Dairy career

Similar here, anyone I know who has converted is flying it. Your always gonna have lads who have been dairying for like the past 30yrs and who are bored of it and wanting to get out. And life is absolutely too short to be tied down to a job that as demanding as dairying. I got zero idea what the future holds for me but I know I won't be dairying all my life (who knows what the dairy market will even be like in 10 or 15yrs time ha?).

Ah it doesn't need to be the tie down that it's made out to be. There's plenty of young people out there willing to work on dairy farms and relieve pressure from the farmer. A lot of the issue with finding reliable relief is the blame of the farmer, farmers don't like to hear that though!!
When my time comes to step back and let someone else at it, I won't hold them back. I certainly won't be belching out orders at 70yrs of age expecting some poor unfortunate to do everything the way I want it done.
 
Ha yeh agreed fully agreed you dont need to be tied down, and for me I absolutely am not now that I'm compact calving, springtime is a reasonable load but I'm ticking over outside of that. And I'm actually getting a strong itch to go do something useful with my engineering research masters that I completed before I ended up on the farm for "only 6wks" while my dad got a hip replacement, I could easily get in a milker 3 or 4 days a week and go back working part time.

But there are plenty of dairyfarmers who had nowhere near the opportunity that I have, who yep by their own choice are totally tied down to it, yep ideally they would evolve and simplify their system to make it easier and more enjoyable and not be sick to the teeth of it, but your talking about years an years of it all being ingrained in them, and a serious change in mentality there let's face it, and the older you are the less likely that is, also some farmers simple as is make terrible employers, many of them will be at nothing if they go compact calving like mad and end up with a massive amount of work in the springtime and not be physically able for the workload with no help.
 
Ha yeh agreed fully agreed you dont need to be tied down, and for me I absolutely am not now that I'm compact calving, springtime is a reasonable load but I'm ticking over outside of that. And I'm actually getting a strong itch to go do something useful with my engineering research masters that I completed before I ended up on the farm for "only 6wks" while my dad got a hip replacement, I could easily get in a milker 3 or 4 days a week and go back working part time.

But there are plenty of dairyfarmers who had nowhere near the opportunity that I have, who yep by their own choice are totally tied down to it, yep ideally they would evolve and simplify their system to make it easier and more enjoyable and not be sick to the teeth of it, but your talking about years an years of it all being ingrained in them, and a serious change in mentality there let's face it, and the older you are the less likely that is, also some farmers simple as is make terrible employers, many of them will be at nothing if they go compact calving like mad and end up with a massive amount of work in the springtime and not be physically able for the workload with no help.
The grass is not always greener in the PAYE world, believe me. Give me some sort of self employment and preferably cowshit and grease any day.
 
The grass is not always greener in the PAYE world, believe me. Give me some sort of self employment and preferably cowshit and grease any day.
Ah works both ways,I know a couple of lads that gave up dairying for various reasons.
Both now in full time paye employment and delighted with themselves.
 
I got a very small business on the side here still, where I have a finishline gantry and race clock and I time local running races, I only time about 2 a month, and in total it only brings in a very small amount of money in comparison to the farm. At the minute it absolutely isn't worth registering the business properly for tax or anything else, and I'm not bothered going to the scale that would make it worth while (which would involve more hours at it, charging more for my service, more weekends tied down, and generally moving away from why I started it in the 1st place, to fill a gap in the market where people want races timed by cannot afford a full professional service). It's all the downside of being self employed, at least with the PAYE you just get a salary, pay your tax, and everything is above board.
 
Tim 818 just wondering about what you said there earlier about getting in some one 3 or 4 days a week for milking. First off how easy is it to find some 1 that will come in and milk for you 3 r 4 days a week?
Secondly for 1 person to bring in cows milk them seprate out cows going to dairy, wash machine,wash parlour, feed calves that they could do all this ?
 
Tim 818 just wondering about what you said there earlier about getting in some one 3 or 4 days a week for milking. First off how easy is it to find some 1 that will come in and milk for you 3 r 4 days a week?
Secondly for 1 person to bring in cows milk them seprate out cows going to dairy, wash machine,wash parlour, feed calves that they could do all this ?
Make sure they have insurance in case a tank fails
 
I cant think of any relief or temporary hands available for work around here whatever the wage. either I do it myself, or hire a contractor. I could easily find 4 - 6 months work for a employee per year, but no way in the present climate could I afford a worker full time. probably someone available on the fiddle for cash in hand, but I dont work that way.
 
My neighbor is milking 100 cows once a day and he is finished by 11am . Slurry is piped to the field for about €1k . Most of the fertilizer is contractor spread. He might go for a walk around or if feeling lazy take the quad . He makes us Tillage lads look like workaholics .
 
My neighbor is milking 100 cows once a day and he is finished by 11am . Slurry is piped to the field for about €1k . Most of the fertilizer is contractor spread. He might go for a walk around or if feeling lazy take the quad . He makes us Tillage lads look like workaholics .

Sounds like me except I can't bring myself to go OAD :p.
 
