Grass keep or headage payment?

[Gander]

Last year I spent a lot of time working away for various reasons. It means that I am now understocked at home whilst having a large supply of silage to see me through next winter. I havent got the capital to go buying cattle but intend to rear more calves than usual this summer.

To help with cash flow and make the most of the grass, I'm looking at the possibility of having some dairy youngstock (yearlings when they get here) in from a dairy farm about 5 miles away. I get on well with the farmer and have overwintered cattle for them. They would be here from mid April through to mid Oct ish. Its a bit different to simply letting grass keep as I will be doing all the looking after, moving paddocks, fencing, worming (drugs provided by them), feeding (cake provided by them), fertilising (bought by me) etc.

The acreage will alter through the season due to my own grazing and cutting requirements. So its not quite as simple as letting it as grass keep. How would you guys price this? per acre? per head/day? What sort of money? There must be guys out there doing this type of thing. Any help or advice will be much appreciated. Thanks.

 

[Thick Farmer]

I charge £1.50 per head per day. I reckon you need around £1 just to cover the rental value and the fertiliser.

 

[Walterp]

That's 6 months @ £1.50 each making £270 per head until mid October. If he takes 50, that's £13,500 all in, which the dairy man ain't never gonna pay...

Back to the drawing board?

 

[endeavour]

if he can get that not such a "Thick Farmer"

 

[Gander]

Thanks.

Thats where im coming unstuck.

I had though it needs to be somewhere around £1.10-1.20/day per head other wise I might as well let the grass keep and do nothing. Surely it would cost him that to keep them indoors at home plus the added hasssle?

Anybody else got any ideas?

 

[Derrick Hughes]

Best not sell it per acre just give them an invoice for forage

 

[happycows]

I charge £1.50 per head per day. I reckon you need around £1 just to cover the rental value and the fertiliser.

He must be on a M&S milk contract!! If it got too expensive (costing more to rear than buy in) then he might just not bother with the heifers and phone baca, go for a nice jolly to Holland for a lorry load at £1450!

 

[Thick Farmer]

He must be on a M&S milk contract!! If it got too expensive (costing more to rear than buy in) then he might just not bother with the heifers and phone baca, go for a nice jolly to Holland for a lorry load at £1450!

That's a valid point, but with a lot of these large, block calving herds the problem is getting enough of the right type of heifers, at the right time.

My thinking is that I need enough to cover what I could get for renting the farm out (around £150 -£180 per acre for summer grazing around here) and some money to cover my time and effort.

Surely renting the place out and getting a job can't be the best payer?

 

[happycows]

Surely renting the place out and getting a job can't be the best payer?

Whilst he's willing to pay, and you are happy with your lifesyle perhaps a question best left unanswered!!

There are all sorts of dairy animals out there to be bought from abroad to suit almost any system. The irish have a extra 100,000 dairy animals alive on the ground. I'm sure they wouldn't mind sending a few lorry loads that will be calving any week he wants!!

 

[Thick Farmer]

Whilst he's willing to pay, and you are happy with your lifesyle perhaps a question best left unanswered!!

There are all sorts of dairy animals out there to be bought from abroad to suit almost any system. The irish have a extra 100,000 dairy animals alive on the ground. I'm sure they wouldn't mind sending a few lorry loads that will be calving any week he wants!!

Sshhh

 

[multi power]

Whilst he's willing to pay, and you are happy with your lifesyle perhaps a question best left unanswered!!

There are all sorts of dairy animals out there to be bought from abroad to suit almost any system. The irish have a extra 100,000 dairy animals alive on the ground. I'm sure they wouldn't mind sending a few lorry loads that will be calving any week he wants!!

but not very good for bio security