Staffing levels

[RJ1]

Hello

I'm just after some info on the staffing level any of you block calves run, if you would be willing to share.

How many staff and cows? Do you rear heifers and do you do any other field work? etc.

Do you aim for any kpi such as a ppl for all labour?

Any info much appreciated.

 

[frederick]

Hello

I'm just after some info on the staffing level any of you block calves run, if you would be willing to share.

How many staff and cows? Do you rear heifers and do you do any other field work? etc.

Do you aim for any kpi such as a ppl for all labour?

Any info much appreciated.

280 autumns. Rear all youngstock. Most tractor work in house apart from silage but we mow and rake.

Herdsman. Tractor driver. Me the boss and relief milker and my wife doing calves and accounts would be 4 full time equivalents.

 

[Headless chicken]

280 autumns. Rear all youngstock. Most tractor work in house apart from silage but we mow and rake.

Herdsman. Tractor driver. Me the boss and relief milker and my wife doing calves and accounts would be 4 full time equivalents.

would you have your youngstock at home or close by with those numbers? We’d be heading that way but with very little field works and it’s surprising where the day goes then.

 

[sidjon]

180/200 spring calvers, run by myself and wife, flying herd so minimal youngstock, clamp silage plus ground work for reseeds are done by contractors, slurry/muck and round bales done in house, probably won't recommend it, but need to pay down debt as quickly as possible to move forward.

 

[frederick]

would you have your youngstock at home or close by with those numbers? We’d be heading that way but with very little field works and it’s surprising where the day goes then.

All youngstock on the periphery of the grazing platform. Checking two groups takes less than 20mins. What really helps is when something is wrong I can simply bring them home on tracks back to farmyard. Ring someone to get gates sorted. Into good handling problem sorted and cattle returned in probably under an hour by one person.
I have experienced in the past of going to away ground finding a problem returning to get help sorting in poor facilities and 2 or 3 people loosing the whole morning.

 

[frederick]

When housed because of the buildings we need 3people am one feeding one scraping and one milking. It makes morning quicker but for 5months I have to work a rota of 3 people the majority of the time. 2people and an extra hour or 2 each but more flexibility in days off would be an aim for future building design.

 

[Headless chicken]

All youngstock on the periphery of the grazing platform. Checking two groups takes less than 20mins. What really helps is when something is wrong I can simply bring them home on tracks back to farmyard. Ring someone to get gates sorted. Into good handling problem sorted and cattle returned in probably under an hour by one person.
I have experienced in the past of going to away ground finding a problem returning to get help sorting in poor facilities and 2 or 3 people loosing the whole morning.

That sounds like an absolute dream. It wouldn’t be far out of the question for us to take 2 hours to check them properly. Our hours probably aren’t helped as nothing is settled with us yet. Really we ought to be two people AM one PM but as it stands it’s the other way around.

 

[Cowman31]

Myself, two full timers and one relief, 1600 cows...doddle

 

[frederick]

That sounds like an absolute dream. It wouldn’t be far out of the question for us to take 2 hours to check them properly. Our hours probably aren’t helped as nothing is settled with us yet. Really we ought to be two people AM one PM but as it stands it’s the other way around.

Do you have more than 2groups of youngstock. Are you feeding anything apart from grass. Mine is simply a drive round and paddock move every 5-7 days sometimes the paddock is split with a wire.

 

[Cowman31]

All tractor work bar feeding and scraping done by contractor...no machinery on farm other than mentioned

 

[frederick]

Myself, two full timers and one relief, 1600 cows...doddle

Are we talking cows or goats.
How where what why and parlour?
Headless and I are at 1man per 100 on autumns but one per 400 that is another league. 1600 grazing must mean 90 mins travel time to parlour for cows at some times

 

[Headless chicken]

Do you have more than 2groups of youngstock. Are you feeding anything apart from grass. Mine is simply a drive round and paddock move every 5-7 days sometimes the paddock is split with a wire.

no try and keep it to two groups but R1’s fed cake due to poor grazing R2’s grazed on a different block that has 3 gates to open and close before you even get near the fields etc and water is poor meaning they have a run over a bigger area.
It’s something under review with us currently as we sort of fell into breeding our own from being a flying herd a few years back and still finding our feet.

not helped by the fact that we carrying nearly 200 youngstock to try and grow the herd

 

[PDB]

All tractor work bar feeding and scraping done by contractor...no machinery on farm other than mentioned

What size of parlour?

 

[Martyn]

My self full time, 1 person does 16 hours a week winter months feeder wagon strawing up. 120 cows plus all following stock including beef through to Finnish.

 

[frederick]

The other important thing in this is hours. My four full time including myself equivalents would average about 45 hours a week each

 

[Cowman31]

Forgot to mention calf rearer at calving time. 60 point rotary, cows out 11 months of year, tracks to every paddock on a Batt latch. Keeping staff motivated keeps the job running smooth plus our old cowman who has been on the farm for 50 years still does a bit

 

[PDB]

Forgot to mention calf rearer at calving time. 60 point rotary, cows out 11 months of year, tracks to every paddock on a Batt latch. Keeping staff motivated keeps the job running smooth plus our old cowman who has been on the farm for 50 years still does a bit

OAD milking?

 

[Milkcow365]

How much are these situations working out ppl for everyone?
I have 400 inside 365 milked 3x a day genus for fertility we do feet, 4 full time including myself doing between 35/45 hours. And another 15/20hours a week help from other members from the other parts of the business. Calves only kept for 3 weeks

 

[Martyn]

My self full time, 1 person does 16 hours a week winter months feeder wagon strawing up. 120 cows plus all following stock including beef through to Finnish.

Should say output 750000l of milk, aim to finish 50-60 beef a year, grow 85% of our DM on farm. Now we block calve have a good family balance.

 

[frederick]

How much are these situations working out ppl for everyone?
I have 400 inside 365 milked 3x a day genus for fertility we do feet, 4 full time including myself doing between 35/45 hours. And another 15/20hours a week help from other members from the other parts of the business. Calves only kept for 3 weeks

Including houses and realistic pay to unpaid labour we would be a smidge north of 6ppl or 16% of income