Once a day milking

Put up a trough and dividing gate in the existing shed would be a big step forward imo
Rusty Spade said:
Undoubtedly, but any spending must suit the person who's going to have to pay for it?

There's little point in spending thousands when Podge isn't even sure he wants to be farming next year, never mind 8 or 9 years time when the loans will be finished.
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Well if that's the answer he comes up with I will be saying no to that neway or maybe that is the answer I will need to convince the father to get out .
I suppose you are right Eddie86 .
But just to point out some reality for me anyway
i will be on my own at this in another few years,the taught of that is enough for me how could I possibly do it all especially in the spring ?
To get any 1 to help is near impossible .
And all these new rules coming in dosent help either
 
podge 23 said:
Well if that's the answer he comes up with I will be saying no to that neway or maybe that is the answer I will need to convince the father to get out .
I suppose you are right Eddie86 .
But just to point out some reality for me anyway
i will be on my own at this in another few years,the taught of that is enough for me how could I possibly do it all especially in the spring ?
To get any 1 to help is near impossible .
And all these new rules coming in dosent help either
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With all due respect Podge, If you're running the show you don't need to convince the father of anything, Life is too short to be slaving away for the sake of what your father might say, At that rate you're better off leasing it altogether.
You say that help is near impossible to get, But from what you've said on here, It doesn't sound like you've made any effort to find anyone. It feels like we're all just going in circles at this stage.
 
You need to make your work easier if you're going to stay at it. I'm lucky that my eldest is here with me now, but I had a few mental years were I was relying on my dad and he was getting older. He just comes down now and does the mats for me in the evenings and does the herding with my son.
 
joseph 88 all what you have said is very accurate,I suppose I feel like I owe it to my father to stay farming maybe as said earlier he worked hard to bring it to where it is today .
But the help side of things I have looked but sure there is 2 of us here at the moment so you know,but I am saying if my father was gone I couldn't afford to pay some 1 full time and you won't get part time help.
Whelan 1 has just described what I be on about really I suppose .
 
podge 23 said:
joseph 88 all what you have said is very accurate,I suppose I feel like I owe it to my father to stay farming maybe as said earlier he worked hard to bring it to where it is today .
But the help side of things I have looked but sure there is 2 of us here at the moment so you know,but I am saying if my father was gone I couldn't afford to pay some 1 full time and you won't get part time help.
Whelan 1 has just described what I be on about really I suppose .
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I appreciate that, But he brought it to where it is for his own sake while he was farming, You have to paddle your own canoe. No matter how much work he put into it, It wouldn't matter a damn if he knew how miserable you were. There's always a good 14,15 or 16 year old around that could come in and give you a hand in the spring, all you need is an extra pair of hands to feed calves or bed pens or whatever. I know at that age I would have been delighted to get 30 or 40 quid a day for a few hours before or after school. Stick an ad up on the notice board of your local centra, and your local co-op. If it goes well they could come in and milk a couple of evenings a week for you. Keep an open mind, of anyone i spoke to that has a bit of part time help, Guys or girls, not from a farming background seem to more often than not, end up being as good, if not better than guys that come from a farm. As for getting someone to milk, Contact the course coordinator in your local ag college. They could drop an email to every student in seconds, There's no doubt you could find a lad free a few evenings a week.
 
Joseph that is exactly where I am at now. When I started out it was calving 10months of the year, and 2bh me and my dad not seeing eye to eye on anything, pure disaster on hindsight. Now my dad has largely retired, still potters around the place on the tractor every day but not able for any physical work. He still has his say but largely let me on with everything now. I've employed 3 local teenagers the last yr part time, they largely do half the milkings between them, I'm basically full compact spring calving now (finally, its been a long 6yr journey). Feb to roughly mid March are long hours but reasoning predictable, head down and get through the workload, and get the 3 lads in as much as I can, April its trying to drive on with grazing, and busy to mid may with AI, its largely plan sailing then onwards, silage is staggered across about like 7 or 8 cuts, maybe 3 in the pit and rest bales, rarely anymore than 30ac at a time, few messy weeks in Oct or Nov juggling final few weeks with milkers grazing (one single week of hardship this back end late oct, what a gift), we wind down quick enough once cows indoor fulltime, right down to 60 milking (only 60 cubicles for milkers by parlour), and dec Jan just winter feeding. KISS KISS KISS all the way, despite me being a mechanical engineer, and very interested in technology and all that, I largely stay the hell away from it all on the farm, as Elon Musk says the best part is no part, the best process is no process.

