Dairy startup

[Max04]

Hello all,
I am 20 years old and farm currently have 100 breeding ewes along side our main flock of the. Familys of 500 ewes plus i relief milk everyday. I farm 60 acres of rougher lowland grazing 20 of which is good silage type ground i want to start milking myself whether that be with a contract or just milking to feed calves what is everyones thoughts on the best way to start up ive got plenty of cubilces and a shed with milking adapters in. Ps i dont want to hear about dont waste your time or dont do it I want to hear plenty of positive comments. Thanks.

 

[Devon lad]

Hello all,
I am 20 years old and farm currently have 100 breeding ewes along side our main flock of the. Familys of 500 ewes plus i relief milk everyday. I farm 60 acres of rougher lowland grazing 20 of which is good silage type ground i want to start milking myself whether that be with a contract or just milking to feed calves what is everyones thoughts on the best way to start up ive got plenty of cubilces and a shed with milking adapters in. Ps i dont want to hear about dont waste your time or dont do it I want to hear plenty of positive comments. Thanks.

Could you go into more detail “why” you want to milk in your own right.

 

[Max04]

Could you go into more detail “why” you want to milk in your own right.

We did milk at home once over and just want to work at home almost full time I have a great passion for dairy farming and livestock so why not put that in hand and do it I suppose

 

[Devon lad]

this guy will give you some great inspiration. I know Matt quite well.
Being a dairy farmer is one thing, being a dairy on your own existing farm is another matter completely.
There’s relatively proven ways to get into farming your own dairy herd.
doing it with borrowed money and turning it in to a viable business is challenging especially where you really need economies of scale to really succeed financially
Where are you based?
Ireland has lots of great little dairy farms. It’s a great place to start for research.

 

[upnortheast]

Are you able to get a milk contract, or follow the path of @Tim G on here & sell it yourself.

 

[Max04]

Are you able to get a milk contract, or follow the path of @Tim G on here & sell it yourself.

Always wanted to start a milk round as our family did have one, don’t know how to get started with it that’s all

 

[upnortheast]

Always wanted to start a milk round as our family did have one, don’t know how to get started with it that’s all

Location, Location , Location

 

[Max04]

Location, Location , Location

Cumbria

 

[bar718]

Cumbria

Even in Cumbria share farming is coming around to be a thing. Put some feelers out with any auctioneers you know as there are plenty of farmers considering hanging up the clusters but just cannot bring themselves to do it. This creates opportunities for those who want to get a foot on the ladder and it may be a better option for you.

 

[upnortheast]

Cumbria

Close to lots of chimney pots ?? Or close to tourist hotspots ??

 

[pappuller]

Cumbria

@buffalo_soldier

 

[Max04]

Close to lots of chimney pots ?? Or close to tourist hotspots ??

In between both really

 

[upnortheast]

Have a read through @Tim G thread on getting started milking cows & selling the milk.
Thread 'Our new(ish) parlour' https://thefarmingforum.co.uk/index.php?threads/our-new-ish-parlour.305202/

 

[upnortheast]

In between both really

Who is currently supplying these markets ?
What can you supply them the current supplier can't ?
Better quality product
Better service ?.
Cheaper milk is the wrong answer for a small scale operation

 

[crashbox]

@Max04

Where do you want to be in 10 years?

Running a small dairy on your own farm, doing it all yourself? Say 30 cows on 60 acres.

Or owning 50% of a large (say 400 cow) dairy herd, share milking on a farm with far greater profit potential?

Both are fair and potentially viable options.

Beware constraining yourself to the confines of the home unit, is all.

In terms of practical advice:
Learn rotational grazing
Choose the best block for your farm (spring or autumn).
Ring up processors to see if you can get a milk contract.
Do a budget and business plan.
Apply for a loan.
Purchase stock e.g. bulling heifers, put in infrastructure.
Get milking.

Plus lots.of.other bumps.along the way, but half the fun is the challenge.

Good luck.

 

[Max04]

@Max04

Where do you want to be in 10 years?

Running a small dairy on your own farm, doing it all yourself? Say 30 cows on 60 acres.

Or owning 50% of a large (say 400 cow) dairy herd, share milking on a farm with far greater profit potential?

Both are fair and potentially viable options.

Beware constraining yourself to the confines of the home unit, is all.

In terms of practical advice:
Learn rotational grazing
Choose the best block for your farm (spring or autumn).
Ring up processors to see if you can get a milk contract.
Do a budget and business plan.
Apply for a loan.
Purchase stock e.g. bulling heifers, put in infrastructure.
Get milking.

Plus lots.of.other bumps.along the way, but half the fun is the challenge.

Good luck.

