Contract Rearing Dairy Heifers

[Thick Farmer]

Following on from the Out of Dairying thread, this is something I am now giving some serious consideration.

Obviously, it all comes down to money so what is a fair rate (£/head/day)?

Is anyone doing it and do you have any advice?

I would be looking at taking in weaned calves or yearlings and giving them back just before calving at 2 year olds.

Thanks, TF

 

[Derrick Hughes]

50 years experiance in all sorts of farming, Forget the stupid idea, that's the short version , if you need the long one let me know

 

[happycows]

Grr never again!! I put some out end of october and the last of them came back yesterday. Not happy. I offered £10 for decent silage and bedding. I provided cake and high protein molasses as i wanted to keep them growing well. I am most dissappinted how poor they are looking and i might take a picture of some of the smaller ones i brought home just before christmas and the ones i brought home yesterday. Dry coated,lean, dirty do i need to go on.

Did i not pay enough?? well i thought it was good money as they were 12 to 15 months old so not huge. I will now spend the next four months trying to get them back on track. I should have been worried when he commented they were looking too well on arrival!

If you are the very best stockman with top quality forage you will be fine. any less and expect nothing but grief from a very angry farmer wo has entrusted you with potentially hundreds of thousands of pounds worth of his stock.

new shed and do the job myself in future.

 

[Derrick Hughes]

Grr never again!! I put some out end of october and the last of them came back yesterday. Not happy. I offered £10 for decent silage and bedding. I provided cake and high protein molasses as i wanted to keep them growing well. I am most dissappinted how poor they are looking and i might take a picture of some of the smaller ones i brought home just before christmas and the ones i brought home yesterday. Dry coated,lean, dirty do i need to go on.

Did i not pay enough?? well i thought it was good money as they were 12 to 15 months old so not huge. I will now spend the next four months trying to get them back on track. I should have been worried when he commented they were looking too well on arrival!

If you are the very best stockman with top quality forage you will be fine. any less and expect nothing but grief from a very angry farmer wo has entrusted you with potentially hundreds of thousands of pounds worth of his stock.

new shed and do the job myself in future.

That's the answer to the long version, rear your own in the future you ungraitfull ,,, I bet you don't think as much of your wife that your replacement cows, and to think I had then in evry week treating them with fly ountment and the buggers still got summer mastitis

 

[49801]

Very interested in the replies here as we're selling the sucklers to go contract rearing for a man.

 

[Thick Farmer]

Very interested in the replies here as we're selling the sucklers to go contract rearing for a man.

How much are you charging?

 

[happycows]

I don't think it's to much to ask for them not to be wading in slurry up to their knees at the front of the shed, and when you take over 2 dumpy bags of feed and 1000 litres of molasses with simple intructions which should last a month and a month later half of it is still there, that is acceptable either?

When good well reared fresh calved hfrs are making £2000 it is worth while making sure the job is done right?

 

[Thick Farmer]

I don't think it's to much to ask for them not to be wading in slurry up to their knees at the front of the shed, and when you take over 2 dumpy bags of feed and 1000 litres of molasses with simple intructions which should last a month and a month later half of it is still there, that is acceptable either?

When good well reared fresh calved hfrs are making £2000 it is worth while making sure the job is done right?

I'm not that bad!

 

[sleepy]

50 years experiance in all sorts of farming, Forget the stupid idea, that's the short version , if you need the long one let me know

What is the long one?

 

[Derrick Hughes]

Dairy farmers hiefers are his life he thinks more of them than his wife, do you realy need the responsibility of looking after them, ok you do, you will need to watch them all summer for fly strike and after that you will still get a few with bags gone, you do your very best that ain't good enough for mr perfects women and then a month before calving they fail the tb test so can't go home, who the helm is going to milk them in the meen time as I don't have a parlour and I ain't starting that again, keep life simple and keep the suckler cows and don't be beholding to anyone

 

[sleepy]

Dairy farmers hiefers are his life he thinks more of them than his wife, do you realy need the responsibility of looking after them, ok you do, you will need to watch them all summer for fly strike and after that you will still get a few with bags gone, you do your very best that ain't good enough for mr perfects women and then a month before calving they fail the tb test so can't go home, who the helm is going to milk them in the meen time as I don't have a parlour and I ain't starting that again, keep life simple and keep the suckler cows and don't be beholding to anyone

Or become a straw merchant, make shed loads of cash and tell everyone else how to farm

 

[Derrick Hughes]

I'm not that bad!

You can't loose house them and pelt them with stones and dust as he wants them cubicle trained and shiting in the corner

 

[Derrick Hughes]

Or become a straw merchant, make shed loads of cash and tell everyone else how to farm

I don't tell no one how to farm I just tell them all what they doing wrong

 

[49801]

I'm not that bad!

We're in the south of Ireland but the agreement is for €1.05 per head per day.
Owner responsible for breeding, dosing vaccinating etc
Reared responsible for grass, feet, slurry, silage winter feeding etc

 

[Walterp]

This has just got to be the funniest thread on the internet....

 

[DRC]

Did it for years and had good and bad points,mainly cash flow if paid monthly and muck for the arable,but ended up a one man band and they became as big a tie as milking also didn't think £1 a day all year round for all sizes was enough ,when i was paying for all feed and wormers ect. ploughed all grass last year and made more money from all arable even with wheat yields at 2.5 ton.wish i had got out sooner although the family we did it for were a pleasure to work with.

 

[Babz]

Thanks you have just made my mind up! After thinking of contracting out my heifers this year for the first time I'm going to rent some extra land instead.

 

[happycows]

Thanks you have just made my mind up! After thinking of contracting out my heifers this year for the first time I'm going to rent some extra land instead.

good idea. buy silage or rent a bit more ground. Even some good straw and hard feed. I think that when you look after your own stock you subcontiously do things for them without even thinking. if you think a few need moving down a group or maybe need a bit more grub you do it. Not always saying it's economic but whilst they are your future you do best by them. I don't think anyone else will care that much.

now if we were talking about a fresian steer which had been saved from the knacker man and was being reared on the cheap it would be a different matter. few clats on his belly ain't gonna do him any harm!

 

[Derrick Hughes]

Thanks you have just made my mind up! After thinking of contracting out my heifers this year for the first time I'm going to rent some extra land instead.

How many acres do you need, it's £200/acre and I don't mind if you look the stock at midnight after you finished milking, I will probably be on holiday

 

[Babz]

Hundred or so aces but at that price it sounds like arable country!