Way forward

endeavour · Jan 18, 2019

Sounds as if you are ready to break out of your chains now, do not hesitate look for a farm tenancy asap fortune favours the brave and your experience should prove to be well founded.It will be hard at times and require fast thinking and constructive management decisions , best wishes in your endeavours

Horn&corn · Jan 18, 2019

I would expect Contract farming for someone with a milk price at 32ppl would be better than a small council farm with run down facilities on 26ppl.
The council farm we looked at 2 years ago was a green field site couple of years old. Extremely poorly designed in the middle of a 100ac bog. Council thought it was worth a fortune. Probably put you in an early grave!

wasted years · Jan 18, 2019

Beef farmer said:
You been drinking in the day time?

Why's that then?

Beef farmer · Jan 18, 2019

wasted years said:
Why's that then?

So, to build cash and Create a business, you suggest building a setup based on housed cows 365? The build alone would cost more than a chunk of cows to enter a tenancy or share agreement. Cows will create cash, sheds wont

Beames · Jan 18, 2019

Beef farmer said:
Push on and do it. You'll always wonder "what if" if you dont.

This was exactly my thoughts when I took on a farm last April. Everybody kept telling me I was mad and there’s no money in farming. But if I hadn’t gone for it I would of always had that nagging thought ‘what if’ In the back of my mind. At Least this way if it does fail i’m safe in the knowledge I gave it my best shot!!

Beef farmer · Jan 18, 2019

Beames said:
This was exactly my thoughts when I took on a farm last April. Everybody kept telling me I was mad and there’s no money in farming. But if I hadn’t gone for it I would of always had that nagging thought ‘what if’ In the back of my mind. At Least this way if it does fail i’m safe in the knowledge I gave it my best shot!!

Go on, you've farmed in the most testing year about, dependant on location, how you getting on?

endeavour · Jan 18, 2019

+++1 you have to realy want to do it and believe in your self.

Beames · Jan 18, 2019

Beef farmer said:
Go on, you've farmed in the most testing year about, dependant on location, how you getting on?

Going ok so far. Been a learning curve thats for sure. Luckily I was massively under stocked in the summer so I rode out the dry spell with just enough grass to keep everything going.
Then I had an iodine deficiency in my cows and lost 5 bull calves in a row at calving which knocked my confidence and my bank account with the vets bills to find out what was wrong. Made a snap decision to buy 150 round bales of hay off the field at a stupidly low price. So providing I don’t need to feed them I should be quids in as there is a lack of hay locally at the moment.

And then managed to get single farm payment with the young farmer top up in December so now I can stop pouring my own money in hopefully and it will start to stand on its own two feet.

Sorry if this was a long winded answer!!

Beef farmer · Jan 18, 2019

Beames said:
Going ok so far. Been a learning curve thats for sure. Luckily I was massively under stocked in the summer so I rode out the dry spell with just enough grass to keep everything going.
Then I had an iodine deficiency in my cows and lost 5 bull calves in a row at calving which knocked my confidence and my bank account with the vets bills to find out what was wrong. Made a snap decision to buy 150 round bales of hay off the field at a stupidly low price. So providing I don’t need to feed them I should be quids in as there is a lack of hay locally at the moment.

And then managed to get single farm payment with the young farmer top up in December so now I can stop pouring my own money in hopefully and it will start to stand on its own two feet.

Sorry if this was a long winded answer!!

Suckler coos?
Yeah the national reserve of sfp set aside for young farmers has done me a bit off good as and when we get the payment

Bald Rick · Jan 18, 2019

Beef farmer said:
So, to build cash and Create a business, you suggest building a setup based on housed cows 365? The build alone would cost more than a chunk of cows to enter a tenancy or share agreement. Cows will create cash, sheds wont

Sheds will when the Government (spits) decides that the forthcoming Clean Air Act requires a high percentage of housing ...

You read it here first

farmboy · Jan 18, 2019

Beef farmer said:
Look for a share farming opportunity, then look all the while for a tenancy. Build stock numbers or cash ready to go for an opportunity. It's never the right time, but sometimes you need to bite off more than you can chew, and learn to chew fast

Don’t worry I’ve probably made a career out of biting off more than I can chew and fudging my way through!

farmboy · Jan 18, 2019

Homesy said:
Agree with beef farmer. Best to regret things you've done and not the things you didn't. Don't die wondering. There will always be a need for good herd managers if you fail.

