Is there any future in suckler cows ?

Agrivator

Member
Performance of individual calves doesn’t really matter in isolation. It’s profit per ha that matters.

1. Dog collar method appears fairly low labour.

2. Buy them from the same place as original dairy x heifers.

3. See 2.

4. Dairy cross should produce more than enough milk, as long as the cows are fed right. Pasture management will be key.

You don't have any cows, do you? And for a number of reasons, dairy cross suckler cows have all but disappeared. The Holstein and disease risks have seen to that.
 
The fat cattle haven’t changed since the 80s. The 100hp 4WD tractor of today would have far more bells and whistles.

But, £24,440 for a 90hp tractor. That’s roughly equivalent to 20 fat cattle no?

I was meaning something of fairly high quality that is still around today, like a 90 series Fiat, a 300 series Massey or a 50 series Deere, the equivalent of which will be double what it was back then, not Asian some piece of rubbish that will rattle itself to death in a few years due to being built with cheap components.

Machines are just one example, land, Fuel, Labour are probably more applicable.
 

Hilly

Member
the lad I know, 350 aax cows, aa bull, everything gone fat by 20 mnts, all hitting waitrose spec, no conc. nothing housed, measured his grass, maxed that, wintered on kale. The best dairy boys are getting 5000 liters from forage, if they can do that, so can the fat finish off grass.
I bet his hens lay double Yokers three times a day for ten years as well, don’t mind me I’m just jealous honestly if that’s true I am lol
 
What happens if cow gets between the calves and tushes them about or lays down with one pinned to the floor. If your going to put two on a cow she needs letting into a pen am and pm with some cake until she takes them but usually after about 3 mths she hasnt got the milk for two and one or both start to stunt
Most cows with the desired mothering instinct won't be keen on an other calf. I'd rather a cow would kick a strange calf.
 
Performance of individual calves doesn’t really matter in isolation. It’s profit per ha that matters.

1. Dog collar method appears fairly low labour.

2. Buy them from the same place as original dairy x heifers.

3. See 2.

4. Dairy cross should produce more than enough milk, as long as the cows are fed right. Pasture management will be key.
Dairy crosses won't work on the earlier discussed American ranching system.

Which would be best, Labour intensive calving in a twinning on system of low input ranching?
 
Performance of individual calves doesn’t really matter in isolation. It’s profit per ha that matters.

1. Dog collar method appears fairly low labour.

2. Buy them from the same place as original dairy x heifers.

3. See 2.

4. Dairy cross should produce more than enough milk, as long as the cows are fed right. Pasture management will be key.
And on the days where you have 20 cows calve, and you have pens full because you had 10 calve the day before, but you can't turn any of them out because you're twinning on 30 or 40 calves and the weather is bad, tomorrow isn't looking promising, meanwhile you're lambing.
 

unlacedgecko

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
Fife
And on the days where you have 20 cows calve, and you have pens full because you had 10 calve the day before, but you can't turn any of them out because you're twinning on 30 or 40 calves and the weather is bad, tomorrow isn't looking promising, meanwhile you're lambing.

Lamb in April/May, calve in June.

Do it all outdoors and make temp pens for the twinning on.
 

unlacedgecko

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
Fife
Dairy crosses won't work on the earlier discussed American ranching system.

Which would be best, Labour intensive calving in a twinning on system of low input ranching?

Could you not do both?

Labour intensive calving/twinning in period, then low input grazing, with focus on pasture management the rest of the year?

Replacements could be selected from cows which wean 2.
 
Lamb in April/May, calve in June.

Do it all outdoors and make temp pens for the twinning on.
Calve for 1 month? 200 cows would be 7 per day, busy days could be 20 cows calving.

30 or 40 temp pens to cover busy days.

What dairy (that is already selling you replacements) will be able to supply all those calves, particularly in June?

I don't fancy wondering what do with 200 cows with 400 x 3 to 4 month old calves in a wet October.
 
Last edited:
Could you not do both?

Labour intensive calving/twinning in period, then low input grazing, with focus on pasture management the rest of the year?

Replacements could be selected from cows which wean 2.
Follow the finely tuned advice of the ranching for profit people with no concentrates or conserved forage, with a dairy x cow thats rearing 2 calves?

Let me know how that turns out for you after a few years of it.
 

unlacedgecko

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
Fife
Calve for 1 month? 200 cows would be 7 per day, busy days could be 20 cows calving.

30 or 40 temp pens to cover busy days.

What dairy (that is already selling you replacements) will be able to supply all those calves, particularly in June?
Follow the finely tuned advice of the ranching for profit people with no concentrates or conserved forage, with a dairy x cow thats rearing 2 calves?

Let me know how that turns out for you after a few years of it.

You’re correct. Massive holes in the theory.
 

egbert

Member
Livestock Farmer
those that carefully cost out everything, aim to produce what the buyers want, and are good at it, whether in the USA, here, or another country, will survive. Some ranchers on utbe, bring the herd into coralls, wean, and calves straight into lorry, and off to sale barn, steers hfrs, the only bunching, all cattle sold by weight, so much a lb, on total weight of bunch, could be 10, or 20, or a100+, you wouldn't do that here would you ? But, all the cattle are uniform size. Another rancher had worked out, how much, per hour, of waiting to be sold, weight lost, for him, that day, 150 calves, lost weight to the equivalent of 2 calves, I've never even dreamt of doing that, but, the only bunch of cattle, I ever sold by weight, was stuck on the m5 for nearly 5 hours, on a hot day, pre weighbridge, and yes, I wasn't happy with weight, but just treated it as a 1 off.
I haven’t got anything but a poorly maintained quad bike and a couple of ill trained dogs. There are several other dairy breeds available.
mind, you're a quad bike up on me!
 

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Red Tractor drops launch of green farming scheme amid anger from farmers

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As reported in Independent


quote: “Red Tractor has confirmed it is dropping plans to launch its green farming assurance standard in April“

read the TFF thread here: https://thefarmingforum.co.uk/index.php?threads/gfc-was-to-go-ahead-now-not-going-ahead.405234/
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