Advertisement
If you have a new account but are having problems posting or verifying your account, please email us on hello@boards.ie for help. Thanks :)
Hello all! Please ensure that you are posting a new thread or question in the appropriate forum. The Feedback forum is overwhelmed with questions that are having to be moved elsewhere. If you need help to verify your account contact hello@boards.ie

Making a go of it

Options
  • 02-06-2020 6:33pm
    #1
    nqtfarmer
    Registered Users Posts: 184 ✭✭


    Hi all, with the recent pandemic I’ve had more time farming. Currently we run 40 suckler cows calving over the summer. Out of work it strikes me at how I’ve things organised and just do a little everyday. If you were to make a go of the land to the full potential over the coming months what would you do or change to make it more profitable? Fencing is a big one here


Comments

  • Options
    #2
    893bet
    Registered Users Posts: 8,768 ✭✭✭893bet


    Fencing won’t make it more profitable?

    At a small scale all you can really do IMO is not chase numbers to try become a busy fool. You might turn a little extra some years but then lose a fortune the year things go to pot (beef price wise or wether wise). Go for quality over quantity.


  • Options
    #3
    nqtfarmer
    Registered Users Posts: 184 ✭✭nqtfarmer


    No fencing won’t but it will save time and labour in the future. That’s the dilemma, do you go and invest mad in more stock or machinery and hope for a profit or do you just keep it ticking over?
    893bet wrote: »
    Fencing won’t make it more profitable?

    At a small scale all you can really do IMO is not chase numbers to try become a busy fool. You might turn a little extra some years but then lose a fortune the year things go to pot (beef price wise or wether wise). Go for quality over quantity.


  • Options
    #4
    mr.stonewall
    Registered Users Posts: 1,641 ✭✭✭mr.stonewall


    nqtfarmer wrote: »
    Hi all, with the recent pandemic I’ve had more time farming. Currently we run 40 suckler cows calving over the summer. Out of work it strikes me at how I’ve things organised and just do a little everyday. If you were to make a go of the land to the full potential over the coming months what would you do or change to make it more profitable? Fencing is a big one here

    Fencing just makes everything so much easier. Per hour worked may leave a bit more but it leaves peace of mind. Do it right and every year it's only small repairs you have to do.


  • Options
    #5
    _Brian
    Registered Users Posts: 18,488 ✭✭✭✭_Brian


    Fencing will increase profit if it allows Better grass management and better animal growth for same inputs.

    Reducing empty cow numbers on suckler farms has to be the biggest boost you could have. So many lads I see have empty cows hanging around for another chance and some running empty on their second chance. This is a massive drain on profitability.
    If it’s costing €600+ to keep an empty cow, if you were doing great and making €200 hd on weanlings then it takes three other productive cows to cover the cost of the empty cow, that’s four cows knocking about with nothing to show for it but work and costs. See plenty lads with 15-20 sucklers carrying two and even more empties every year. Two empties in a 15 cow herd is 50% of the herd there for nothing.


  • Options
    #6
    trg
    Registered Users Posts: 377 ✭✭trg


    _Brian wrote: »
    Fencing will increase profit if it allows Better grass management and better animal growth for same inputs.

    Reducing empty cow numbers on suckler farms has to be the biggest boost you could have. So many lads I see have empty cows hanging around for another chance and some running empty on their second chance. This is a massive drain on profitability.
    If it’s costing €600+ to keep an empty cow, if you were doing great and making €200 hd on weanlings then it takes three other productive cows to cover the cost of the empty cow, that’s four cows knocking about with nothing to show for it but work and costs. See plenty lads with 15-20 sucklers carrying two and even more empties every year. Two empties in a 15 cow herd is 50% of the herd there for nothing.

    Well put that post


  • Advertisement
  • Options
    #7
    lalababa
    Registered Users Posts: 1,726 ✭✭✭lalababa


    I thought sucklers were losing money??


  • Options
    #8
    J.O. Farmer
    Registered Users Posts: 2,433 ✭✭✭J.O. Farmer


    lalababa wrote: »
    I thought sucklers were losing money??

    They are, I think Brians post is a best case scenario for someone in the top 10%. The figures for your average sucklers herd is even worse.


