farming knowledge gone.

[robs1]

It depends if an extended lactation can fit your system. If you calving to fit a grass growth curve and want to dry everything off at Christmas, then probably not. If you're AYR calving anyway, and the cow is the type that can hold milk up, then crack on.

I remember a heifer back home on the robots that did 9,000L in her first 305 days, then another 9,000L in her second 305 days. She did get in calf eventually though. The next lactation was also 2 years, giving 12400 in her first 305 days (I forget what she did in the second but would have held up).
In a high input AYR calving herd, was she any less profitable than one that got in calf to calve on her anniversary?

Exactly,

 

[som farmer]

It depends if an extended lactation can fit your system. If you calving to fit a grass growth curve and want to dry everything off at Christmas, then probably not. If you're AYR calving anyway, and the cow is the type that can hold milk up, then crack on.

I remember a heifer back home on the robots that did 9,000L in her first 305 days, then another 9,000L in her second 305 days. She did get in calf eventually though. The next lactation was also 2 years, giving 12400 in her first 305 days (I forget what she did in the second but would have held up).
In a high input AYR calving herd, was she any less profitable than one that got in calf to calve on her anniversary?

12,400 litres, at 40ppl today, = a lot of money.

 

[neilo]

12,400 litres, at 40ppl today, = a lot of money.

I was having that discussion with someone the other day.
We were feeding 4t of dairy cake per cow but averaging over 12k litres.
With today’s prices for milk and cake, there’s a big gap between them to pay for a lot of other costs.

Yet still dairy farmers plead poverty…

 

[Exfarmer]

Farming now is becoming a nightmare & I can well understand the younger genreration wanting something different, we are bombarded from all sides with endless pointless rules, regulations, now different bodies wanting different outcomes with what can be severe penalties if we get it slightly wrong.
All we want to do is produce food, we are not qualified secretaries or managers with nothing else to do other than endless paper exercises.
Do you really wonder why young people want a far simpler life?
I suggest if you do try & start collecting all the endless booklets of rules & regs that effect any farmer trying to run his business, you might find it takes up one hell of a lot of space!

But surely all professions and trades are the same today, tick a box before you lift a finger , unless you want to be sued for every last penny

 

[som farmer]

I was having that discussion with someone the other day.
We were feeding 4t of dairy cake per cow but averaging over 12k litres.
With today’s prices for milk and cake, there’s a big gap between them to pay for a lot of other costs.

Yet still dairy farmers plead poverty…

some do, and some don't, for us, we see it as a good chance to make some proper money.
l sometimes think some dairy farmers, have complicated their systems, that they can't get out of the rut they have created. You only need to look at the huge number, of snake oil salesmen, living of dairy farmers.
Mind you, we are very much into unknown times, everything has gone up in price, its adjusting your mind, to the 'new normal', can be quite scary. Perhaps unusually, we have drastically down sized, labour being the reason, there isn't any round here. And by tweaking the system, autumn calving instead of spring, concentrating on quality cows, silage and conc, doing rather better than expected, and a big heap of grain, will help out. Currently, while barren price is high, culling out the 'has beens' and replacing them, with i/c young cows, oct/nov. Price has gone, from 3 for 2, now looking 5 for 3, scary. But, what else can you do, to spend £2000, and get a return of £12/15 a day, from day one.
I don't think a huge amount of stockmanship has disappeared, l think its hidden, by the huge workload many have inflicted on themselves, and quite certain many need to step back, and assess what/why/how they work.

 

[farmerfred86]

As above all my forbears were farmers and so am i but my kids have chosen a different path . Absolutely nothing wrong with that but just thinking how easily the farming knowledge that gets past down over the years gets lost in the space of one generation , makes you think doesn't it ?

Egyptians had very basic batteries. Took a long time before electricity was discovered though. Knowledge is lost easily very easily and humans are not good at all at passing it on.
Elon Musk describes this period as a small window of opportunity to become an multi planetary species because history shows us that we don't have long to make use of what we currently have.

 

[Cowabunga]

I was listening to R4 farming this morning. We are all obsolete. It is now "regenerative farming". Some scientist has discovered that muck actually helps the soil. Wow!

Someone will have to invent artificial muck then, because the real thing is excreted, along with highly toxic methane, from the arse of those nasty ruminant animals that should be made extinct and hopefully soon will be. Except wild ones in wildernesses that look after themselves and don’t produce anything for human consumption of course. Maybe if badgers were encouraged there would be enough volunteer badger-sh!t gatherers to gather, transport and hand spread it on vegetable and fruit soil? No danger of TB. Everyone knows that is just farmer propaganda.

 

[FonterraFarmer]

I think the knowledge lost in ag can be discovered with a modern twist.

What worries me are skills lost for ever from our industrial heritage, some skills cannot be easily learnt.

If this guy does not pass on his skills who do future generations learn from, just for example.

Some blokes couldn't even put the spare wheel on their own car ffs!!!