Not a bad way of looking at it. I’ve made everything I’ve got so I suppose the worst that can happen is I lose it and have to do it again! I don’t think I would struggle to find another job looking at the vacancies around

farmboy · Jan 18, 2019

Bald Rick said:
Next door neighbour entered into a share farm agreement with his stockman. Another who seeds young entrants and would be a useful sounding board is Rhys Williams who has set up a number now - was in FW recently in their bit on Nuffield scholarships
PM me if you want either or both numbers

Yeah I read his Nuffield report online, seems a pretty switched on guy.

Cows 'n grass · Jan 18, 2019

@farmboy .

I'm not sure where you are in Dorset but I'd happily talk you through my CFA. I'm 10mins off the A38 at ivybridge

Beames · Jan 18, 2019

Beef farmer said:
Suckler coos?
Yeah the national reserve of sfp set aside for young farmers has done me a bit off good as and when we get the payment

I’ve got a Herd of pedigree Angus cattle. Without the sfp would of been a lot harder in my first year and it arrived bang on time which was nice.

farmboy · Jan 18, 2019

Cows 'n grass said:
@farmboy .

I'm not sure where you are in Dorset but I'd happily talk you through my CFA. I'm 10mins off the A38 at ivybridge

Thanks for the offer, very kind and I may well take you up on it, I’m not that far out of Devon.
Interesting what you say about your cfa as wouldn’t want to end up as a glorified employee for someone else so I guess it depends a bit on the parties involved.
Regards 5000 v 10000l cows at the moment I work with a herd somewhere in between! Autumn calving and try to feed well and get a decent bit of milk during the winter then turn out and get a bit of a second flush in the spring and just feed some cake through parlour. Works for us on a liquid contract. I enjoy grazing cows and wouldn’t want to work a system that was relentless 365 and relied on a lot of staff and machinery

ollie989898 · Jan 18, 2019

Beames said:
Going ok so far. Been a learning curve thats for sure. Luckily I was massively under stocked in the summer so I rode out the dry spell with just enough grass to keep everything going.
Then I had an iodine deficiency in my cows and lost 5 bull calves in a row at calving which knocked my confidence and my bank account with the vets bills to find out what was wrong. Made a snap decision to buy 150 round bales of hay off the field at a stupidly low price. So providing I don’t need to feed them I should be quids in as there is a lack of hay locally at the moment.

And then managed to get single farm payment with the young farmer top up in December so now I can stop pouring my own money in hopefully and it will start to stand on its own two feet.

Sorry if this was a long winded answer!!

The first lessons like those, seem hard at the time but will put you in good stead because you will remember them and anything else that pops up will seem minor by comparison. Add to the to the book marked 'experience' and put it behind you. It's a new venture on a new farm, mistakes like that are probably inevitable.

wasted years · Jan 19, 2019

Beef farmer said:
So, to build cash and Create a business, you suggest building a setup based on housed cows 365? The build alone would cost more than a chunk of cows to enter a tenancy or share agreement. Cows will create cash, sheds wont

It does no harm to operate with an open mind and look at as many ways as possible, your way is not always the best way simply because it works for you.
Rented farms can be lost and be money pits, as can owner occupied units, sometimes a small unit owned can be better than a large one that isn't, vanity etc etc.

Beef farmer · Jan 19, 2019

wasted years said:
It does no harm to operate with an open mind and look at as many ways as possible, your way is not always the best way simply because it works for you.
Rented farms can be lost and be money pits, as can owner occupied units, sometimes a small unit owned can be better than a large one that isn't, vanity etc etc.

See I agree with all of that, but to buy some bare land and build sheds is a different game. Greenfield site designed around 365 housing is gonna be what 4k/cow?

100 cows 400k plus 100 cows,
So 550k deep before your 1st milk ticket.

£450 cow place in forage needed straight away too.

I'd love you to show me some one that has done and made a success if what you are saying, there are a fair few cases of.people that have made a success of the alternative way

som farmer · Jan 19, 2019

wasted years said:
I would advise buying ahouse and few acres and buying loads of feed in and shipping the muck out over renting a farm, at 33 you are a good age to go by yourself.

was told the way to get into dairy farming, get your self a base in big arable area, your sh!t would be wanted in exchange for straw/break crops etc. to be fare I think a few spring grazers are doing that already. could be a cheaper way forward than selling a house, and mr gove seems to be well into soil protection!

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