"Improving Our Lot" - Planned Holistic Grazing, for starters..
- Thread starter Kiwi Pete
- Start date
NZDan
Member
- Location
- Broomfield, New Zealand
I think Polyface farms in the US do a pig rotation for breaking in land.
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- Location
- Owaka, New Zealand
And finding Taranaki Farm on FB is worth your time
NZDan
Member
- Location
- Broomfield, New Zealand
Yes they are great to follow. Especially seeing how they deal with Animal rights terrorists.And finding Taranaki Farm on FB is worth your time
- Location
- Owaka, New Zealand
How are you finding your kiwitech system, now it's up and running, Dan?
Time savings?
Time savings?
mikep
Member
- Location
- Arse end of Surrey, UK
Sub is fine as long as the tail doesn't wag the dog, as in many cases. I know just where you are coming from regarding HLS, I am definitely on countdown....
Why no cattle? Surely a mix would suit better.
I wouldn't discount lambing greater numbers, just maybe approach them differently if time/labour is the issue.....Or you could finish store lambs if you like the casino lifestyle...
Not doing the tail thing but remember nine years ago this stuff here was definitively for fruit loops only.
Can't do cattle for lots of reasons firstly the huge investment in stock and infrastructure. Secondly last year I started getting my first regular income for many years courtesy of HMG. The farm is long and thin with a very busy bridle track up its spine and last but not least the collie is great but short of eye and when faced with a stroppy ewe either finds something interesting at the far end of the field or takes an urgent never ending sh!t.
We could increase the sheep but winter is the problem with insufficient building space as the barns are earmarked for other enterprisees. I suppose as the sheep we have are Dorsets we could look at summer lambing. Difficult really do I want the bother so tack sheep may be the best answer I suppose can't really fancy the roulette method.
- Location
- Devon
- Location
- Angus
THESE TWO PARAGRAPHS NEED TO BE HAMMERED INTO EVERY FARMERS HEAD!!!
This is exactly the kind of thing I found when I started to seriously look into having my own farm, go for profit not turnover and look at what worked when farmers didn't have a million quids worth of machinery and a fully stocked medicine cabinet.
As a new entrant into the industry this is absolutely the only way forward unless I want to be an ex-farmer. Humans not being able to see a sensible way forward when they have access to Google makes me want to scream.
- Location
- Angus
Timbered unimproved country mixed with grazing land would be awesome, gives you a lot of options to do many things and make best use of the different environments. Thinning out the trees can generate some cash and running pigs, chickens and cows through them can really improve the land and get a lot of grasses and other good feed growing under them. Great shade for the summer and shelter in the winter etc etc… do it and post lots of photos here haha.
- Location
- Angus
I can't remember who it was on here with the highland farm that is mostly peat... have you seen this?
https://www.facebook.com/croftingcraic/photos/a.10150121701326218/10155978499046218/?type=3&theater
https://www.facebook.com/croftingcraic/photos/a.10150121701326218/10155978499046218/?type=3&theater
- Location
- Angus
Aaaand because I want 4 posts in a row...
I was thinking the other night about the whole profit vs turnover thing and it is 100% true in every business. I'm currently in the fermented barley and hops business and to cut a long story short I have proved time and time again that you can make more money making and selling 200L a week then you can 3,000L a week if you do it right. You just have to be prepared to sell direct to customers so you can make £5.00 per litre PROFIT rather than shifting to wholesalers at as little as £0.25 per litre profit.
I was thinking the other night about the whole profit vs turnover thing and it is 100% true in every business. I'm currently in the fermented barley and hops business and to cut a long story short I have proved time and time again that you can make more money making and selling 200L a week then you can 3,000L a week if you do it right. You just have to be prepared to sell direct to customers so you can make £5.00 per litre PROFIT rather than shifting to wholesalers at as little as £0.25 per litre profit.
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- Location
- Owaka, New Zealand
There are definitely some obstacles there.
Some here, too, many of them I put in the way... such as hanging onto stock too long.
Is there much avenue for stock trading, just using them short-term? They may not require nearly as much infrastructure, especially over summer. Store lambs are what we use for that.
I’m sceptical, where you read ‘peatland restoration’, you’d probably be able to substitute it with ‘clearing livestock off the land, block up all ditches - natural or otherwise, let land go to tick infested inaccessible scrub, obliterate productivity and hope that the natives will disperse’.
- Location
- Angus
- Location
- West Yorkshire
Or maybe using cattle like you would sheep in winter on tack.
You the land owner says when they come and when they go, at so much per head per day. That way you have no outlay only a little work moving fences but you work that into the price but good control of what’s happening.
Or maybe rent out at per kg/lw gain, rules would have to be set up front, ie worming etc in all counts. (Don’t know how you would calculate this) as both parties want good dlwg
You will have a good idea now I would think kp on what your land can carry for how long under weather conditions.
After the big stock has come and gone you could then drop back to having your own smaller stock.
(I’m probably talking rubish here after havin a few beers
)
- Location
- Owaka, New Zealand
It depends what your real objective is.Or maybe using cattle like you would sheep in winter on tack.
You the land owner says when they come and when they go, at so much per head per day. That way you have no outlay only a little work moving fences but you work that into the price but good control of what’s happening.
Or maybe rent out at per kg/lw gain, rules would have to be set up front, ie worming etc in all counts. (Don’t know how you would calculate this) as both parties want good dlwg
You will have a good idea now I would think kp on what your land can carry for how long under weather conditions.
After the big stock has come and gone you could then drop back to having your own smaller stock.
(I’m probably talking rubish here after havin a few beers
If you get hung up on one thing, you can easily miss other benefits!
Like with us, looking at these bulls they will be easy to finish - but is that actually the best use?
They have done a (literally) smashing job so far, providing heaps of animal impact for their liveweight - but I was hung up on hanging them up - which was probably something I should have thought harder about 4 weeks ago.
So although they're making money, they're also costing us money at the same time
- Location
- West Yorkshire
- Location
- Owaka, New Zealand
It gets harder when you think you are being clever!
ShooTa
Member
- Location
- Denbighshire - In the vale of Clwyd!
snap kiwi - ive still got 3 pet sheep in the flock and one thing thats the size of a handbag dog - its stayed as im conning myself that i need the animal impact. well they are funny as ... and will either be tasty or gone very soon.
- Location
- Owaka, New Zealand
I can afford to keep the odd passenger, but what I can't afford is to be complacent, sentimental, or too precious about details.
As a trader, I need to trade.
As a wannabe regenerative rancher, I need to let my ranch regenerate... the bigger picture is important.