Milk Price Tracker

[lazy farmer]

good point.
l often think UK farmers, produce what they want to produce, and not necessarily the same as the consumer want's.
And there's a tendency to create a system, you want to farm, which is not always the best way, for your stock, to perform their best.
So perhaps the yanks have stolen an advantage from us, we should learn from that.

Um. Your barely reaching base price when you have a contract that incentives higher quality.
so currently you produce what you want. So what are your choices?

 

[som farmer]

Um. Your barely reaching base price when you have a contract that incentives higher quality.
so currently you produce what you want. So what are your choices?

we have gone less cows, for same milk, simply to be able to manage, there isn't any decent labour around here, esp without accommodation, that's unlikely to change in the foreseeable future. Unless there's a dramatic change.
It's surprising how many sell their milk at below constit value. We have swopped back towards the hol, to enable us to achieve aut calving, spr simply didn't work, it couldn't when grass growth was compromised, and the cows had to be buffered all summer, on bought food.
There is a huge difference in constituents, with in the hol breed, we have 9,000 litre cows, at over 5% fat, and we have run positive for protein all year. So this coming lactation, we hope to keep or improve on butterfat, we shall see. But protein pays more than bf, and we get that anyway.

Choices, the easiest, and probably the wisest, cash the lot in, cows are serious money, maize at over a £1,000 acre, corn high, silage and hay, getting more valuable, and a ready mkt to rent out, or sell the land, as tenants, the latter not possible.

But l expect we will shoulder on, and keep trying to improve, which we possibly can, our intake of hfrs this year, are all out of high constituent cows, x hol, and it's mainly the older hols, that are low. How we get on, l can tell you that, next year, when we know.

But all farming is a gamble, there are so many things, that can alter, over which we have zero control, that could happen. Success is getting more decisions right, than wrong, and for us, the spring calving, turned out to be wrong, the weather fudged that, and a diff processor wanted more aut milk, two worked out just right. And changing back to aut, was the correct thing to do.

 

[Shuffle]

good point.
l often think UK farmers, produce what they want to produce, and not necessarily the same as the consumer want's.
And there's a tendency to create a system, you want to farm, which is not always the best way, for your stock, to perform their best.
So perhaps the yanks have stolen an advantage from us, we should learn from that.

I've sat in milk meetings with people like that, very much of the attitude I'll produce what I want when I want and you have to buy it. I often wondered when they had last left the farm. Have to generalise and say they were all in a similar age bracket too. One that should have retired some years before.

 

[Farmer Keith]

good point.
l often think UK farmers, produce what they want to produce, and not necessarily the same as the consumer want's.
And there's a tendency to create a system, you want to farm, which is not always the best way, for your stock, to perform their best.
So perhaps the yanks have stolen an advantage from us, we should learn from that.

I don’t necessarily see the American way as a positive, over time you end up with cows completely unsuited to their environment that tend to require a lot of additional resources to be put in. Fine when oil and gas is cheap, will we ever see those days again though?

 

[som farmer]

kite are probably, in theory, when they say any building over 10 yrs old, needs replacing.
Certainly, the cows we milk today, are very different to those we had, when our buildings were put up 55 yrs ago.

The practicalities of replacing buildings, on that time scale, is utter nonsense, completely lacking in joined up thinking, if the milk price, was such, that we could do it, still nonsense, unless they were unsuitable.

Some of these 'consultants' are very keen to spend your money, how would they be, if it was their money ? The biggest problem is, they are the people telling s/mkts etc, what they say, is what should happen.

 

[In the pit]

Buildings here were all built in 1972 all wooden and falling down in places , red tractor assurance last week passed it will flying colours
All he said was things were a bit out dated

 

[som farmer]

Buildings here were all built in 1972 all wooden and falling down in places , red tractor assurance last week passed it will flying colours
All he said was things were a bit out dated

several down west, had RT withdrawn, for tidiness and old buildings.
the trouble is, RT inspectors have individual opinions, we certainly never had 2 the same, they have differed from the sensible, to the insane.

 

[In the pit]

Along as cows are clean and welfare of the animals are met who cares wether it was built last year or 100 years ago

 

[som farmer]

Along as cows are clean and welfare of the animals are met who cares wether it was built last year or 100 years ago

RT does, and we have to be 'approved' to sell our milk, however stupid the rules are.
Interestingly, the vet here today, said there was a noticeable easing by the s/mkts, on their contracts, and a lot more farmers changing/giving up, than the s/mkts want, or expected to leave. Well, we all know what they could do, to reverse that trend.
And we know a few that have/are doing both, that few, multiplied by many times, up and down the country, soon amounts to a lot of milk.

 

[TheRanger]

 

[TheRanger]

 

[TheRanger]

Doubt either of those failed their Red Tractor inspection based on their age

 

[Martyn]

Doubt either of those failed their Red Tractor inspection based on their age

Never seen sheds like that!are all your building like it?

 

[TheRanger]

Never seen sheds like that!are all your building like it?

If only. Seen them posted on facebook a while back.

 

[vantage]

Doubt either of those failed their Red Tractor inspection based on their age

No, I can see a cobweb!

 

[coomoo]

View attachment 1064531

Stunning

 

[Buford T. Justice]

View attachment 1064531

I never thought I'd say it about a cubicle house but that's a beautiful building

 

[Dumgal farmer]

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Stunning building but if I walked into it my thought would be “ventilation “

 

[Moors Farmer]

Stunning building but if I walked into it my thought would be “ventilation “

Me too. Not enough lunge room, either.

 

[som farmer]

Me too. Not enough lunge room, either.

might pay better as a wedding venue
complete with the natural country smells.
it really looks to be better, than for cubicles.