Anybody considering suspending production for a year?

[Kevtherev]

Will have a think in the spring. Trouble is, a lot can happen to grain prices between April-September. As for renting out land... Just spent £50k getting rid of my last tenant.
Grass it down, and top it now and then with a Blue tractor and batwing topper.

What to do in the meantime?
Sit in a deck chair with tins of cider??

 

[Courier]

I never let money in year A subsidise losses in year B.

Are you really sure about that ?

 

[redsloe]

Carrying on regardless. Bought some N for next year on the recent price drop rightly or wrongly.
I need to grow at least 300ton of grain to feed my bullocks.
The more people that want to take a year out the better, but I doubt anyone will do that down here.

 

[Farmer 83563]

You can't do much about pregnant stock, just like an arable farmer is unlikely to walk away from already planted winter crops, but after lambing and calving you can make decisions for the next 12 months. Its not exactly unheard of for farmers to sell breeding stock and just run youngstock for a year.

Not really an option with a hefted hill flock or homebred cattle turned out on the hill .... got to be in it for the long term highs and lows.

 

[teslacoils]

Are you really sure about that ?

Yup.

If you've ever done any contract farming, you'll know that each year is just a seperate line in the sand. While one year you may make a profit and the next you make a loss, the result of the year before does not influence next year's cropping decisions. While my accountant may do some fancy stuff, I dont sit and say "well I've had a good year so I don't mind making a loss next time". Every year is a clean slate where I attempt to maximise my profits for a given level of risk.

If I chose not to grow it would be because that was the best thing to do, and the year before would make no difference to me.

The only crop I must plant is, ironically, 30ac of a cereal so I have some stubble to use for the ab6 stewardship. The stewardship that's going to pay me £200/AC to grow no food.

 

[Kevtherev]

How long would it take to get back in the swing if you took a year out?

 

[B R C]

Why don’t you put it all into stewardship?
I have 1/3 of mine in and some days I think it would be a whole lot easier to have put the lot in, especially as I have low overheads with contractor doing all fieldwork.

 

[Courier]

Yup.

If you've ever done any contract farming, you'll know that each year is just a seperate line in the sand. While one year you may make a profit and the next you make a loss, the result of the year before does not influence next year's cropping decisions. While my accountant may do some fancy stuff, I dont sit and say "well I've had a good year so I don't mind making a loss next time". Every year is a clean slate where I attempt to maximise my profits for a given level of risk.

If I chose not to grow it would be because that was the best thing to do, and the year before would make no difference to me.

The only crop I must plant is, ironically, 30ac of a cereal so I have some stubble to use for the ab6 stewardship. The stewardship that's going to pay me £200/AC to grow no food.

Aaah, sorry, I forgot that you didn’t include any livestock in your operations

 

[warksfarmer]

With input price inflation high, is anybody considering suspending production for a year?

Yep. I’ve no moral obligation to produce food and I’m not subsiding it on behalf of the government. They can go run and jump.

Definitely won’t be planting any winter wheat. The spend required on fuel, fertiliser and herbicides doesn’t stack up. We’ve been doing the lower input approach where possible for 15 yrs and it still doesn’t stack up.

Got enough fert in stock to produce 2t of spring wheat for harvest 23 so that’s the current plan on the good soil. Fallow the wetter questionable stuff and leave it.

 

[ewald]

How long would it take to get back in the swing if you took a year out?

As an arable farmer, just start again next autumn, having lost a year of production (with some potential benefits from a year’s fallow)

Less straightforward for livestock producers

 

[Lothian]

Yup.

If you've ever done any contract farming, you'll know that each year is just a seperate line in the sand. While one year you may make a profit and the next you make a loss, the result of the year before does not influence next year's cropping decisions. While my accountant may do some fancy stuff, I dont sit and say "well I've had a good year so I don't mind making a loss next time". Every year is a clean slate where I attempt to maximise my profits for a given level of risk.

If I chose not to grow it would be because that was the best thing to do, and the year before would make no difference to me.

The only crop I must plant is, ironically, 30ac of a cereal so I have some stubble to use for the ab6 stewardship. The stewardship that's going to pay me £200/AC to grow no food.

I've seen CFA agreements where a new bank account is set up every year and any seed, fert etc in stock is "sold" to the new account. Bit of a faff but ensures you know exactly how each year has performed

 

[Kevtherev]

As an arable farmer, just start again next autumn, having lost a year of production (with some potential benefits from a year’s fallow)

Less straightforward for livestock producers

Yes it would be as the timescales of restocking and rearing stock for sale could be 2yrs on so couldn’t really be an option unless someone was in a very strong financial position.

 

[unlacedgecko]

Will have a think in the spring. Trouble is, a lot can happen to grain prices between April-September. As for renting out land... Just spent £50k getting rid of my last tenant.
Grass it down, and top it now and then with a Blue tractor and batwing topper.

Grass it down and put sheep or growing cattle on it

 

[Bill the Bass]

Not suspending production here but some fairly significant changes. Been moving away from fert for a few years now hopefully in two years time we will be away from it. Cutting back cow numbers temporarily to allow us to clear out some poor ones and replace them with younger better ones fast tracking a bit of genetic improvement I guess which will hopefully put us in better stead.

 

[DrWazzock]

Cost to grass down? £100 per acre?

 

[zero]

Cost to grass down? £100 per acre?

It is for an all out re seed on permanent pasture, bit less to grass down a stubble, or undersow my spring barley..

 

[steveR]

What to do in the meantime?
Sit in a deck chair with tins of cider??

Yech... Now a couple of pints of Shropshire Gold or Hobson's finest would be a different matter. Looking out on the Severn somewhere.

 

[JP1]

Aye

Going to tell the 1000 ewes here to hold in the lambs until spring 2023. The 80 sucklers and two dozen heifers have already agreed that the bulls can have a rest this summer. The cows are uncertain whether they'll be able to squeeze out 400kg offspring in 10 months time, but hey ho, we've all got to do our bit in such strange times

I guess it'll be much harder for the cereal boys to suspend production, but with the previous Covid travel restrictions, they'll be getting used to fewer holidays abroad?

Seriously, what a bloody stupid thread to create

Not stupid at all IMO. I've already commented it will be less easy for livestock farmers but ion another thread someone posted milk prices going up and you can bet many will up their production to chase it

My Galloways, EVERY decision takes a minimum of four years to effect

 

[JP1]

Not really an option with a hefted hill flock or homebred cattle turned out on the hill .... got to be in it for the long term highs and lows.

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OMG I'm in love . Where is this please?

 

[Farmer 83563]

OMG I'm in love . Where is this please?

Nr. Dolgellau in North Wales, Cader Idris in the background