I absolutely could go further to simplify, blank dry off mid November (throw away maybe 10k in milksales, but if your hitting likes of 26l peak on a simple spring system you absolutely shouldn't notice the lost of 10k), AI for 2wks and run another bull, calves gone after 2wks, culls immediately out of the parlour in sept, milk out the gate is what puts money in the bank and almost everything else is just getting in the way.
 
Going well there TIM by the sounds of it .
So I had grasstec out and he told me my yard was up there with the top 5 most difficult yards he has ever seen (he wasn't lying either ) so to cut to the chase he said I would more or less have to go on a greenfield site with cubicles and parlour under 1 roof,cost €350,000 +
 
podge 23 said:
Going well there TIM by the sounds of it .
So I had grasstec out and he told me my yard was up there with the top 5 most difficult yards he has ever seen (he wasn't lying either ) so to cut to the chase he said I would more or less have to go on a greenfield site with cubicles and parlour under 1 roof,cost €350,000 +
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To spend that you’d really want to be liking dairy farming. If you qualify for 60% tams it will help a lot and will make life a lot handier. Your system now sounds like ours 14yrs ago separating cows every milking dry running with milkers etc. Put up a 64 cubicle shed €170,000 70% grant at the time made things very handy allowed us somewhere to segregate the dry cows, Amazing how that alone helped, Now another 64 cubicle shed up all cows under 1 roof feeding with diet feeder takes half hr. Difference is I like milking and can justify the investment my goal is make things as handy as possible for my children if they have an interest and it keeps a roof over our heads.
 
podge 23 said:
Going well there TIM by the sounds of it .
So I had grasstec out and he told me my yard was up there with the top 5 most difficult yards he has ever seen (he wasn't lying either ) so to cut to the chase he said I would more or less have to go on a greenfield site with cubicles and parlour under 1 roof,cost €350,000 +
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His price is abit ambitious
 
podge 23 said:
Going well there TIM by the sounds of it .
So I had grasstec out and he told me my yard was up there with the top 5 most difficult yards he has ever seen (he wasn't lying either ) so to cut to the chase he said I would more or less have to go on a greenfield site with cubicles and parlour under 1 roof,cost €350,000 +
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Well at least now you know you're setup is part of the issue and you haven't been seeing dairying as it can be done. Its for you to answer now have you the ambition and love of it to make it easier on yourself.

What was your dads reaction?
 
podge 23 said:
Going well there TIM by the sounds of it .
So I had grasstec out and he told me my yard was up there with the top 5 most difficult yards he has ever seen (he wasn't lying either ) so to cut to the chase he said I would more or less have to go on a greenfield site with cubicles and parlour under 1 roof,cost €350,000 +
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I’d be amazed if there isn’t a more cost effective option than that. How about posting a yard drawing and some photos and see what people think?
 
podge 23 said:
Going well there TIM by the sounds of it .
So I had grasstec out and he told me my yard was up there with the top 5 most difficult yards he has ever seen (he wasn't lying either ) so to cut to the chase he said I would more or less have to go on a greenfield site with cubicles and parlour under 1 roof,cost €350,000 +
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It won't cost you anything to take up the offer you got here on the forum to see your set up .

If you showed your yard to 6 different people, they'd come up with 6 different suggestions as to solutions.
 
podge 23 said:
Going well there TIM by the sounds of it .
So I had grasstec out and he told me my yard was up there with the top 5 most difficult yards he has ever seen (he wasn't lying either ) so to cut to the chase he said I would more or less have to go on a greenfield site with cubicles and parlour under 1 roof,cost €350,000 +
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Any way you could get your €300 back. I could have been bankrupted by experts over the years . I know nothing about milking but I do know telling someone that does not like milking to spend €300K is nonsense.
If someone gave you a €300k yard would you be any happier or richer. Milk away and make a few changes . Load up your father with work to take the nonsense out of him . Start the milking at your times and if the father comes along leave him to it and go off and have a bite to eat and a read of the paper and get the children ready for school . Dry the cows off NOW and minimise your day to four hours for a few weeks. Try a few hobbies in your spare time and put yourself first . Go into a fairly large town and sit in a cafe and look out at the people and think about their day . A lad doing deliveries from a van . What time did he start how easy was it for him to find a loading bay and what time will he finish. Look at other people and think about them and their problems. Small shops hanging in there with multiple stores taking their business. Milking cows might not be the worst job.
 
