Dairy sideline

[Bossfarmer]

It sounds almost hilarious and incredulous but honestly there are people out there who just think 'hell yeah I will go into dairy- everyone else is making loads of money from it'. That is the Gods honest truth.

It makes a mockery of the job when the dairy farmers I know are consumate professionals at it, their attention to detail and animal husbandry is first rate and they work hard.

It nearly makes me chuckle out loud when you hear folk just come straight out with: 'im going into dairying' or 'im going into arable' when you know they dont know the foggiest about it. That doest seem to compute to them. They have two hands, two feet and land so that apparently qualifies it. Ive seen it a few times and it never ceases to amaze me how many people either supremely confident or supremely something else.

Just buying the cows or breeding them or installing a parlour extends to many thousands yet they assume they already have the requisite skills, technical or commercial acumen to make it work. Its the singlemost best inside joke in farming today if I am honest.

You need only read the very detailed threads from the serious dairy or beef guys to realise the complexity of the job. Not just from a physical perspective but also a long term commercial or economic one. I have always held a lot of admiration for people who quite clearly have 'got it'. I dont think it is something I could personally achieve and the difficulty involved is clearly highlighted by the number of businesses that end up going out of it.
I wonder then about the long term future of an industry of which a portion is still operating in bossfarmer mode? We laugh about it now but by 2025 the training wheels are coming off.

sounds like a challenge to me, i dont mind that and no stranger to hard work, you overstate the complexity though there are jobs out there far more technical

 

[Bossfarmer]

I blew my top last time I saw a thread of his and since discovered the ignore button...but i''m guessing he's no further down the line and building?

you should recall me saying i had no plans to go out of sucklers until there was any talk of the suckle beef calf scheme being removed then, its just discussing alternative ideas, does noone else do this?

 

[Baling Hay]

you should recall me saying i had no plans to go out of sucklers until there was any talk of the suckle beef calf scheme being removed then, its just discussing alternative ideas, does noone else do this?

Yes others do this but maybe ask the relevant questions to those you can give you a definite answer (Milk Buyer) before wasting hours upon hours typing tripe.

 

[fgc325j]

O

Anyone got rough costings and output for 60 dairy cows on grass system vs intensive

Ok - how much experience have you got with dairy cows and milking . If you are a complete novice, and even if you
are a fast learner, it will take some time to get the necessary knowledge AND experience to be able to run a
high yielding herd which will provide the return you are thinking that you will get.
It isn't simply a matter of shovelling cake in, getting the clusters on, the milk flows, and you can look at
the RR pricelist whilst having a cuppa, after doing the morning round of checking which cows haven't
been to the robot in the last 12 hours.
From your postings from when you started on TFF, where you stated that you have built up a large
farming acreage, but are not making the sort of profit you envisaged making, i'm thinking, and i could
be wrong, that you tend to go ahead with things without working the sums out beforehand, a sort of
"things will work out right" attitude. Learn from your mistakes - don't compound them.

 

[Frodo]

It sounds almost hilarious and incredulous but honestly there are people out there who just think 'hell yeah I will go into dairy- everyone else is making loads of money from it'. That is the Gods honest truth.

It makes a mockery of the job when the dairy farmers I know are consumate professionals at it, their attention to detail and animal husbandry is first rate and they work hard.

It nearly makes me chuckle out loud when you hear folk just come straight out with: 'im going into dairying' or 'im going into arable' when you know they dont know the foggiest about it. That doest seem to compute to them. They have two hands, two feet and land so that apparently qualifies it. Ive seen it a few times and it never ceases to amaze me how many people either supremely confident or supremely something else.

Just buying the cows or breeding them or installing a parlour extends to many thousands yet they assume they already have the requisite skills, technical or commercial acumen to make it work. Its the singlemost best inside joke in farming today if I am honest.

You need only read the very detailed threads from the serious dairy or beef guys to realise the complexity of the job. Not just from a physical perspective but also a long term commercial or economic one. I have always held a lot of admiration for people who quite clearly have 'got it'. I dont think it is something I could personally achieve and the difficulty involved is clearly highlighted by the number of businesses that end up going out of it.
I wonder then about the long term future of an industry of which a portion is still operating in bossfarmer mode? We laugh about it now but by 2025 the training wheels are coming off.

Leaving the personalities on this thread aside, I find this view as if not more depressing than those of someone considering doing something they have no experience of.

Do you really believe the only entrance into dairy (or any other sector) is to be born into it.

We only live once, so cannot possibly gain experience in all aspects of our businesses before taking a punt. We can rely on others for advice (ptofessionals and forums)

Is part of the jealousy about Ad plants the fact they have taken a (massive) punt on something they have no experience about.

 

[pappuller]

you should recall me saying i had no plans to go out of sucklers until there was any talk of the suckle beef calf scheme being removed then, its just discussing alternative ideas, does noone else do this?

 

[pappuller]

you should recall me saying i had no plans to go out of sucklers until there was any talk of the suckle beef calf scheme being removed then, its just discussing alternative ideas, does noone else do this?

