serf
Member
- Location
- warwickshire
Thought you had packed up and was selling everything and doing something diff 
Cows.
- Thread starter CopperBeech
- Start date
- Location
- West Country
You’ll never keep a good man down… just gotta keep riding the emotional rollercoaster, that is 1st generation, new entrants in agriculture🫣Thought you had packed up and was selling everything and doing something diff
CopperBeech
Member
- Location
- A Welsh man lost in England
What @DanM said.
I seriously seriously ask myself why I keep going, and don’t either go and work for someone else (I’ve had some very good offers) or just get out of the industry.
But I guess I’m pretty stubborn. And I don’t like quitting. Oh and prices are too crap to sell up currently
I’m hoping eventually I will have come across every snake, rat and c*nt and will get to a state of nirvana where I’m surrounded by lovely folk and living my dream.
But who knows
Back to the subject in question -
Here’s a bit more info,
The block of ground is pretty much 900 acres ring fenced.
Probably want to avoid doing crazy amounts of electric fencing, mainly because the nature of the ground makes it unviable and a headache. I do however understand the benefit, it just doesn’t suit this block very well.
An intensive system isn’t going to work there, it’s half decent grazing but it’s a long long way from rocket fuel, I would call it a mixture of rough and improved.
The ground is dry, free draining. Cattle hve previously been kept out until December. Would probably be back out by March.
it will be mixed grazing rather than cattle only, for a number of reasons. But it has to have cattle on it.
Oh and I can’t rent it out because I don’t own it
I seriously seriously ask myself why I keep going, and don’t either go and work for someone else (I’ve had some very good offers) or just get out of the industry.
But I guess I’m pretty stubborn. And I don’t like quitting. Oh and prices are too crap to sell up currently
I’m hoping eventually I will have come across every snake, rat and c*nt and will get to a state of nirvana where I’m surrounded by lovely folk and living my dream.
But who knows
Back to the subject in question -
Here’s a bit more info,
The block of ground is pretty much 900 acres ring fenced.
Probably want to avoid doing crazy amounts of electric fencing, mainly because the nature of the ground makes it unviable and a headache. I do however understand the benefit, it just doesn’t suit this block very well.
An intensive system isn’t going to work there, it’s half decent grazing but it’s a long long way from rocket fuel, I would call it a mixture of rough and improved.
The ground is dry, free draining. Cattle hve previously been kept out until December. Would probably be back out by March.
it will be mixed grazing rather than cattle only, for a number of reasons. But it has to have cattle on it.
Oh and I can’t rent it out because I don’t own it
- Location
- West Country
Buy weaned calves in oct/Nov.
Winter in shed on silage. Do a straw for muck deal with neighbours
Turn out as soon as surplus grass and graze all summer
Sell September as strong stores before they rob the grass from sheep and price drops.
Simple low cost system.
(Been done before and works
)
Winter in shed on silage. Do a straw for muck deal with neighbours
Turn out as soon as surplus grass and graze all summer
Sell September as strong stores before they rob the grass from sheep and price drops.
Simple low cost system.
(Been done before and works
)- Location
- East Ayrshire
We downsized massively about 4 years ago, bulls were out with heifers before decision was made so 30 out of the 40 were sold. One bull hadn't worked so there were 8 empties amongst them - they made £40 more in the store ring (18-20 months) than the in-calf ones did at a breeding sale the next day.
Hill cows though, I dare say there's money to be made if you buy the right type but that's the sort everyone will be after.
- Location
- Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk
Maybe but the ground probably won't over Winter
- Location
- Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk
Sounds very interesting, I'm glad you've got such an opportunity. There will probably be 101 answers , none will be right until you decideWhat @DanM said.
I seriously seriously ask myself why I keep going, and don’t either go and work for someone else (I’ve had some very good offers) or just get out of the industry.
But I guess I’m pretty stubborn. And I don’t like quitting. Oh and prices are too crap to sell up currently
I’m hoping eventually I will have come across every snake, rat and c*nt and will get to a state of nirvana where I’m surrounded by lovely folk and living my dream.
But who knows
Back to the subject in question -
Here’s a bit more info,
The block of ground is pretty much 900 acres ring fenced.
Probably want to avoid doing crazy amounts of electric fencing, mainly because the nature of the ground makes it unviable and a headache. I do however understand the benefit, it just doesn’t suit this block very well.