 

[JockCroft]

Someone will have to invent artificial muck then, because the real thing is excreted, along with highly toxic methane, from the arse of those nasty ruminant animals that should be made extinct and hopefully soon will be. Except wild ones in wildernesses that look after themselves and don’t produce anything for human consumption of course. Maybe if badgers were encouraged there would be enough volunteer badger-sh!t gatherers to gather, transport and hand spread it on vegetable and fruit soil? No danger of TB. Everyone knows that is just farmer propaganda.

Naa. Just dredge the rivers where water company's have (Illegaly) discharged sewage.

 

[Hilly]

Much stuff never goes out of date and as you get older you realise a lot of knowledge is born of experience. I've found my own way as not from a farming background and often wish I'd a senior member of the family to ask her / his counsel

I see other farmers with parents farming and think they have an advantage over me as they have that knowledge to draw off , my father was a trades man not a farmer , i wish i had followed his trade now not went into farming , if i had my time over i wouldnt touch farming with shitty stick

 

[Hilly]

Some blokes couldn't even put the spare wheel on their own car ffs!!!

You dont even get a spare wheel now man , you get recoverd , saves the fanny who financed the fancy car to keep up with the jones es gettimg his fairy soft fingers and shitty next chyna suit dirty .

 

[FonterraFarmer]

You dont even get a spare wheel now man , you get recoverd , saves the fanny who financed the fancy car to keep up with the jones es gettimg his fairy soft fingers and shitty next chyna suit dirty .

Refered to as the suicide or death wish tyre here, nothing uncommon to bin them and replace with a normal tyre as even here it's impractical and potentially fatal to use space saving tyre in NZ.
I've always owned all my vehicles and you have to have at least one normal spare wheel especially when off road too...

 

[Hilly]

Refered to as the suicide or death wish tyre here, nothing uncommon to bin them and replace with a normal tyre as even here it's impractical and potentially fatal to use space saving tyre in NZ.
I've always owned all my vehicles and you have to have at least one normal spare wheel especially when off road too...

You dont even get a space saver here now man you get a can of squirty stuff thats as much use as a fart on a windy day . Example , have people in my holliday home with new people carrier , sunday it gets recoverd ! I thought oh sh!t car has bust thats unlucky , monday they get taxi , 35 mile to collect car , i ask whats happend car , oh nothing ot just had s soft tyre so got it recoverd and got a taxi to get it back ,,,, oh says me that a shame spoiled you holidyas cost like that , oh no not at all its a benefit car they lay for everything ! We have bred a bunch of wan kers man .

 

[neilo]

Some blokes couldn't even put the spare wheel on their own car ffs!!!

I remember being shocked when driving home from a sheep meeting about 15 years ago. I drove past 4 lads in their early twenties, all sitting on a crash barrier, watching an AA man changing their wheel for them.

I guess they might have bred and multiplied by now.

 

[FonterraFarmer]

You dont even get a space saver here now man you get a can of squirty stuff thats as much use as a fart on a windy day . Example , have people in my holliday home with new people carrier , sunday it gets recoverd ! I thought oh sh!t car has bust thats unlucky , monday they get taxi , 35 mile to collect car , i ask whats happend car , oh nothing ot just had s soft tyre so got it recoverd and got a taxi to get it back ,,,, oh says me that a shame spoiled you holidyas cost like that , oh no not at all its a benefit car they lay for everything ! We have bred a bunch of wan kers man .

I normally drive 80's utes, no ABS, traction control, power steering, manual FWH's, wind up windows ,no A/C or cruise control or sauna, it's bloody brilliant!!!

 

[FonterraFarmer]

I remember being shocked when driving home from a sheep meeting about 15 years ago. I drove past 4 lads in their early twenties, all sitting on a crash barrier, watching an AA man changing their wheel for them.

I guess they might have bred and multiplied by now.

Oh far canal, so 10 ply...ffs

 

[FonterraFarmer]

I remember being shocked when driving home from a sheep meeting about 15 years ago. I drove past 4 lads in their early twenties, all sitting on a crash barrier, watching an AA man changing their wheel for them.

I guess they might have bred and multiplied by now.

Saw that with Renault 5 in Battersea back in 1990/91!!!

 

[Highland Mule]

I remember being shocked when driving home from a sheep meeting about 15 years ago. I drove past 4 lads in their early twenties, all sitting on a crash barrier, watching an AA man changing their wheel for them.

I guess they might have bred and multiplied by now.

Depends on the road. I’ll happily change a tyre on anything, but not a chance if there’s motorway traffic rushing past at 80. Had a blow out on the M56 once and even with the hard shoulder I called the AA - I pay for the service so why not ?

 

[Hilly]

Depends on the road. I’ll happily change a tyre on anything, but not a chance if there’s motorway traffic rushing past at 80. Had a blow out on the M56 once and even with the hard shoulder I called the AA - I pay for the service so why not ?

Why not indeed , in that situation your very much in the hands of others , and when you see that caliber of driving on display its very frighting .

 

[neilo]

Depends on the road. I’ll happily change a tyre on anything, but not a chance if there’s motorway traffic rushing past at 80. Had a blow out on the M56 once and even with the hard shoulder I called the AA - I pay for the service so why not ?

You’d surely have it changed and on your way again long before they turned up?

The above was on a dual carriageway with a wide verge and on the passenger side.