beef or dairy??

[caravanlad87]

After some thoughts and ideas. Currently farming around 200 acre in three blocks of land. 60 acre arable rotation throughout the 200 acre. 50 sucklers cows and 30 bucket reared calves . All cattle sold as stores between 9 -14months. Average price 700 in 2016. Very dry land so grazing window from Feb -November

Margins are very small and keen to try something new. Just wondering everyone's thought of going into dairying/any other farming enterprise to increase margins. Thanks in advance.

 

[coomoo]

Again we need a dedicated thread ........
Dairy will blow the rest away, but with agriculture the way it is, is that good?

 

[More to life]

How large is your biggest block? I would say your not stocked very tightly now do you think you can keep a cow to the acre?

 

[caravanlad87]

65 acre is the biggest block.

 

[Farmer_Joe]

if you invest as much time and money as you would for dairy im confident you will make more money from either beef of sheep easily

 

[More to life]

65 acre is the biggest block.

So 200 fully housed 130 with buffer feeding 70 spring calving what's your aspiration and current housing.

 

[caravanlad87]

I'm keen on the sucklers cows and dairy cows but not sheep. Sheds are very limited and we out winter about 70 a year. Hence why we are looking at this now before we invest in new sheds for beef. If it was dairy I'd go down the spring route due to less investment as we have very very little borrowing. I work five days a week so was thinking of once a day spring calving. Due to being tougher cows and maybe could do a winter on a bark pad to keep investment low in first year or two.

 

[ridger]

If your working go with beef, they just need fed every morning or evening

 

[More to life]

That's not a bad plan once a day is more difficult to manage than twice I believe there is no margin for error. Have you cheese contracts available in your area?

 

[caravanlad87]

If your working go with beef, they just need fed every morning or evening

We are that at moment but margins don't seem to be in it to reinvest

 

[ridger]

I know beef wouldn't work out wintering here maybe your in a better part of the country

 

[caravanlad87]

That's not a bad plan once a day is more difficult to manage than twice I believe no margin for error. Have you cheese contracts available in your area?

Yes cheese contracts hence thinking of lower volume higher constituents

 

[More to life]

My main worry would be part time dairy farming is difficult with years of experience as a start up on once a day I'd be worried you could be dry by the end of June

 

[caravanlad87]

My main worry would be part time dairy farming is difficult with years of experience as a start up on once a day I'd be worried you could be dry by the end of June

Yeh fair point.the idea is that dad and I could do the milking fence moving etc in morning. And then spend a few hours at evenings doing jobs with paddocks etc

 

[coomoo]

An observation from the last few weeks is the leaning on this forum towards low input, spring, once a day milking etc etc I'll not comment on that but in my opinion dairy takes time. What about flip it and consider a type of high input?

 

[caravanlad87]

An observation from the last few weeks is the leaning on this forum towards low input, spring, once a day milking etc etc I'll not comment on that but in my opinion dairy takes time. What about flip it and consider a type of high input?

Investment is one thing as it would be a greenfield site. And I'm a strong believer that the milk price is going to be more volatile in the future. So yes a low input system may never reap the rewards at 30p + but it will withstand the lows at 15p for a longer period than a high input that has newly been established or set up which would be my situation. I'm not saying either way is right or wrong. Both have their place in the industry, just with a dry farm that you could graze for 9 months of the year it seems the easiest route to follow. But as a greenfield site I am nervous about investing 500k into it to be paid 15p some months.

 

[Moorlands]

An observation from the last few weeks is the leaning on this forum towards low input, spring, once a day milking etc etc I'll not comment on that but in my opinion dairy takes time. What about flip it and consider a type of high input?

Also low input paddock grazing can't be done across several parcels of land. High input can be.

 

[Rossymons]

Would a robot system work? You can carry on your 5 days somewhere else knowing the cows are ok, feed up in the morning jobs a good 'un.

With all these threads about new start ups..if you're keen to make it work at 15ppl then great but where were you guys this time last year?

 

[Farmermatty]

Who in there right mind would go into dairying at 15ppl

 

[More to life]

Would a robot system work? You can carry on your 5 days somewhere else knowing the cows are ok, feed up in the morning jobs a good 'un.

With all these threads about new start ups..if you're keen to make it work at 15ppl then great but where were you guys this time last year?

Waiting for a price rise