lazy farmer
Member
- Location
- som/dor border
So over the last 25 years haven’t we got more efficient?
Northern Ireland Milk Price Tracker
- Thread starter it's not over
- Start date
Scoobyscotlad
Member
25 years ago, red diesel was 16p/litre, parlour cake sub£100/ton. Inputs rocketed Output value static.
boumaticboy
Member
Running faster to stand still is another way of looking at it.
Mouser
Member
- Location
- near Belfast
And yet it keeps going, the bigger the better and very few leaving the job due to money apart from an odd dreamer. Know of a farm getting minus 3p off base as they refuse to join RT. Haven't invested a lot over the last 10 15 years but even still that's losing 15-18k a year at a guess! Still milking away.
it's not over
Member
- Location
- thunder rd co.antrim
At 25p your not making money,doesnt matter how efficient you are,you're simply living on your farm depreciation
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- Location
- Northern Ireland
And 25p is incredibly cheap for what milk is. It's hard to get a comparison with another similar product. But take supermarket wine as an example of a natural product which has a detailed production system (probably not so much as milk), yet retails at seven quid a litre. Not bad for the commodity end of the market. It's easy for us who've been brought up with the process to completely miss just how astonishingly special our product is.
Ballygreenan
Member
- Location
- Tyrone NI
I have an '05 tractor that does virtually everything (we have a 398 MF for yard duty) neither tractor was new to us but both are paid for. I've got an' 07 JCB for pushing grass and filling the diet feeder, JCB was 2nd hand but also paid for. The diet feeder is a refurb, soon be paid off too.
I don't believe that I'm 'entitled' to anything, I'm blessed that Dad is still fit and active and able to help on the farm also that my 13 year old son is mad keed interested in the farm and willing to help. I'm proud of my family inheritance of this land and farm I enjoy working with our livestock.
As many of you know I work off farm with Ai Services, I enjoy the work but should I need a second income to make ends meet? Should any of us be anticipating a 'hand-out' from the government (which is there to keep food retail prices artificially low)? I take no pleasure in filling out SFP application forms in May, all I'd like is a fair, realistic, sustainable and proper price for my litre of milk. A price which allows me to pay for the inputs (which as mentioned are rising) buy some food and clothes for the kids, take Mrs Ballygreenan for an odd meal out have a wee week off in the summer, enjoy life a little.
I recently treated myself to a new suit for Church, the last one was 11 years old. If I had gone to McCall's in Lisburn offering to pay the price of a suit 10 years ago I wouldn't have got very far, yet here we are on a 20+ year old milk price???
No doubt someone will be happy to tell me that I'm wrong and point out the errors of my ways, but can anyone honestly say they're happy at below 25ppl??
I don't believe that I'm 'entitled' to anything, I'm blessed that Dad is still fit and active and able to help on the farm also that my 13 year old son is mad keed interested in the farm and willing to help. I'm proud of my family inheritance of this land and farm I enjoy working with our livestock.
As many of you know I work off farm with Ai Services, I enjoy the work but should I need a second income to make ends meet? Should any of us be anticipating a 'hand-out' from the government (which is there to keep food retail prices artificially low)? I take no pleasure in filling out SFP application forms in May, all I'd like is a fair, realistic, sustainable and proper price for my litre of milk. A price which allows me to pay for the inputs (which as mentioned are rising) buy some food and clothes for the kids, take Mrs Ballygreenan for an odd meal out have a wee week off in the summer, enjoy life a little.
I recently treated myself to a new suit for Church, the last one was 11 years old. If I had gone to McCall's in Lisburn offering to pay the price of a suit 10 years ago I wouldn't have got very far, yet here we are on a 20+ year old milk price???
No doubt someone will be happy to tell me that I'm wrong and point out the errors of my ways, but can anyone honestly say they're happy at below 25ppl??
Ballygreenan
Member
- Location
- Tyrone NI
Can't hite the 'like' button enough on that comment, well put sir!
mixed farm
Member
Kind of a related hypothetical question, if you could cut cow numbers by 20% and maintain your current income would you do it or would you expand cow numbers by 25% to increase income by 15%?
- Location
- East Tyrone
Cut by 20%, without a doubt.
boumaticboy
Member
Ballygreenan
Member
- Location
- Tyrone NI
Cut, which is what I have done, maybe not quite by 20% but cut nonetheless.
Happy at it
Member
- Location
- NI
I wouldn't look at the men starting up yet, give them five years and the novelty might've wore off a lot of them. To me men that are spending 5k a cow just to get started milking cows, will have a sudden reality check at the current prices. Money is easier spent than earned , always was and will be, but at 24.5p ish in Jan its not much craic at those debt levels.
it's not over
Member
- Location
- thunder rd co.antrim
They ,like me , have taken a vow of poverty,they just don't know it yet. The communist collective farming system didn't work because they worked for peanuts with very little incentive but we do the same under a different name called capitalism and hey we work like ??????? for peanuts
- Location
- Northern Ireland
No need for voluntary reductions here. A mandatory system is in place, run by the department. Six condemned today.
- Location
- Northern Ireland
Was recently told of a complete new unit costing 10k a cow place, including youngstock housing, for 80 cows.
Expensive hobby.
it's not over
Member
- Location
- thunder rd co.antrim
Very disappointing
- Location
- County Antrim
- Location
- County Antrim
Aye McCall’s in Lisburn? Boys you’re fancy. My wife’s family are in the drapery business and I still get my suits in NEXT for £80, cheap and often for this poor unentitled farmer [emoji45]
- Location
- Northern Ireland
All a bit doom and gloom here! I guess you've all considered renting out or selling up?
Farming has a lot of perks when considered against a 9 to 5 job
Farming has a lot of perks when considered against a 9 to 5 job