What to do 🤦‍♂️ So tight they squeak

Wellpark

Member
Mixed Farmer
Can you not put all you need in to your planned budget?
A budget agreed at the start of the year with allocations for all the seperate parts of the business is the way forward if you want to stay there . The daily spending then comes under your control with capital spends or investments needing further discussions but no reason not to have that planned and have a contingency plan in there as well
Easy enough to work out if you see last year's budget sheet and add on what is needed to take things up to standard , Maybe hard work for the first year untill you can show it works .
 
as farm manager are you not capable of only using one bike for most the work fixing some fences yourself and fixing light bulbs to the tractors… not everything requires a salesman and or contractor
 
I always thought the reason you collect staples is to ensure they don't end up in the livestock's feet, and if you are collecting them for that purpose you might as well re-use them? Personally if I'm taking an old fence down I don't want to leave all the old staples on the ground where they could create a big vets bill, so as many as possible go into a bucket.

Parsimony is a curious condition, up to a certain point its advantageous, beyond that point it rapidly becomes counter productive. The trick is determining where that point lays for your individual business. It'll be different for everyone, one man bands may have a better return from cash spent that saves them some of their limited time, while a business that is paying employees all year round may be able to profitably utilise the quieter times of year in make do and mend activities.

I'm very pedantic about collecting all waste, every bit of refuse, piece of wire, nails, screws, ding dongs and bits of wood, posts etc when I'm doing a job and completing it (one of the reasons I could never be a tradesmen who all seem to leave a place is bad order when finishing) mostly because I'm thinking it will save time to do it whilst I'm there, I like things tidy and I'm always looking to avoid a puncture, nail in foot or post in baler type disaster later on.

But there is no way I would straighten nails or staples except as a last resort or because I didn't have any to hand or to use. Fudge that. Life is too short and I can't stand skin-flints.
 

Shoudawouldacoulda

Member
Livestock Farmer
as farm manager are you not capable of only using one bike for most the work fixing some fences yourself and fixing light bulbs to the tractors… not everything requires a salesman and or contractor
Of course I am! But I’m not capable of gluing together all the smashed lights. The fences are always being tackled but there would be at least 10,000 meters needing done, the bike thing is ridiculous as if someone smashes on it then it’s a court case so yes I only use 1 of them but there are times 2 have to be used. It’s a hard job ploughing with bald tyres on the tractor and knackered gearbox, every gutter needs replaced, slurry system dosent work and pit needs dug out and replaced, silage pit is at end of life, handling facilities are needing pulled out and started again and I could go on and on so yes I do fix fences and change bulbs but I’m sure you can see these were two examples of little things.
 

Shoudawouldacoulda

Member
Livestock Farmer
as farm manager are you not capable of only using one bike for most the work fixing some fences yourself and fixing light bulbs to the tractors… not everything requires a salesman and or contractor
I just want to be clear to the ones who are getting the wrong end of the stick here that I am not trying to spend a mans money on luxury items I am simply trying to make a large farm fit for purpose. I don’t think having a working crush or a shed that dosent flood every time it rains is ott
 

digger64

Member
1

Can you not put all you need in to your planned budget?
A budget agreed at the start of the year with allocations for all the seperate parts of the business is the way forward if you want to stay there . The daily spending then comes under your control with capital spends or investments needing further discussions but no reason not to have that planned and have a contingency plan in there as well
Easy enough to work out if you see last year's budget sheet and add on what is needed to take things up to standard , Maybe hard work for the first year untill you can show it works .
but at the end of the day if you need new tyres -you need new tyres - slash them or have a discreetly planned accident !
 
