- Location
- somerset
the problems more getting labour, there simply isn't any spare around here, of anything better than #### even tried some of them, and that is a waste of time.Unless you reduce labour within the business I really don’t see the benefit of a flying herd( if there on off land) and the problem with reducing labour is it makes other parts of the business creak at busy times.
The advantage of a flying herd, you see the faults, and if you are careful, there are some very reasonably priced cattle out there, with good history.
The downside, disease risk, and, perhaps performance, risk losses up to, and including, calving, hfrs not turning out, as expected, hot on that point - we kept a seriously good, ped hol bull, with impeccable manners, that good, we kept him to long, 83 hfrs, and very low milk, very few saw 3rd lac, the very best got to 5000, the worst less than 4000, no idea why, pedigree great, big cost- so lesson learn't there !
It's a very debateable point, obviously TB risk is a major factor- we have 1 i/r to test soon. Available land etc, there are both good, and bad points. Financially, one you pay as you rear, the other a lump sum.
And as jd says, milk contract influences are getting tighter, our neighbour 'loses' points if his calving index goes over 415 days, and for calving hfrs over 24 months, and av lactation of cows in herd, all in the name of greater efficiency, a load of bull####, but another hoop to jump through.
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