Reply to thread

Message

<blockquote data-quote="Aspiring Peasants" data-source="post: 7610582" data-attributes="member: 198">In the northern hills which is traditionally a sheep and suckler cow area it has been the most expensive winter we have had.The weather has changed in recent years, I don't know whether this is the new pattern or a blip.Our cows are housed for 4-6 weeks longer than they used to be. This has a big cost when you are buying straw and means you need more silage, putting pressure on stocking rate. Also because of the very late spring,&nbsp; grass crops are looking lighter than normal I think straw will remain expensive because the cost of haulage will rise and there is so much going to power stations etc and more people will chop it to try to increase soil OM.We may be getting more for cattle but input prices have shot up, all these factors are making people question the job, its more than just the subsidy issues</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Aspiring Peasants, post: 7610582, member: 198"] In the northern hills which is traditionally a sheep and suckler cow area it has been the most expensive winter we have had. The weather has changed in recent years, I don't know whether this is the new pattern or a blip. Our cows are housed for 4-6 weeks longer than they used to be. This has a big cost when you are buying straw and means you need more silage, putting pressure on stocking rate. Also because of the very late spring, grass crops are looking lighter than normal I think straw will remain expensive because the cost of haulage will rise and there is so much going to power stations etc and more people will chop it to try to increase soil OM. We may be getting more for cattle but input prices have shot up, all these factors are making people question the job, its more than just the subsidy issues [/QUOTE]

Verification