History repeating??

[Gilchro]

I am currently reading Newman Turner, Fertility Farming at the moment, a book that was written in 1951.
At the start of chapter 7 he discusses the returns from dairying and quotes that the average farm is spending 50% of the milk cheque on feed and 25% on labour.
60 years on and has much changed?

 

[Green Grass]

25% on bought in feed 18% on labour (unpaid, imputed at £13/h + paid)

 

[Gilchro]

Fair enough @Green Grass but I'd reckon there are many others out there that would dream of costs that low without a hope in hell of doing it

 

[Green Grass]

Not sure whether the 50% on feed referred to in your book was conc + forage cost or just concentrate. Shouldn't think many could stay in business spending 50% on concentrate. Were autumn block calving on heavy clay ground. Silaging carried out by contractors, most costs can be switched from box to another.

 

[Gilchro]

Aye that was forage and concentrate together.
An easy costing one for forage is £100a tonne of dry matter.
So if your cows are on a 50:50 forage to concentrate ration, they will be eating about £1 a day of silage

 

[Green Grass]

Would say another 14% on forage cost. Go back 12 twelve months before milk price climbed, and your 50%feed 25% labour being spot on.

They're more than £1 day of silage but less when grazing not far off for an average.

 

[neilo]

Not sure whether the 50% on feed referred to in your book was conc + forage cost or just concentrate. Shouldn't think many could stay in business spending 50% on concentrate. Were autumn block calving on heavy clay ground. Silaging carried out by contractors, most costs can be switched from box to another.

Going back to an old forum chestnut, it probably depends how big the 50% is? Half of a million pound milk cheque is more than 3/4 of a half million pound cheque.

Lazy farmer will be along shortly.

 

[Green Grass]

I was thinking if anyone one was spending 16+ppl on concentrate have either got a huge vermin population or a pilfering farmhand.
Of course there are exceptions went to farm in Holland feeding 18kg conc along with hay made off nature reserve. Good healthy herd but could so easily go very wrong.

 

[neilo]

I was thinking if anyone one was spending 16+ppl on concentrate have either got a huge vermin population or a pilfering farmhand.
Of course there are exceptions went to farm in Holland feeding 18kg conc along with hay made off nature reserve. Good healthy herd but could so easily go very wrong.

I was feeding 18/19kg of concs a day to the high yielders on the robots at home, with a rough mixed forage of grass silage, maize & Wholecrop. Herd was averaging 12k, those high yielders on that feeding level (& for a prolonged period) would have been averaging 13-14k. £1000 worth of concs per cow, but £3k of milk. Could only do that with NA Holsteins on robots or 3x milking though I suspect, but DA's & digestive problems were a rarity, certainly far lower than a lot of our vet's other herds.

 

[Green Grass]

That's good going but still way off spending half your milk cheque on concentrate. We were feeding near three tonne in cow (when are stocking rates were high) not getting those yields though, but gotta be so on the ball, soon as get bit of illness and intakes fall its slippery slope.

 

[multi power]

i remember a third of milk cheque on cake on a simple rex patterson type autum calving set up

 

[FonterraFarmer]

History never repeats, I tell myself before I go to sleep, don't say words you might regret,I've lost before you know I can't forget....