Of course I am! But I’m not capable of gluing together all the smashed lights. The fences are always being tackled but there would be at least 10,000 meters needing done, the bike thing is ridiculous as if someone smashes on it then it’s a court case so yes I only use 1 of them but there are times 2 have to be used. It’s a hard job ploughing with bald tyres on the tractor and knackered gearbox, every gutter needs replaced, slurry system dosent work and pit needs dug out and replaced, silage pit is at end of life, handling facilities are needing pulled out and started again and I could go on and on so yes I do fix fences and change bulbs but I’m sure you can see these were two examples of little things.
If you genuinely need something
Sounds like you need to plant the seeds a month or so before .
Jfdi some times and better to ask forgiveness than permission if what you want is fully justified
Go with a plan and slowly work through it . If banging your head by time spring gets here Walk. , if your any good you will find work
 

JP1

Member
Livestock Farmer
I did my Pre-College year with someone of a similar mindset

I accept I wasn't going to be there long term but I still learned a lot, the odd thing made me chuckle and it actually set my mindset to accept that you have to understand the context and background

Many of Mr B's forebears didn't survive the ag depression in the Twenties. His Father did by negotiating a rent review to nil with his landlord to keep the place in good heart and farmed and they earned pin money stripping WW1 lorries abandoned in the woods around the place for bolts, selling them by the bucket load in Reading Market . Years later when I was dismantling temporary structures in former Comecon countries because they'd been left by Western conglomerates who could only lease land for enterprise in those countries until the curtain fell, I'd see local men coming round picking up bolts. They weren't thieves , they were conditioned to find and re-use salvage as often even obtaining new was impossible in the past.

To my mind the OP could accept she / he failed to make the right decision at interview with enough background enquiries and should just choose to move on and not post publicly tbh. If the business withers , it withers but that's the owners prerogative
 

Bald n Grumpy

Member
Livestock Farmer
The man pays your wages if you don't like the way he manages his business then move on.
Never seen so much excitement over straightening staples, if you've gone to the trouble of pulling them out it doesn't take 2 seconds to tap it on the top of a post before you reuse it
Helped an elderly neighbour patch some fencing when I was younger, had to ask him for a staple out of his pocket , not always forthcoming he'd hand over a wood screw and say drive it in then bend it over. But I wouldn't have minded having his bank balance
 
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Humble Village Farmer

Member
BASE UK Member
Location
Essex
You can't manage a farm or any business without a budget and you can't work with obselete worn out or damaged facilities. Beware of what you might be liable for as a result of the governor's shortcomings. It all sounds a bit dangerous and risky to me.

Good luck with the new job.

Ps if you can't or don't leave for whatever reason, start keeping a diary of conversations and requests for investment just in case something bad happens. And start putting your foot down on health and safety issues. Eg refuse to allow staff or yourself to work in dangerous conditions.
 
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TheTallGuy

Member
Location
Cambridgeshire
I would recommend coming up with two budgets - the first being a daily/running costs budget for consumables & general supplies to cover basic repairs etc., & the other being an investment budget for the bigger jobs & replacement of kit - this needs breaking down into urgent need, things coming up & "nice to haves", for each item on the investment budget you need to have a justification as to why & breakdown how investing the money will improve things for the business - i.e. how's it going to improve the bottom line. For instance, a new tractor will probably involve less maintenance & repairs, better fuel economy/productivity & less down to for repairs etc. Obviously H&S improvements can also boost the value to the business.

Without wanting to sound harsh, if you're not already doing this then you aren't managing the business.
 

Guiggs

Member
Location
Leicestershire
It’s about arguing the toss why should I have to on everything and yes I can use accounts.
I gave injections as an example to paint a picture. Not sure why you are taking the angle of making me out to be lying when I’m simply looking for advice on something that is causing me a lot of stress and family stress. It’s a big decision to leave and I have been completely honest in my description of things.
Sorry if it has bothered you

Is @betweenthelines you boss? :unsure:
 

SFI - What % were you taking out of production?

  • 0 %

    Votes: 80 42.3%
  • Up to 25%

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  • 25-50%

    Votes: 30 15.9%
  • 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

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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/
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