Life after BPS producing food from cattle and sheep.

[topground]

BPS nearly gone, SFI announced today not worth the aggravation on an all grass farm. what’s the plan going forward for those of us producing food from cattle and sheep?
Mine is to reduce spending to an absolute minimum which won’t do the local economy particularly support industries already in recession any good and hope that a Labour government weakens the pound and makes food imports more expensive thereby boosting returns for home produced food.
Do away with any ‘environmental areas’ because every square metre will have to earn its keep. The internal hedges will have to take their chances because protecting them from the cattle is expensive and non productive.
What’s your cunning plan?

 

[yellowbelly]

 

[livestock 1]

Hopeless really. Never known anything like it.

 

[devonbeef]

BPS nearly gone, SFI announced today not worth the aggravation on an all grass farm. what’s the plan going forward for those of us producing food from cattle and sheep?
Mine is to reduce spending to an absolute minimum which won’t do the local economy particularly support industries already in recession any good and hope that a Labour government weakens the pound and makes food imports more expensive thereby boosting returns for home produced food.
Do away with any ‘environmental areas’ because every square metre will have to earn its keep. The internal hedges will have to take their chances because protecting them from the cattle is expensive and non productive.
What’s your cunning plan?

I am not sure many of us have a cunning plan, other than there is a huge labour shortage in this country, so most of us would do very well out of farming with our work ethic

 

[copse]

View attachment 1120001

Two dogs is a bit extravagant.

 

[David.]

Can't have been so bad if could still afford baccy.

 

[No wot]

If you can come up with a business structure that allows you to cope without sub , do so good on you but I fear most of us will farm until financially we can no longer

 

[David.]

I think I need to get away from sheep who like to have their heads in a bucket all the ruddy time.
A sheep is supposed to be an animal capable of converting forage into meat, so paying £400/ ton to the same man who wants to pay me less than £200 for wheat is going to stop.
The ride is over.

 

[unlacedgecko]

2000 ewes per labour unit
200 cows per labour unit

Only feed grazed forage (with a few bales for cow wintering on kale).

Only winter breeding sheep. All slaughter lambs off farm by end of Sep. Anything not finished then either sell store or put on tack. Add value by selling breeding stock/premium eating experience meat. (not totally sure I want the fück around of direct sales though).

Only winter slaughter cattle once.

Run a couple of vans and a couple of quad bikes. Keep money in metal to a minimum. Currently cattle have 1/2 a loader tractor with the arable.

Intensify the grazing to grow more grass. Maybe more mixed herbal leys?

Breed functional stock that don't need inputs, particularly labour. Sell anything which needs individual attention. Finish breed the wool off sheep and push litter size.

Possibly some trading sheep?

That's it in a nutshell. Got 4.5yrs left here, so will see what happens. If this doesn't work out we will exit the industry.

 

[soapsud]

If you can come up with a business structure that allows you to cope without sub , do so good on you but I fear most of us will farm until financially we can no longer

This is the worry. Few will jump preferring to wait and hope not to be pushed.

 

[B'o'B]

Can't have been so bad if could still afford baccy.

Who said they could afford to light the baccy! It goes a long way if you don’t burn it!

 

[yellowbelly]

Can't have been so bad if could still afford baccy.

Plenty of dock leaves will be available

 

[Kiwi Pete]

I think I need to get away from sheep who like to have their heads in a bucket all the ruddy time.
A sheep is supposed to be an animal capable of converting forage into meat, so paying £400/ ton to the same man who wants to pay me less than £200 for wheat is going to stop.
The ride is over.

If you don't put anything in their bucket, they'll soon forget about that idea and graze their grass better. Win win for the sheep, win for you.

It's funny looking at systems because all 100 ducks need to line up if you have that many ducks.
If you only have to line up 2 ducks... you can position yourself to where the 2 ducks are lined up.

TFF a great resource to see just how many ducks people will attempt to get lined up, if you put hay into the system then that's gotta be right, so that requires having all the kit to DIY.
If you put grain in, same story really.

Put those options beside buying in the odd ton from someone else and it's incomparable, despite everyone doing their best, it's only best for their system, in a time past

We don't have cheap fuel, labour, parts anymore so a lot of unaffordable stuff has to be examined as "still fit for purpose", like sheep with bucket-heads.

We love our sheep, but others are available

 

[B'o'B]

2000 ewes per labour unit
200 cows per labour unit

Only feed grazed forage (with a few bales for cow wintering on kale).

Only winter breeding sheep. All slaughter lambs off farm by end of Sep. Anything not finished then either sell store or put on tack. Add value by selling breeding stock/premium eating experience meat. (not totally sure I want the fück around of direct sales though).

Only winter slaughter cattle once.

Run a couple of vans and a couple of quad bikes. Keep money in metal to a minimum. Currently cattle have 1/2 a loader tractor with the arable.

Intensify the grazing to grow more grass. Maybe more mixed herbal leys?

Breed functional stock that don't need inputs, particularly labour. Sell anything which needs individual attention. Finish breed the wool off sheep and push litter size.

Possibly some trading sheep?

That's it in a nutshell. Got 4.5yrs left here, so will see what happens. If this doesn't work out we will exit the industry.

People like you will be very sorely missed from the industry. We need more of you, not less. But I quite understand your post and say well done for facing the reality of the situation honestly. I’ve got my fingers crossed you can find a way to stay in the industry and keep innovating (and earn a reasonable living!!! Which is the hard part!.)

 

[soapsud]

(not totally sure I want the fück around of direct sales though).

I'm a townie that's been dragged into rural life. IME direct sales is word of mouth amongst women. My Mrs handles it brilliantly. You need dense urban populations close at hand to get a decent RoR though.

 

[dogandstick]

View attachment 1120001

Where did you find that picture of me?

 

[AndrewM]

SAM3: Herbal leys What you’ll be paid You’ll receive £382 per hectare per year?

convert all your grassland to herbal leys, you will be getting more money than yoou do currently under bps?

 

[Henarar]

But payments have been decoupled from production for years, decoupled from farming for that matter.
Me I guess I won't be putting as much in to the pension fund, best not plan on living off it for to long I spose.

 

[dogandstick]

2000 ewes per labour unit
200 cows per labour unit

Only feed grazed forage (with a few bales for cow wintering on kale).

Only winter breeding sheep. All slaughter lambs off farm by end of Sep. Anything not finished then either sell store or put on tack. Add value by selling breeding stock/premium eating experience meat. (not totally sure I want the fück around of direct sales though).

Only winter slaughter cattle once.

Run a couple of vans and a couple of quad bikes. Keep money in metal to a minimum. Currently cattle have 1/2 a loader tractor with the arable.

Intensify the grazing to grow more grass. Maybe more mixed herbal leys?

Breed functional stock that don't need inputs, particularly labour. Sell anything which needs individual attention. Finish breed the wool off sheep and push litter size.

Possibly some trading sheep?

That's it in a nutshell. Got 4.5yrs left here, so will see what happens. If this doesn't work out we will exit the industry.

Sounds like what New Zealanders did forty years ago.

 

[unlacedgecko]

Sounds like what New Zealanders did forty years ago.

Quelle surprise.

If we leave here we will probably go there or Australia. Or maybe the Americas, but not the US.