Suckler cow profitability

DanMidWales

Member
Livestock Farmer
How long have you had stabilisers and what did you have before?
12 years ish bought some heifers then 2 bulls all sorts before buying in replacements keeping some but some getting to much holstein had quite a few Welsh black x lim cows good cows but bonkers but most would be bred from them
 

Werzle

Member
Location
Midlands
TB can be a issue don't want to be dependent on selling stores and have a TB breakdown, all mostly pure stabiliser now don't seem to sell in the stores, fattening the bulls on tmr yes buying in rolled barley Trafford gold but grow our own whole crop and maize, heifers are housed quite soon in October and finished the following spring early summer only having good quality silage the native breed in them makes the heifers go to fat with concentrates
Fair enough but wholecrop and maize arent cheap to grow
 

DanMidWales

Member
Livestock Farmer
Iesu mawr you’re doing well to manage 1900 ewes and probs 300-350 cattle by yourself! You must have a very good setup and a good block of land in one place. Nearly half the stock numbers here and still have someone here 5 days a week to help
Not a bad setup cubicles with automatic scrapers and slatts in other sheds 2 farms the home farm and a hill farm 4 miles away so all quite close and handy plus 1400 of those ewes would be welsh
 

DanMidWales

Member
Livestock Farmer
Fair enough but wholecrop and maize arent cheap to grow
No but do fit the rotation well maize then winter wheat then back to grass or depending on the field might have stubble turnips after whole crop for the lambs then grass the following spring can't stress the importance of reseeding mouth full of good grass does more good than a belly full of poor grass
 

aled1590

Member
Location
N.wales
Not a bad setup cubicles with automatic scrapers and slatts in other sheds 2 farms the home farm and a hill farm 4 miles away so all quite close and handy plus 1400 of those ewes would be welsh
Sounds ideal! Lamb outside then? You’re right with the dairy, few farms around the valley here have or are converting now. And I’d be lying if I haven’t thought about jumping on the bandwagon but when I’ve looked at the bigger picture and the herd dispersals going on round the uk I quickly think hang on maybe it’s not all that rosey. I quite enjoy the variety of sucklers beef and sheep and growing a few different crops for feed. So I’ll stick to it for now anyway, it’s what I’ve grown up doing and what I know best
 

DanMidWales

Member
Livestock Farmer
Sounds ideal! Lamb outside then? You’re right with the dairy, few farms around the valley here have or are converting now. And I’d be lying if I haven’t thought about jumping on the bandwagon but when I’ve looked at the bigger picture and the herd dispersals going on round the uk I quickly think hang on maybe it’s not all that rosey. I quite enjoy the variety of sucklers beef and sheep and growing a few different crops for feed. So I’ll stick to it for now anyway, it’s what I’ve grown up doing and what I know best
Lamb 800 in 1100 out xbred ewes 20 Feb on draft ewes 20 March on and mountain ewes April 1 onwards, can't all be that rosey in the milk job they bragging about having 30p litre now they were getting that back in the mid nineties doesn't seem its moved on much in 25 years
 

DanMidWales

Member
Livestock Farmer
Thats a full time job now. What make more money 120 cows of 1900 ewes.. id guess sheep make at least twice as much profit?
You be right the sheep make double the cows but as a wise man once told me we're the cows workmen and the cows are the sheep workmen, but you sell 60 70 bull beef over a 3 month period the old Bank balance soon fills up and with the heifers going march April when I'm not selling sheep it all helps nice to have both and I've got to say going round the cows and calves on the bike first thing on a lovely summer morning is one of the best jobs on the farm
 

hubbahubba

Member
Location
Sunny Glasgow
You be right the sheep make double the cows but as a wise man once told me we're the cows workmen and the cows are the sheep workmen, but you sell 60 70 bull beef over a 3 month period the old Bank balance soon fills up and with the heifers going march April when I'm not selling sheep it all helps nice to have both and I've got to say going round the cows and calves on the bike first thing on a lovely summer morning is one of the best jobs on the farm
Sounds very good! If u were to stop farming, still claim subsidy would u be better off or worse off? Im asking as my particular farm on a mortgage would struggle without subsidy.
 

DanMidWales

Member
Livestock Farmer
Best way to do it I reckon, let them buy the big fancy machinery and have all the worries that go with it, finance, breakdowns, flat tyres etc... sounds like your doing a good job!!👍
[/QUOTE
I tr
Sounds very good! If u were to stop farming, still claim subsidy would u be better off or worse off? Im asking as my particular farm on a mortgage would struggle without subsidy.
I don't have any bps my dad has that as rent I do have the glastir, maybe if I did have the bps I'd keep less spend less and have a easier life
 

DanMidWales

Member
Livestock Farmer
Best way to do it I reckon, let them buy the big fancy machinery and have all the worries that go with it, finance, breakdowns, flat tyres etc... sounds like your doing a good job!!👍
That's my thinking as well I've got a t5105 on the loader tl 100 on the keenan 6610 on the straw chopper bike and mule keep it simple, I don't know if I'm doing a good job but I try my best I will be the first to admit my stock will never top the market price wise but my costs are as low as I can get them
 

DanMidWales

Member
Livestock Farmer
Iesu mawr you’re doing well to manage 1900 ewes and probs 300-350 cattle by yourself! You must have a very good setup and a good block of land in one place. Nearly half the stock numbers here and still have someone here 5 days a week to help
What is the reason so many up your way have converted to dairy what sort size farms we're they before
 

jd1993

Member
Livestock Farmer
I’m running 130 suckers along side sheep but I’m think of changing to rear AAx dairy calves. I think I could rear 250-280 calves on similar acreage to the suckers and be left with the same margin per calf but have double the calves to sell. But maybe I’m missing something.
 

SFI - What % were you taking out of production?

  • 0 %

    Votes: 79 42.0%
  • Up to 25%

    Votes: 66 35.1%
  • 25-50%

    Votes: 30 16.0%
  • 50-75%

    Votes: 3 1.6%
  • 75-100%

    Votes: 3 1.6%
  • 100% I’ve had enough of farming!

    Votes: 7 3.7%

Red Tractor drops launch of green farming scheme amid anger from farmers

  • 1,290
  • 1
As reported in Independent


quote: “Red Tractor has confirmed it is dropping plans to launch its green farming assurance standard in April“

read the TFF thread here: https://thefarmingforum.co.uk/index.php?threads/gfc-was-to-go-ahead-now-not-going-ahead.405234/
Top