Podge nearly all young lads working here for me, either students (both college and 2ndary school), or sons of local farmers, all of them are happy with the few extra hours a week work, especially when it's the likes of 15/20e per hour for milking. Milking is nearly always the 1st job I train anyone in at, its the easiest most predictable job on the farm to do, that you don't need a huge amount of skill for!, just follow the few instructions I have well laid out (sheets on the 5 or 6 steps both before and after the milking, the tail tape rules, and after that just swap over clusters!). In terms of feeding calves etc, if they are older calves I let them work away at (leave instructions like throw 2 buckets of milk into whatever pens), most younger calves I feed myself (I'm usually around from Feb until now anyways), moving the few fences/different paddocks is easy enough also, I have a decent paddock map of the farm with all paddocks and Laneways marked out so I just sent them a WhatsApp with the instructions on.
 
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Same here ozzy very few around here if any, to do ne relief milking or any other jobs either.that OAD is a right bad job i reckon .
 
The grass is not always greener in the PAYE world, believe me. Give me some sort of self employment and preferably cowshit and grease any day.
heading out to milk 10 rows of cows with a chest infection and feeling shite. When the alternative is ringing in sick and getting signed off for a week. No comparison.
 
My neighbor is milking 100 cows once a day and he is finished by 11am . Slurry is piped to the field for about €1k . Most of the fertilizer is contractor spread. He might go for a walk around or if feeling lazy take the quad . He makes us Tillage lads look like workaholics .
Local man was on a tour of farms in Holland, was on one farm and contractor turned up with mixer to feed his cows. When asked why not feed them yourself the reply was "I can do my 40hrs a week without feeding cows"
 
Local man was on a tour of farms in Holland, was on one farm and contractor turned up with mixer to feed his cows. When asked why not feed them yourself the reply was "I can do my 40hrs a week without feeding cows"
Maybe this should be a different thread but interesting to hear how many hours a week lads are spending on the farm.
I'm working full time and reckon there after a quick tot up I'm spending about another 40 hrs on the farm on an average week. Not bragging about that cos it's definitely not all productive hrs. And With sucklers and sheep some would say none of it is productive .:scratchhead:
 
Maybe this should be a different thread but interesting to hear how many hours a week lads are spending on the farm.
I'm working full time and reckon there after a quick tot up I'm spending about another 40 hrs on the farm on an average week. Not bragging about that cos it's definitely not all productive hrs. And With sucklers and sheep some would say none of it is productive .:scratchhead:
interesting that you should mention that, i took part in a survey for teagasc on dairy farming and they kindly sent me the preliminary results
average herd size has grown from 78 to 124 cows in the last 5 yrs
47% of farmers are planning to expand in the next 5 yrs, while 3% intend exiting dairying
farmers took 4 weekends off and 10 days holidays per year
46% of farmers have never worked as an employee
28% of farmers expect to employ someone in the next 12 months
73% of farmers attended some trainingin the past 12 months and 60% believed it positively impacted on their farming

so lads 18 days off per year is the run of it and its not too far off the mark i,d reckon
 
interesting that you should mention that, i took part in a survey for teagasc on dairy farming and they kindly sent me the preliminary results
average herd size has grown from 78 to 124 cows in the last 5 yrs
47% of farmers are planning to expand in the next 5 yrs, while 3% intend exiting dairying
farmers took 4 weekends off and 10 days holidays per year
46% of farmers have never worked as an employee
28% of farmers expect to employ someone in the next 12 months
73% of farmers attended some trainingin the past 12 months and 60% believed it positively impacted on their farming

so lads 18 days off per year is the run of it and its not too far off the mark i,d reckon
I get 27 days holidays a year from my job and I find I'm spending more than half of those working on the farm. A few weekends here or there so probably not far off the 18
 
interesting that you should mention that, i took part in a survey for teagasc on dairy farming and they kindly sent me the preliminary results
average herd size has grown from 78 to 124 cows in the last 5 yrs
47% of farmers are planning to expand in the next 5 yrs, while 3% intend exiting dairying
farmers took 4 weekends off and 10 days holidays per year
46% of farmers have never worked as an employee
28% of farmers expect to employ someone in the next 12 months
73% of farmers attended some trainingin the past 12 months and 60% believed it positively impacted on their farming

so lads 18 days off per year is the run of it and its not too far off the mark i,d reckon

250 milkers and the same in youngstock +500 store lambs.
Not planning on expanding past 280 but going flying herd to make things easier,I plan to retire from milking by 2025
I last had a full day off in July 14 same as my mrs,the last milking we both missed was an afternoon milking where we went to a neighbours wedding in July 17.
Never been employed
Had various self employed help,currently have a chap 5 mornings a week help milk
Not been on any training since 1991
 
250 milkers and the same in youngstock +500 store lambs.
Not planning on expanding past 280 but going flying herd to make things easier,I plan to retire from milking by 2025
I last had a full day off in July 14 same as my mrs,the last milking we both missed was an afternoon milking where we went to a neighbours wedding in July 17.
Never been employed
Had various self employed help,currently have a chap 5 mornings a week help milk
Not been on any training since 1991
You don't strike me as being fed up with that situation though, do you begrudge not having a holiday?

Lads compare directly sometimes with people they know in late jobs who have 21+ days per year and all the rest. However a lot of those days are taken to spend time with family which some farmers can do on the farm. Holidays also help when you spend your entire day answering to someone else's beckon call which a farmer can also avoid.

Like everything I suppose, some people need holidays and others dont
 
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