Dairy Farming

[Headless chicken]

Am in Wales , will get back into milking again before I decide to do owt yet.

I’m in west wales. Your welcome to come and see what we’ve done here. Returned into milk in 2013 with in effect a brown field site. Had some sheds here but most have now be modernised

 

[coomoo]

Go for it if your hearts in it you’ll make it work. If you know some local farmers who you respect go speak to them, offer to help whichever milkings they’ll be around (weekend relief). Do it for free, the knowledge they have will be invaluable. Sounds to me like robots would marry in with your skills. As @kill says look his thread up. When I started hit 34ppl then in months 17ppl it’s certainly not for the faint hearted.

 

[grasslad]

Headless chicken I will take you up on your offer one of these days thanks very much
Im flat out at the moment but sure to give you a shout.
Spent the best part of the day in Conwy North Wales not much flat land out there!

coomoo that sounds like a plan its like any business though highs and lows but ultimately you wanna go steady and be happy with it.

I know theres been a lot of talk about robots. I quite like the traditional way. Im thinking yes its less labour but more to go wrong? not to mention high costs of just one robot.

where's the right website to find proper dairy and forage stats and Wales by region. I find the property prices are wildly different in areas as well.

Saw a place in Welshpool asking a cool million for house farm and 30acres. wouldn't justify for me at that.

 

[Rossymons]

Anything less than 50 acres probably isnt worth bothering with. I think you're in for a shock.

Look at AHDB Dairy...they will have a wealth of information for you.

 

[Tim G]

And everyone wonders why there are very few new entrants in farming!

 

[supercow]

And everyone wonders why there are very few new entrants in farming!

Almost impossible in my area to be a new entrant. Unless you marry a farmers daughter

 

[grasslad]

Let me at them LOL Im under no illusion the requirements for dairy. But its the same as how long is a piece of string. its measurable and doable. The thing I worry about is TB and general animal health.

Getting the blighters to stay alive is the key. quality of management of the farm.

I know a man who milked with 25 acres he had low cow numbers as well. he had no debt though.

 

[bigw]

Do you currently farm any land or have a budget to start up with @grasslad

 

[Tim G]

Almost impossible in my area to be a new entrant. Unless you marry a farmers daughter

Nothing is impossible.
Sometimes you just need to think outside the box. Lots of replies stating how much money you need to start out. All you need is a goat and a bucket and you can be dairying!

 

[Rossymons]

Nothing is impossible.
Sometimes you just need to think outside the box. Lots of replies stating how much money you need to start out. All you need is a goat and a bucket and you can be dairying!

Somewhere to live and something to eat is also nice.

 

[Tim G]

Somewhere to live and something to eat is also nice.

Yes, maybe I over simplified it, but you don't need 500 acres and and four robot milker's to start dairy farming.

 

[grasslad]

exactly my thinking TimG but if anythings worth doing do it well.

There is disparity in farm property prices though. some out right greedy.

 

[dairyrow]

Have you looked at the venture thing on farming connect. thought i did see 2 dairy farms on there looking for young farmer to take over?

 

[grasslad]

Looks well supportive organisation dairy row.
I am not exactly young either but plenty of man hours left in me!!
haha.
PM me the link about the dairy farms?

 

[dairyrow]

cant remember where i seen it think it was on one of their last newsletters. id give them a ring a and see what they say

 

[wurzell1976]

Two tidy blocks of land on the Taunton estate totalling over 400 acres all connected , circa £3m be a blank canvas to put a Greenfield site.

Not all sold yet then ?

 

[supercow]

Nothing is impossible.
Sometimes you just need to think outside the box. Lots of replies stating how much money you need to start out. All you need is a goat and a bucket and you can be dairying!

I said almost impossible

 

[surprisefarmer]

@grasslad you seem to be putting yourself through the same turmoil that I did (as a farmers son I just wanted to get away from a normal job and get back to the animals), and all I can say on that is, that you need to just do it. My situation was slightly different however as I already had the family farm to work with.

I committed to going into dairy farming last Easter, starting renovating my existing beef house at the end of June, and then started milking cows on valentines day. Very early days obviously but I am glad I did it. I put in 1 DeLaval robot but did all the builders work for 2, the second robot is due to come now in May. I currently have 48 cows/heifers on my first robot. I already knew the basics of dairying as I worked a lot on my uncles dairy farm and I have a reasonable handle on working with stock as we have had suck cows, store cattle and sheep on the farm all my life.

Regards advise, it has all been said above, talk to people you know who are doing it, the various websites, but I also find that my milk buyer over here is quite good with general support questions.

It is hard work, but I find it very rewarding. Struggling with that statement this very moment as I am in the cubicle house training heifers that i bought on Thursday.

If you want to know anymore, just ask.

 

[grasslad]

@surprisefarmer Id say I would have to agree with you about turmoil on what to do to get back to the farming for the rest of my life Its in the blood isn't it. always felt at home with it.
You are in a slightly stronger position than I am at the moment as my family farm isn't actually dairy but sheep and beef but uncles farm is.

While every one has a strong story behind them , for me it would be a straight start up with good experience but it all needs refreshing again and talking to a few farmers on the ground would be a massive help.

I am assuming you dont own the ground that you are farming on? would you say theres a lot of conflict of interest or you all work together well? hope so.

While Im working in Wales(computers) although I am Northern Irish I see the welsh dairy market isn't easy to break into due to scarcity and high property prices unless your in the back of nowhere. That said I still am deciding between Wales and NI I still have a lot of research to go through I still aim for a years turnaround to start. I am leaning towards to back home though.

I am glad to hear you've started your venture cautiously,sounds good cracking job , I wonder , and I dont really know how much a friesian cow is worth to buy this would be critical I would say in terms of its productivity and health and age? £1200 a head on average?

Definitely intend to do it! Ive found that total dairy herd figures is higher in NI than in Wales with the highest concentration of dairy farms in Co Tyrone.

have you relied on farming income on its own to survive? - I would be wary of this though in its infant years I do have strong IT skills , robots would be up my street skills wise but Im still sorta old school with the herringbone setup nothing like getting at it.

any pics of the robot set up?

 

[Rossymons]

Your plan sounds ambitious and good luck to you...

But a year is ambitious! Get out in the world, milk cows in a herringbome, rotary, robot in this country and and others. Get your hands dirty first before breaking ground for a shed.