- Location
- Fife
"Gotta feed the world"
"We've always done it this way"
"Subs make food cheap for the consumer"
Silage grant in Republic of Ireland 100 euro a hectare.
- Thread starter Greythundercloudys
- Start date
"Gotta feed the world"
"We've always done it this way"
"Subs make food cheap for the consumer"
“Proudly feeding the nation”
ridger
Member
- Location
- Tyrone, Northern Ireland
Like a friend of ours, he talks so much about what should be done, that nothing is ever done, only talk
glasshouse
Member
- Location
- lothians
Farmers generally grow food to feed people.
Like nurses, its a vocation and no one does it for the money
Like nurses, its a vocation and no one does it for the money
- Location
- Montgomeryshire
Why? IME, most years, small scale arable is a million miles behind a half decently run sheep flock in terms of return on capital invested, or profit per acre.
I only have cropping here to allow me to grow fodder crops for wintering sheep within the rotation. If fert costs stay where they are, I’d be more likely to grass down the arable land and increase sheep numbers, rather than increase the risk tied up in arable cropping.
glasshouse
Member
- Location
- lothians
Why use fertiliser?
Two ton /ac is likely with a good rotation, at £300 its a winner
- Location
- Montgomeryshire
With no fert/‘a good rotation’ you will only achieve 2t/ac by farming nutrients put in by the other enterprises.
At 2t/ac I’d sooner have that land in a rotation producing lamb at current prices off minimal inputs, reducing risk for when cereals grown on those high inputs only sell for £150/t again.
I guess it depends on whether you already have the capital tied up in arable machinery, but it certainly wouldn’t be worth getting into it now from scratch on a small scale, imo.
- Location
- Fife
The boss claims to have several thousand croppable acres.
glasshouse
Member
- Location
- lothians
But you have the nutrients, and you already grow cereals, so whats the problem?
Dog and a stick Vs sheds, tractors, trailers, combines, twice yearly skiing holiday?
Cereals deplete soil nutrients, whereas lambs shyte them back out?
ridger
Member
- Location
- Tyrone, Northern Ireland
Did he ever build his silage pit or go into milk , one other time he had heard that potatoes were the way forward
@Bossfarmer just sees a figure of free money and starts frothing. He would do it even if it meant he earnt less money.
remind me to plough up my grass margins to grow wheat for ethanol, barley for the dog food factory down the road, rape for bio fuel and beans for the Egyptians!
What about when lambs are 90 quid again ?
Bossfarmer
Member
- Location
- between Perth and Inverness
Rotation? Half grass half cereal and rotate, isnt that the way were supposed to do it?
Bossfarmer
Member
- Location
- between Perth and Inverness
Your missing the point again, which is....our competitors are being supported to higer levels than ever, its not the level playing field you make out on these world markets
Bossfarmer
Member
- Location
- between Perth and Inverness
Not had to yet still getting bps sticking with mixed beef and grain system for now, seems the sensible approach
There never has and never will be a level playing field in world markets, its every man for himself
- Location
- Montgomeryshire
Tbh, if I was offered that sort of money to plough up grass (I hope it doesn't involve having to physically 'plough' it), I would probably remove some grassland. I would likely replace it by reseeding some of my arable land down to clover leys though.
- Location
- Montgomeryshire
This^. Cereals remove a lot of nutrients, and they have to be replaced if you think more than 2 years hence.
How can you do a level playing field?
Australia can use chemicals we can’t, they also don’t get rain for 3 years and average yields are pathetic. That not fair. The yanks get GM crops, but many are now resistant, it’s currently either too wet or too dry over there. They have extreme long routes to market because of the size of the place. That’s not fair. Eastern Europe had cheap labour, but there’s bombs in the fields and they can’t get inputs or fuel. That’s not fair.
you will never get this perceived level playing field. Be happy that we are in the highest yielding country in the world and pretty benign maritime climate, with a huge population of consumers right next to us.
your problem certainly isn’t lack of subsidies.