Question from a lurker ……

[outofthefryingpan]

Good morning everyone, firstly just like to say thank you for allowing me to scratch my dairy farmer itch by reading all your posts, about as close to a cow as I get currently.

I’m just sitting here recovering from an operation with nothing better to do so I thought I would ask a question I have been pondering, please do ignore me if you so wish! as I currently can’t do anything about my question but ……., how much vaguely would it cost to convert a almost 200 acre farm to dairy?
Nothing left really so would need to be complete greenfield effectively, little field infrastructure other than decent fences…..

From what I read from yourselves absolutely no chance of a spring calving herd so need to be summer/autumn. 200 cows? Parlour, cubicles, silage pits, slurry store (cry at cost probably!)

 

[crashbox]

Greenfield site
£4k per cow, including cow, parlour, slurry store, cubicles, silage clamps, youngstock accommodation, grazing infrastructure.
Excludes cost of the land.

 

[Wilmer]

At least 10000 per cow

 

[outofthefryingpan]

Greenfield site
£4k per cow, including cow, parlour, slurry store, cubicles, silage clamps, youngstock accommodation, grazing infrastructure.
Excludes cost of the land.

Thank you very much - my back of envelope sums came up with about £4500 per cow so not far off but to be fair I had no real idea!

 

[outofthefryingpan]

At least 10000 per cow

I like this reply less! Are you including buying the land too? If not I think I would keep just reading about other doing it and wish them the best of luck

 

[Jdunn55]

Good morning everyone, firstly just like to say thank you for allowing me to scratch my dairy farmer itch by reading all your posts, about as close to a cow as I get currently.

I’m just sitting here recovering from an operation with nothing better to do so I thought I would ask a question I have been pondering, please do ignore me if you so wish! as I currently can’t do anything about my question but ……., how much vaguely would it cost to convert a almost 200 acre farm to dairy?
Nothing left really so would need to be complete greenfield effectively, little field infrastructure other than decent fences…..

From what I read from yourselves absolutely no chance of a spring calving herd so need to be summer/autumn. 200 cows? Parlour, cubicles, silage pits, slurry store (cry at cost probably!)

What sheds do you have currently?

It doesn't need to be anywhere near the figures above.

Nothing wrong with loose housing for the time being
Slurry would then just be parlour washings
Aim to graze as much as possible

Cheap second hand parlour and dairy and you're literally away

 

[Wilmer]

I like this reply less! Are you including buying the land too? If not I think I would keep just reading about other doing it and wish them the best of luck

10 year ago we were quoted 480000 for 120 cow cubicle shed with 2 robots without anything else! I haven’t worked it out but things have gone up since then

 

[bigw]

Building costs are pretty frightening now, i was doing some rough costings the other month and didnt think i could do a cubicle shed for under £2k a space.

 

[outofthefryingpan]

What sheds do you have currently?

It doesn't need to be anywhere near the figures above.

Nothing wrong with loose housing for the time being
Slurry would then just be parlour washings
Aim to graze as much as possible

Cheap second hand parlour and dairy and you're literally away

Really not much left now other than one decent 90 by 60 foot one that would now be in the wrong place for anything that went moo …..

I do much prefer the idea of loose housing but I probably wouldn’t like the straw bill. Would autumn calving cow be ok loose housed?

 

[outofthefryingpan]

Building costs are pretty frightening now, i was doing some rough costings the other month and didnt think i could do a cubicle shed for under £2k a space.

Glup !!!! This was more my worry/thoughts I guess with the way materials have gone in the last few years…… £2k for a cow bed …… mental

 

[outofthefryingpan]

10 year ago we were quoted 480000 for 120 cow cubicle shed with 2 robots without anything else! I haven’t worked it out but things have gone up since then

Did you put it up? I don’t suppose it will have gone down in the meantime

 

[bigw]

Glup !!!! This was more my worry/thoughts I guess with the way materials have gone in the last few years…… £2k for a cow bed …… mental

That would be for a steel building, cubicles, mats etc. Costs have jumped massively the last few years.

 

[Wilmer]

Did you put it up? I don’t suppose it will have gone down in the meantime

No we didnt, still milking in the old parlour not working for the bank!

 

[Grassman247]

Good morning everyone, firstly just like to say thank you for allowing me to scratch my dairy farmer itch by reading all your posts, about as close to a cow as I get currently.

I’m just sitting here recovering from an operation with nothing better to do so I thought I would ask a question I have been pondering, please do ignore me if you so wish! as I currently can’t do anything about my question but ……., how much vaguely would it cost to convert a almost 200 acre farm to dairy?
Nothing left really so would need to be complete greenfield effectively, little field infrastructure other than decent fences…..

From what I read from yourselves absolutely no chance of a spring calving herd so need to be summer/autumn. 200 cows? Parlour, cubicles, silage pits, slurry store (cry at cost probably!)

As someone who’s done it for 300 cows plus the heifers.
1.5 million if you put a wooden kennel shed in

If you wants the extras and nice bits make it 2 million to 2.5million.
That doesn’t include buying the land

And you’re probably thinking that’s crazy. You’d be correct. Needs to be 50p plus to really justify the spend but if you have a sizeable business and are good at dairy farming then why not invest and continue to buy land. Land is a good investment long term. Land agents round me are quoting 15-20k an acre depending on setups now. No point investing in something I know nothing about.

 

[TheRanger]

Greenfield site
£4k per cow, including cow, parlour, slurry store, cubicles, silage clamps, youngstock accommodation, grazing infrastructure.
Excludes cost of the land.

Spent £1.3k per cow on a concrete slurry store here last year

The cows will be at least £1k per cow. Doesn't leave much for the rest of it.

 

[onesiedale]

don't rule out a spring calving low cost system.
They can give a much better return on capital and attract a JV type arrangement much easier

 

[In the pit]

I know someone who put a cubicle shed up for 300 cows and finished it a couple months ago
Thats feed trough ,cubicles ,mattresses ,sheds £850K

 

[frederick]

My slurry system would also be at the 1.5k a cow territory.
Farmers weekly I think this week had greenfield system with wooden kennels. Greenfield site 2.9 million for 300 cows greenfield site.

With parlour and all I think you will do well to create a nice new unit that will last 25 years under 10k a cow.

 

[Jdunn55]

Shed erected and concreted with accessories (gates, troughs, feed barrier etc)
£10/Square foot
75 Square foot per cow = £750

Parlour and dairy 100k

Tracks, water troughs etc more but grant funding available

What else do you need to get started?
Bales are fine for cows to start with, clamps can come later
As can proper slurry storage

 

[N.Yorks.]

Ever thought of doing it differently?

Smaller herd that calves in spring and stays outside for most of the winter - next to no slurry storage costs or winter housing. Would be an extensive system that means you can dispense with a big chunk of capital expenditure.

Milk processing into cheese which can be matured and sold throughout the year.

Not up to your eyeballs in sh!t 365 days a year with a wider range of activities in cheese making and marketing etc.....