.

richie123 wrote: »

Ah no Im not talking about men/women with partime jobs who farm on the side
Or even lads with large finishing units or 400 500 cows..it's the men that basically do it all themselves work every minute of every day, a family at home they never see.
They know no better.there life revolves around work and nothing else.we all know who they are and there in every parish in the country.
No one else can do it has to be done by themselves..that sort of attitude.
Doing the work of 3 or 4 people and it's a race to to the bottom.
Pointless.

Ya it more noticeable in farming or the building industry. Lads that work themselves to the bone.

However I am not alluding to that regarding a zero grazer or a slurry spreading. In dairying when you get to a certain scale you cannot do everything yourself. It is as often as economical to hire in both the man and the machine as try to have part-time labour. This lad needs a margin on contracting just as much as you need it in milk. Buying a machine to do 50-100 hours a week or less makes no sense to me.

There is an issue in that most contractors are running 150 hp tractors therefore now any machine attached to them is costing 50+/ hour. This is causing some contracting work to be more expensive than it should as a bigger more expensive machine dose not necessarily mean that you are doing X amount more work to justify the extra cost. However in zero Frazer's most contractors are going for bigger machines than a farmer would buy

Tonynewholland wrote: »

Everyone is different some people love work and it’s what makes them happy.

Loads of farmers complain if being time poor and workload. Having a lifestyle costs money. It costs money to retire. I am retired , I reckon it cost me 100-150k in real terms to retire now as opposed to working to 65. You cannot have it both ways

Bass Reeves wrote: »

Loads of farmers complain if being time poor and workload. Having a lifestyle costs money. It costs money to retire. I am retired , I reckon it cost me 100-150k in real terms to retire now as opposed to working to 65. You cannot have it both ways

I don’t see what retiring has to do with it. The point was some people not just farmers like to work and it makes them happy.

Tonynewholland wrote: »

Retired people keep cattle part time people with good off farm jobs keep cattle dairy farmers are also in the beef game in some form but it’s the lads that work to hard that have the price of beef where it is today 🙄

Any farmer complaining about beef prices simply needs to bow out of beef themselves.
Well and good complaining about part timers and retired pulling down prices, but the full time guys are doing the same.
Every beef farmer is just another number, with their scale haveing little difference on finishing price.

Don't like beef price? Then don't supply.

I know I won't, from now on.

richie123 wrote: »

When you have lots of them types of people they **** it up for everyone else.
Larry Goodman loves them ..sure where else would he get his cheap supply of beef ?

Not having a go Richie - but Larry is getting cheap beef from everyone... if you supplied beef cheap last year, and you got back into the beef game again this year, with all the price uncertainty about - what does that say?

Like I say, not having a go. I am only a hobby farmer, so maybe my view is skewed too...