All things Dairy

Ill have play around with times and look, how did yourself learn to manage staff, you must have several. I'm terrible at it, always seam end up doing what suits staff rather than the farm.

I only have 2 part time, one is still at school and just does weekend afternoons, she can't drive so has a couple of months off while we're once a day. The other just does mornings so she still does those at this time of year even though I have full time staff not doing a lot.

The full time guys and gals are all salaried and don't complain about knocking off before lunch each day.
 
Location
Devon
Advice needed!
I have a relief milker who I have trained up from scratch, no ag background, and is clean and reliable but basically their only skill base is putting units on and washing down. They don't have any livestock experience other than the two set of legs stood in front of them.

Currently doing two night milkings a week, after a conversation about the summer ahead it's dawned on them that the whole herd will be dry and their will be no milking, (they started as I started calving down this year) iv also said that I'm closely looking at oad milking from 15th of May upto dry off and would they consider morning milking rather than night as I'd rather get it done and out the way.

they are rather taken back by the fact there is no milking for 10 weeks, and that once a day milking even existed.

do most people on block calving systems pay a retaining to staff? I sadly feel if they can't do AM milking then they can't really offer us enough back to carry them through the dry cow period.

whats people thoughts?
So what happens if they have other work in the mornings and cant do your am milking??

As for the 10 week dry period, they more than likely need a job that pays them 52 weeks of the year and not one with nearly 3 months with no pay.

You either need to find them alternative work in that dry period that suites everything else going on in their life or lose them and possible end up with no relief milker when you are milking 2 times a day.
 

Martyn

Member
Location
South west
So what happens if they have other work in the mornings and cant do your am milking??

As for the 10 week dry period, they more than likely need a job that pays them 52 weeks of the year and not one with nearly 3 months with no pay.

You either need to find them alternative work in that dry period that suites everything else going on in their life or lose them and possible end up with no relief milker when you are milking 2 times a day.
Once we calve down again think we will be staying as once a day.

Not easy finding alternative work at 7.00 o'clock at night as such, they work somewhere else during the normal day hours.
 

Manney

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
Penzance
I now have 2 cows to milk 🤣

IMG_20220124_081823348.jpg
 

Spudley

Member
Location
Pembrokeshire
Today's heart in mouth moment... I have a q bed machine to clean the cubicles, I bring it in the far end of the shed while I send the cows in and scrape the cross walks. I also have a little heifer living with the cows that doesn't go in the parlour, she's quite tame and mooches around the shed while I clean. I got the cows out and came back to start up the machine, no key. She had pulled it out of the ignition and it was lying on the slats 😳 an inch away from disappearing forever!! A job for later is to locate the spare key.
 

Tim G

Member
Livestock Farmer
Today's heart in mouth moment... I have a q bed machine to clean the cubicles, I bring it in the far end of the shed while I send the cows in and scrape the cross walks. I also have a little heifer living with the cows that doesn't go in the parlour, she's quite tame and mooches around the shed while I clean. I got the cows out and came back to start up the machine, no key. She had pulled it out of the ignition and it was lying on the slats 😳 an inch away from disappearing forever!! A job for later is to locate the spare key.
Put a big key ring on it.
 

Jdunn55

Member
Excuse the dust haven't had a chance to wipe the paperwork this week, any ideas why this has started blowing apart during washing down? Do I just need a new rubber joiner? It's driving me crazy!
 

Attachments

  • 20220124_095946.jpg
    20220124_095946.jpg
    238.3 KB · Views: 0
Today's heart in mouth moment... I have a q bed machine to clean the cubicles, I bring it in the far end of the shed while I send the cows in and scrape the cross walks. I also have a little heifer living with the cows that doesn't go in the parlour, she's quite tame and mooches around the shed while I clean. I got the cows out and came back to start up the machine, no key. She had pulled it out of the ignition and it was lying on the slats 😳 an inch away from disappearing forever!! A job for later is to locate the spare key.
Happened here, daughter lost the quad bike key in the straw whilst feeding the calves, tried the metal detector but no luck, had to get a barrel and key off ebay in the end (don't buy the cheap non genuine barrels 🙄 ).
Spent an hour or two on ebay and a few quid buying spare keys for everything here. Their all on one bunch, so if you loose a key, it's easy to find the spare key bunch.
 

Spudley

Member
Location
Pembrokeshire
Put a big key ring on it.
It's now attached by cable ties.

We had someone here not long ago, he was terrified to walk on the slats, and wouldn't go in the shed at all. I dread to think of what's been lost under there, luckily no phones (yet) but I did lose a wireless earphone, of course it was the one of the pair which worked.

And because it's supposed to be a photo thread ... @Jdunn55 isn't the only one sneaking in a few pedigrees.
 

Attachments

  • 20220124_070412.jpg
    20220124_070412.jpg
    479.6 KB · Views: 0

som farmer

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
somerset
Today's heart in mouth moment... I have a q bed machine to clean the cubicles, I bring it in the far end of the shed while I send the cows in and scrape the cross walks. I also have a little heifer living with the cows that doesn't go in the parlour, she's quite tame and mooches around the shed while I clean. I got the cows out and came back to start up the machine, no key. She had pulled it out of the ignition and it was lying on the slats 😳 an inch away from disappearing forever!! A job for later is to locate the spare key.
is she a jersey ?
 

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/
Top