What's going on?

DairyGrazing

Member
Mixed Farmer
Location
North West
Cripes, if you are turning people away you must be doing something at least 65% right.

Just normal stuff trips out, farm merch, meals out when we hit kpi etc

I've started dropping everything a couple of days a month and we will all go off to split logs or put up a fence on the other farm just to change things up.

Other things I've done is the herdsman likes ploughing so I got a plough for him. The young man who feeds the calves doesn't like half the teat bars so I sold them online and brought the other style.
 
I know of one 500 cow herd for sale soon locally. Think it was an award winning one too.
Two others I know are blokes in early 50s with no one wanting to take it on and fed up of the tie, 24/7.

I know of one 500 cow herd for sale soon locally. Think it was an award winning one too.
Two others I know are blokes in early 50s with no one wanting to take it on and fed up of the tie, 24/7.
It was a suprise to hear that they were selling up, but I heard that labour since Brexit means that the slovakians aren't there to milk his cows and he's no sons.
Keeping his best breeders though and selling the bulk of them( I think he has bred a few bulls or they have gone to Ai)

Getting staff seems to be the problem at most places it seems 🙄
 

Scholsey

Member
Location
Herefordshire
Running about daft after 500 cows leads to getting scunnered and knackered
Same as the mega arable farmers contractors having heart attacks and mental breakdowns

Anything over 500 cows and as a owner/manager you don’t manage cows anymore you manage people and there are far easier and more profitable industries to manage people in than dairy farming.
 

kiwi pom

Member
Location
canterbury NZ
When a general builder/labourer can be on £250 a day it certainly makes you question why you bother.
I don't blame anyone for getting out of something if they don't like it but I'd caution the, everyone else makes a fortune, grass is greener thinking.
Anything over 500 cows and as a owner/manager you don’t manage cows anymore you manage people and there are far easier and more profitable industries to manage people in than dairy farming.

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som farmer

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
somerset
our nutritionist/consultant, had to give a talk to a buying group, she had crunched the numbers, and figured 5ppl increase in costs, so far, that takes some sticking, and l don't expect she is far wrong.
What l hear, labour is a huge issue, and can you blame them, loads of other jobs out there, wives/partners don't like the long dirty hours, young lad on the knacker lorry, told us he was earning £200/day ! Our p/timer, left, now on £17 hour, driving a ready mix lorry.
Basically, if you have a 500 cow herd, labours a nightmare, regs/rt getting ever tighter, if high input/output, making f-all, (according to our accountants), looking at investment needed, to comply with new regs, lot riding on the next generation, if they don't want to milk, why have the hassle ? And cows are worth serious money.
Labour around here, very scarce, we will look, but highly unlikely we will find anyone, massive estate very local, 400 full and p/time, then plus builders/ landscapers. Loads of houses going up, versus a shitty old farm job.
And unless there is some serious movement, in the milk price, more will be forced out, you cannot run on empty for long.
Our plan, cut numbers till we can manage ourselves, produce all we can, food wise, on farm, keep some of our beef calves, so if we fail RT/EA or any other a-hole, we will be able to swop over. L/lords will not invest, tenancy length uncertain, we are not going to spend a lot, that cannot be moved.
 

Scholsey

Member
Location
Herefordshire
I don't blame anyone for getting out of something if they don't like it but I'd caution the, everyone else makes a fortune, grass is greener thinking.


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Slightly different but friend who is ex forces and was based at a special base just outside Hereford now works in London city as a hedge fund manager with no financial knowledge or training beforehand just a seriously good grasp of how the world works, serious work ethic and knows how to manage people, he is earning farm buying money, I think as farmers we dont realise the skill set we have developed through shear grit, determination and complete barstewardness.

Another friend sold their cows few years ago, sale was mentioned on here, he has gone on and started a business with his brother and suspect most of you have bought a pint off them at wembley, twickenham, cardiff, etihad, edgbaston etc, and successful but not because they were really good at selling beer but because they can manage people.
 

DairyGrazing

Member
Mixed Farmer
Location
North West
Dog and stick farming will become very well thought of by the powers that be going forward

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Often wonder if I could make this pay over here.
 

Keep On

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
SW
Cheery lot! Staffing not all the problem its being made out on here. I think a change of thinking re how staff are treated and what is expected of them, nice working environments etc is maybe what some in the industry need to focus more on
 

SFI - What % were you taking out of production?

  • 0 %

    Votes: 78 42.9%
  • Up to 25%

    Votes: 63 34.6%
  • 25-50%

    Votes: 30 16.5%
  • 50-75%

    Votes: 3 1.6%
  • 75-100%

    Votes: 3 1.6%
  • 100% I’ve had enough of farming!

    Votes: 5 2.7%

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

  • 1,286
  • 1
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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