Buying a dairy farm

[Jdunn55]

If you are fed up in construction just wait until you are up in the wind and rain at 4am on a Sunday in November having started at 4am and finished at 7pm every day for the previous month... the milk lines are frozen, the scraper tractor wont start, bearing has failed on the feeder wagon, there is a cow down with milk fever, one of the replacement heifers has dropped dead, the silage pit is emptying fast and the slurry pit filling even faster and you are getting paid 27p/litre to produce milk that is costing you 30p/litre with your milk buyer threatening to drop your contract.... I am waiting for someone to one day go onto Dragons Den and pitch the idea of investing in setting up a 70 cow dairy herd... But don't let any of that put you off. I think you need to go bigger though, not worth getting out of bed for less than 200 cows.

Flip side, favourite cow has just calved a lovely heifer and looking amazing, cows are milking really well, beautiful sunny day and the cows are out grazing, heifers have been pd'd and all are in-calf etc, it's not all Rose's and sunshine with farming but it's also not all sh!t and rain either

Massively disagree with needing 200 cows. Start small work your way up not buy big and hope you can cope

 

[farmerm]

Flip side, favourite cow has just calved a lovely heifer and looking amazing, cows are milking really well, beautiful sunny day and the cows are out grazing, heifers have been pd'd and all are in-calf etc, it's not all Rose's and sunshine with farming but it's also not all sh!t and rain either

Massively disagree with needing 200 cows. Start small work your way up not buy big and hope you can cope

You are right of course I am just in a doom and gloom mindset today. We don't have the Cornish sunshine with us and lambing this morn has not gone as well as your calving

 

[Jdunn55]

You are right of course I am just in a doom and gloom mindset today. We don't have the Cornish sunshine with us and lambing this morn has not gone as well as your calving

Dont worry, you srent alone, I had a dead hereford bull calf today and my telehandler has bent a time, my suckler calves have come back with crypto, my Fpd is too low and money seems to be flying out far faster than it's coming in! I'm just focusing on the extra heifer calf and that grass is finally growing

 

[Beef farmer]

Dont worry, you srent alone, I had a dead hereford bull calf today and my telehandler has bent a time, my suckler calves have come back with crypto, my Fpd is too low and money seems to be flying out far faster than it's coming in! I'm just focusing on the extra heifer calf and that grass is finally growing

Get used to the money going out fast!

 

[Jdunn55]

Get used to the money going out fast!

It's the little stuff you dont think about that winds me up, every time I go into wynnstay I end up spending £200 quid and its stuff I need not luxury items!

 

[farmerm]

Dont worry, you srent alone, I had a dead hereford bull calf today and my telehandler has bent a time, my suckler calves have come back with crypto, my Fpd is too low and money seems to be flying out far faster than it's coming in! I'm just focusing on the extra heifer calf and that grass is finally growing

Will the photo of the bent tine be uploaded to the "what my telehander fu*ked up today thread"

 

[Jdunn55]

Will the photo of the bent tine be uploaded to the "what my telehander fu*ked up today thread"

Unfortunately not! Already bent back the other way (good job our shed legs are strong )

I best not post on that thread, it will just be full of telehandler mishaps, fortunately no livestock or people have ever been injured by it, unless you count my mental health from the stress of repairing the things broken with it

 

[multi power]

As long as you are in control of your costs it doesn’t matter what system you run.

Yes, however block calving is a lower cost of production

 

[Jdunn55]

Yes, however block calving is a lower cost of production

But if you're block calving when your milk contract doesnt want it, it could actually end up being a higher cost of production than all year round due to receiving a low milk price for the bulk of your milk

 

[multi power]

But if you're block calving when your milk contract doesnt want it, it could actually end up being a higher cost of production than all year round due to receiving a low milk price for the bulk of your milk

Obviously, you would want a milk contact that is compatible with your calving pattern
It doesn't take a rocket scientist to work that out

 

[pappuller]

Yes, however block calving is a lower cost of production

If its run correctly, good and bad operators on every system

 

[Jdunn55]

Obviously, you would want a milk contact that is compatible with your calving pattern
It doesn't take a rocket scientist to work that out

You would be surprised I think with the number of farmers who dont produce when they want and then winge that they're not getting headline prices

 

[multi power]

You would be surprised I think with the number of farmers who dont produce when they want and then winge that they're not getting headline prices

Correct

 

[vantage]

It's the little stuff you dont think about that winds me up, every time I go into wynnstay I end up spending £200 quid and its stuff I need not luxury items!

Don’t go into Wynnstay then. It’s noticeable that most items are at at least 5% premium to my CCF coop.

 

[Holsteinfriesian90]

Don’t go into Wynnstay then. It’s noticeable that most items are at at least 5% premium to my CCF coop.

Must admit wynnstay have up there game lately in this area. They were very overpriced for stuff.

 

[Jdunn55]

Must admit wynnstay have up there game lately in this area. They were very overpriced for stuff.

Agree 100% amanda in helston is brilliant as well

 

[Jdunn55]

Don’t go into Wynnstay then. It’s noticeable that most items are at at least 5% premium to my CCF coop.

Trouble is wynnstay is closest, mole valley is now over a half an hour trip away and when you need stuff now wynnstay is easier. Plus I havent got an hour to spend driving to mole valley and back again, if its stuff I can live without for a week or so chances are someone will be driving past anyway who can pick it up for me or else griggs, mole avon etc can usually drop it in for me

 

[Holsteinfriesian90]

Agree 100% amanda in helston is brilliant as well

Yeh definitely Amanda has given it the kiss of life it needed.