I would rather have a small herd of my own than be involved in a big herd

 

[som farmer]

good for you, industry needs younger farmers.

first step, make sure you can get a contract.

plenty of used parlours about, when we restarted, cheap was king. Our initial parlour, cost £5,000 including bulk tank, simple step up abreast. Got us going though, couple years on, re-instated the herringbone, again, used kit.

cows, depends how fussy you are, we started trying to milk our sucklers, + a few proper cows, then built up, traded cows up as well. l wouldn't try milking suckler cows, they come with a danger tag, interesting though, hfrs were much better, although yields were awful.

if you are prepared to sit on your hands at sales, there are always cheaper cows in dispersals, might not look pretty but..............

despite what many say, if you are prepared to work hard, dairying on a small scale, is not that expensive to start up, as long as you don't want a show piece set up - that can come later, its litres in the tank that matters. And add cows as and when you can afford them. The cheaper the set-up, the more cash is available for cows, its only cows putting milk, in the tank, that pays the bills.

good luck, keep posting on here, so we can see how you get on.

and @crashbox says, work out a system that suits your land, rotational grazing is a 'must' for efficient use.

l would suggest infrastructure, and young stock, to a degree, come later, its milk in the tank. We got going on £10,000, parlour and cows, plus the fecking sucklers.

we peaked at 270 cows, but with no labour, have kept cutting back, till today, we have 66, they were all going, but its son's decision, and with other 'issues', l think they will be here for a while yet. They bring in £450 ish a day, for not a lot of effort. A useful amount.

 

[Max04]

good for you, industry needs younger farmers.

first step, make sure you can get a contract.

plenty of used parlours about, when we restarted, cheap was king. Our initial parlour, cost £5,000 including bulk tank, simple step up abreast. Got us going though, couple years on, re-instated the herringbone, again, used kit.

cows, depends how fussy you are, we started trying to milk our sucklers, + a few proper cows, then built up, traded cows up as well. l wouldn't try milking suckler cows, they come with a danger tag, interesting though, hfrs were much better, although yields were awful.

if you are prepared to sit on your hands at sales, there are always cheaper cows in dispersals, might not look pretty but..............

despite what many say, if you are prepared to work hard, dairying on a small scale, is not that expensive to start up, as long as you don't want a show piece set up - that can come later, its litres in the tank that matters. And add cows as and when you can afford them. The cheaper the set-up, the more cash is available for cows, its only cows putting milk, in the tank, that pays the bills.

good luck, keep posting on here, so we can see how you get on.

Yes I will keep updating to let you know how I get on thanks for the advice

 

[Flossie]

good for you, industry needs younger farmers.

first step, make sure you can get a contract.

plenty of used parlours about, when we restarted, cheap was king. Our initial parlour, cost £5,000 including bulk tank, simple step up abreast. Got us going though, couple years on, re-instated the herringbone, again, used kit.

cows, depends how fussy you are, we started trying to milk our sucklers, + a few proper cows, then built up, traded cows up as well. l wouldn't try milking suckler cows, they come with a danger tag, interesting though, hfrs were much better, although yields were awful.

if you are prepared to sit on your hands at sales, there are always cheaper cows in dispersals, might not look pretty but..............

despite what many say, if you are prepared to work hard, dairying on a small scale, is not that expensive to start up, as long as you don't want a show piece set up - that can come later, its litres in the tank that matters. And add cows as and when you can afford them. The cheaper the set-up, the more cash is available for cows, its only cows putting milk, in the tank, that pays the bills.

good luck, keep posting on here, so we can see how you get on.

That's how we started off 22 years ago, with cheap cows that put milk in the tank. We'd bought some in-calf heifers off the father in law, so there was something pretty to look at as they calved. Then an uncle sold us some slow milkers and three quartered cows for little money.
The year after, he packed up milking, so we bought the cheap end of his cows.
The year after, my mum and dad packed up and sold the herd to a farm in Staffordshire, so again, the few not fit to go came to us.
It's good to keep a cow fund to one side so you can be opportunistic. I personally wouldn't like to borrow money to buy cows, but maybe that's just me.
It's very easy to willy wave and get carried away at market, paying top price and getting your name in the write up, but if you're not too fussy there are still some bargains around.

 

[DairyNerd]

this guy will give you some great inspiration. I know Matt quite well.
Being a dairy farmer is one thing, being a dairy on your own existing farm is another matter completely.
There’s relatively proven ways to get into farming your own dairy herd.
doing it with borrowed money and turning it in to a viable business is challenging especially where you really need economies of scale to really succeed financially
Where are you based?
Ireland has lots of great little dairy farms. It’s a great place to start for research.

Definitely agree to look at Ireland for inspiration. I like that Teagasc remind me I'm not the only farmer in the world with less than 100 cows