  • Options
    #9
    _Brian
    Registered Users Posts: 18,488 ✭✭✭✭_Brian


    I saw a tweet yesterday and while I was tempted to snapshot it and stick it in here I’d be afraid is was a member.

    Guy put up a tweet saying they scanned their 19 cows and had 15 in calf and was happy with the results.
    4 empty cows in a herd that size is a wipeout regarding potential to earn a profit. Given beef and cattle prices at present I’d wager he’s adding from either BPS or off farm income to cover the losses. That’s before any mortality rate to consider.

    Last few years has been hard to make money in small scale or most likely any scale beef with only 1/3 of beef farms not drawing on BPS or off farm income to stay afloat. Last three years we broke even and considering probably 40-50% are loosing at least it’s holding its own. Critical jobs get pushed on the long finger though so maybe it’s not as good as even that.

    When I was stationed in the College in Ballyhaise the current principal brought out a news letter. Embarrassingly the Autumn calving suckler herd had just been scanned and 30% of cows turned out empty, I swear to Jesus they were trying to put a positive spin on the result rather than telling students the truth - that sort of behaviour will break them because they don’t have a gravy train of tax payers money to keep them afloat when they go home.


  • Options
    #10
    patsy_mccabe
    Registered Users Posts: 10,700 ✭✭✭✭patsy_mccabe


    Someone posted a while back on here that the whole stars thing with ICBF was a waste of time. I think many agreed with him . Fertility is the biggest cost in suckler cows. Completely hidden cost. I've a handful of cows here and they have consistently had a calf every 11 months. Others are slipping back every year. In the EBI index it makes up 1/3 of the value.

    'When I was a boy we were serfs, slave minded. Anyone who came along and lifted us out of that belittling, I looked on them as Gods.' - Dan Breen



  • Options
    #11
    mr.stonewall
    Registered Users Posts: 1,641 ✭✭✭mr.stonewall


    patsy_mccabe wrote: »
    Someone posted a while back on here that the whole stars thing with ICBF was a waste of time. I think many agreed with him . Fertility is the biggest cost in suckler cows. Completely hidden cost. I've a handful of cows here and they have consistently had a calf every 11 months. Others are slipping back every year. In the EBI index it makes up 1/3 of the value.

    +1 on fertility. Cow must go back in calf and calve on own and calf get up and going on it's own is my motto Hard calvings and the calving Jack are a surefire way of dropping fertility. Had to only use jack on one out of 25 this year( twisted dead calf). Had 3 not in calf last year. No time for passengers here as the cow is costing too feed and a live calf is leaving money. Weed out these and breed replacements from older and proven cows and cow families. Breeding is about taking small steps and using all data you have to make your own choice. A


  • Advertisement
  • Options
    #12
    Hard Knocks
    Registered Users Posts: 3,944 ✭✭✭Hard Knocks


    patsy_mccabe wrote: »
    Someone posted a while back on here that the whole stars thing with ICBF was a waste of time. I think many agreed with him . Fertility is the biggest cost in suckler cows. Completely hidden cost. I've a handful of cows here and they have consistently had a calf every 11 months. Others are slipping back every year. In the EBI index it makes up 1/3 of the value.
    To me the maternal should be weighed higher for fertility, milk and daughter calving
    Gestation and Calving difficultly after that

    Think currently calving difficulty is the main trait


  • Options
    #13
    nqtfarmer
    Registered Users Posts: 184 ✭✭nqtfarmer


    A live calf per cow per year is the only way. Numbers is a massive part of suckling as the way I see it, the bills like tractor, silage etc all have a huge up front cost with little more when you increase cow numbers


  • Options
    #14
    Neddyusa
    Registered Users Posts: 1,011 ✭✭✭Neddyusa


    nqtfarmer wrote: »
    A live calf per cow per year is the only way. Numbers is a massive part of suckling as the way I see it, the bills like tractor, silage etc all have a huge up front cost with little more when you increase cow numbers

    Unfortunately the only way in which numbers is a big part of sucklers is that if the bigger the number, the bigger the loss.
    What a cow eats accounts for >75% of the cost of keeping her so silage cost is most certainly related the the number of cows


Advertisement