An intensive system isn’t going to work there, it’s half decent grazing but it’s a long long way from rocket fuel, I would call it a mixture of rough and improved.
The ground is dry, free draining. Cattle hve previously been kept out until December. Would probably be back out by March.
it will be mixed grazing rather than cattle only, for a number of reasons. But it has to have cattle on it.
Oh and I can’t rent it out because I don’t own it
If there's any raggedy smaller bits that are separate and difficult to manage / get good performance and you can keep biosecure, I'd be interested in speaking about some Galloway cattle grazing ....................
If you want to own and calve down some cows then native is definitely the way to go, lim bull on them, easy calving, uniform batch of weaklings to sell, cheap to keep over winter!
If you want a seasonal cash crop without the over wintering, buy native bred stores an graze them the summer, they should grow into money on the ground you describe!
Or you can buy grazing cows, graze all summer and kill them in the autumn, empty cows put weight on well if you buy the right sorts! Again they’ll grow into money
If you want a seasonal cash crop without the over wintering, buy native bred stores an graze them the summer, they should grow into money on the ground you describe!
Or you can buy grazing cows, graze all summer and kill them in the autumn, empty cows put weight on well if you buy the right sorts! Again they’ll grow into money
M-J-G
Member
I've heard all these things before!2 cycles will be 2 months from beginning to end and regardless of how small a job calving cows is and how easy it is to keep cattle, you're still pretty heavily tied to the farm for a further period after lambing.
Calving in May that far south would mean a lot of quality grazing time is passing by while cows are dry and a having cows with new born calves at peak grazing time isn't ideal IMO as the cows haven't really got much demand on them at that stage, peak grazing as cows are calved a couple of months fits better with the cow's requirements and would perhaps allow selling a calf in the autumn meaning cows would be all that need wintering.
That's all assuming that owning cows were to be a sensible option in the first place.
Woolless
Member
- Location
- Berwickshire, Scottish Borders
You have a point, May might be a bit late that far down the country. The leader-follower idea using more native type cows is a good way to integrate cattle with sheep, though.
2 cycles will be 2 months from beginning to end and regardless of how small a job calving cows is and how easy it is to keep cattle, you're still pretty heavily tied to the farm for a further period after lambing.
Calving in May that far south would mean a lot of quality grazing time is passing by while cows are dry and a having cows with new born calves at peak grazing time isn't ideal IMO as the cows haven't really got much demand on them at that stage, peak grazing as cows are calved a couple of months fits better with the cow's requirements and would perhaps allow selling a calf in the autumn meaning cows would be all that need wintering.
That's all assuming that owning cows were to be a sensible option in the first place.
Go to market in the spring and buy art that looks like it will turn a few bob by the autumn be that stirks, stores or dairy heifers or even suck cows and calves, clear the whole lot out in the autumn, mess about with sheep all winter then start again.
- Location
- Essex
Stabilisers kept outside.
M-J-G
Member
What has buying "art" got to do with keeping cattle?
- Location
- North Somerset.
‘art’ translates Wurzel to northern as anything .
livestock 1
Member
Whatever you do you decide not anyone else because you will be dealing with itWhat @DanM said.
I seriously seriously ask myself why I keep going, and don’t either go and work for someone else (I’ve had some very good offers) or just get out of the industry.
But I guess I’m pretty stubborn. And I don’t like quitting. Oh and prices are too crap to sell up currently
I’m hoping eventually I will have come across every snake, rat and c*nt and will get to a state of nirvana where I’m surrounded by lovely folk and living my dream.
But who knows
Back to the subject in question -
Here’s a bit more info,
The block of ground is pretty much 900 acres ring fenced.
Probably want to avoid doing crazy amounts of electric fencing, mainly because the nature of the ground makes it unviable and a headache. I do however understand the benefit, it just doesn’t suit this block very well.
An intensive system isn’t going to work there, it’s half decent grazing but it’s a long long way from rocket fuel, I would call it a mixture of rough and improved.
The ground is dry, free draining. Cattle hve previously been kept out until December. Would probably be back out by March.
it will be mixed grazing rather than cattle only, for a number of reasons. But it has to have cattle on it.
Oh and I can’t rent it out because I don’t own it
Good luck sounds like you need a bit of better times determination counts for a lot with a bit of common sense