@Dairyman Steve

 

[lloyd]

As long as you can get a good contract go for it Bossfarmer .
If that materialises why not reduce the poorer arable areas and think bigger.
Take on an experienced ,keen person and offer him/her performance related pay deal.
Dairy cows look relatively cheap at the moment and you don't have to buy
all new equipment to start with.
You've probably got most of the machinery already from your existing business
and buildings you could utilise .
Don't forget you'd be getting a monthly check as apposed to waiting 24months to sell a fat animal.

Lots of Dairy farmers piled into sheep just before the introduction of sheep quotas
thinking the quotas were going to be worth a lot of money ,collapsed the trade with
overproduction then piled out when they realised sheep don't manage themselves
and the quota was worthless.

Like its been said on here earlier without anyone wanting to buy milk from you
its a non starter and i'd guess most buyers want to consolidate their business
with fewer larger producers.

 

[ollie989898]

Leaving the personalities on this thread aside, I find this view as if not more depressing than those of someone considering doing something they have no experience of.

Do you really believe the only entrance into dairy (or any other sector) is to be born into it.

We only live once, so cannot possibly gain experience in all aspects of our businesses before taking a punt. We can rely on others for advice (ptofessionals and forums)

Is part of the jealousy about Ad plants the fact they have taken a (massive) punt on something they have no experience about.

Sorry, I was composing my post late last night and I was rather tired so some of it may not have been worded as well as it might.

I did not mean to suggest that people had to be born into it; in fact, we all recognise that even that is no guarantee of success, not my a long way.

Rather, I was attempting to highlight the nature of those already involved in dairying. Irrespective of their system, you can quite clearly see how technically competent they are and that running such a business, successfully, is no small thing.

I therefore find it incredulous that people who are operating other enterprises, usually with indifference or complaining of low returns, therefore just assume they can enter a wholly different sector and be successful. We can all see businesses that have failed (for want of a more accurate term) or ended their dairy enterprise for whatever reason and there are always going to be times when the milk price is under pressure- that much is now obvious due to the highly cyclical nature of that beast.

My post was in no way motivated by jealousy I must point out.

 

[Bossfarmer]

Sorry, I was composing my post late last night and I was rather tired so some of it may not have been worded as well as it might.

I did not mean to suggest that people had to be born into it; in fact, we all recognise that even that is no guarantee of success, not my a long way.

Rather, I was attempting to highlight the nature of those already involved in dairying. Irrespective of their system, you can quite clearly see how technically competent they are and that running such a business, successfully, is no small thing.

I therefore find it incredulous that people who are operating other enterprises, usually with indifference or complaining of low returns, therefore just assume they can enter a wholly different sector and be successful. We can all see businesses that have failed (for want of a more accurate term) or ended their dairy enterprise for whatever reason and there are always going to be times when the milk price is under pressure- that much is now obvious due to the highly cyclical nature of that beast.

My post was in no way motivated by jealousy I must point out.

dont see why i cant assume i can do it? if i put my mind to something i see it through irrelevant of the work required so its more whether its financially worth it is the question

 

[Rossymons]

dont see why i cant assume i can do it? if i put my mind to something i see it through irrelevant of the work required so its more whether its financially worth it is the question

Well get off here and ring your potential milk buyer. If they don't want the milk its game over.

 

[Hilly]

I think you should give finding a milk buyer a go and then go for it .

 

[FonterraFarmer]

sounds like a challenge to me, i dont mind that and no stranger to hard work, you overstate the complexity though there are jobs out there far more technical

Its not all technical, it's part instinct too.

 

[unlacedgecko]

Call milk buyer. Ask if they want milk.

If yes, buy several cheap 2nd hand parlours. Blend them to create 1 cheap 80:40 parlour.

Put in 400 acres of grass with surface laid water troughs and wood chip cow tracks.

Get in a 50:50 share milker.

This will be a lot simpler and provide more consistent profit than you trying to do too much and doing the job badly .

 

[Hilly]

If you have a Milk buyer and you have good grass go all out get rid of sucklers you will have everything you need anyway except a parlour .

 

[unlacedgecko]

If you have a Milk buyer and you have good grass go all out get rid of sucklers you will have everything you need anyway except a parlour .

But there’s not calf subsidy on dairy bred calves!

 

[Hilly]

But there’s not calf subsidy on dairy bred calves!

But there’s not calf subsidy on dairy bred calves!

Aye n if dont claim it i get more should be banned from keeping suckklers on dairy/arable land subsidy theifs.

 

[willie waver]

Anybody else feel the OP hasn’t got a scobby doo ?

never been convinced he's an actual real farmer, just need that greythunderclouds chap,with the remarkably similar posting style to come along and ask the same questions......

 

[tinto]

@bossman
As far as I know there is only 3 dairies left in Perthshire and none above Stanley and all supplying different markets so finding a buyer will be hard or nearly impossible on 60-90 cows.
Go and work on a dairy farm for six weeks even if you find a contract then came back and tell us you still want to milk cows .
Tinto

 

[ridger]

@bossman
As far as I know there is only 3 dairies left in Perthshire and none above Stanley and all supplying different markets so finding a buyer will be hard or nearly impossible on 60-90 cows.
Go and work on a dairy farm for six weeks even if you find a contract then came back and tell us you still want to milk cows .
Tinto

Or go and work on a farm even!