Bog Man said:
Any way you could get your €300 back. I could have been bankrupted by experts over the years . I know nothing about milking but I do know telling someone that does not like milking to spend €300K is nonsense.
If someone gave you a €300k yard would you be any happier or richer. Milk away and make a few changes . Load up your father with work to take the nonsense out of him . Start the milking at your times and if the father comes along leave him to it and go off and have a bite to eat and a read of the paper and get the children ready for school . Dry the cows off NOW and minimise your day to four hours for a few weeks. Try a few hobbies in your spare time and put yourself first . Go into a fairly large town and sit in a cafe and look out at the people and think about their day . A lad doing deliveries from a van . What time did he start how easy was it for him to find a loading bay and what time will he finish. Look at other people and think about them and their problems. Small shops hanging in there with multiple stores taking their business. Milking cows might not be the worst job.
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What that man said . 👌
 
Bog Man said:
Any way you could get your €300 back. I could have been bankrupted by experts over the years . I know nothing about milking but I do know telling someone that does not like milking to spend €300K is nonsense.
If someone gave you a €300k yard would you be any happier or richer. Milk away and make a few changes . Load up your father with work to take the nonsense out of him . Start the milking at your times and if the father comes along leave him to it and go off and have a bite to eat and a read of the paper and get the children ready for school . Dry the cows off NOW and minimise your day to four hours for a few weeks. Try a few hobbies in your spare time and put yourself first . Go into a fairly large town and sit in a cafe and look out at the people and think about their day . A lad doing deliveries from a van . What time did he start how easy was it for him to find a loading bay and what time will he finish. Look at other people and think about them and their problems. Small shops hanging in there with multiple stores taking their business. Milking cows might not be the worst job.
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Super post👏
 
Bog Man said:
Any way you could get your €300 back. I could have been bankrupted by experts over the years . I know nothing about milking but I do know telling someone that does not like milking to spend €300K is nonsense.
If someone gave you a €300k yard would you be any happier or richer. Milk away and make a few changes . Load up your father with work to take the nonsense out of him . Start the milking at your times and if the father comes along leave him to it and go off and have a bite to eat and a read of the paper and get the children ready for school . Dry the cows off NOW and minimise your day to four hours for a few weeks. Try a few hobbies in your spare time and put yourself first . Go into a fairly large town and sit in a cafe and look out at the people and think about their day . A lad doing deliveries from a van . What time did he start how easy was it for him to find a loading bay and what time will he finish. Look at other people and think about them and their problems. Small shops hanging in there with multiple stores taking their business. Milking cows might not be the worst job.
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jf 850 said:
What that man said . 👌
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2nd that, what a piece of advice.
 
Bog Man said:
Any way you could get your €300 back. I could have been bankrupted by experts over the years . I know nothing about milking but I do know telling someone that does not like milking to spend €300K is nonsense.
If someone gave you a €300k yard would you be any happier or richer. Milk away and make a few changes . Load up your father with work to take the nonsense out of him . Start the milking at your times and if the father comes along leave him to it and go off and have a bite to eat and a read of the paper and get the children ready for school . Dry the cows off NOW and minimise your day to four hours for a few weeks. Try a few hobbies in your spare time and put yourself first . Go into a fairly large town and sit in a cafe and look out at the people and think about their day . A lad doing deliveries from a van . What time did he start how easy was it for him to find a loading bay and what time will he finish. Look at other people and think about them and their problems. Small shops hanging in there with multiple stores taking their business. Milking cows might not be the worst job.
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Well said
 
Bog Man said:
Any way you could get your €300 back. I could have been bankrupted by experts over the years . I know nothing about milking but I do know telling someone that does not like milking to spend €300K is nonsense.
If someone gave you a €300k yard would you be any happier or richer. Milk away and make a few changes . Load up your father with work to take the nonsense out of him . Start the milking at your times and if the father comes along leave him to it and go off and have a bite to eat and a read of the paper and get the children ready for school . Dry the cows off NOW and minimise your day to four hours for a few weeks. Try a few hobbies in your spare time and put yourself first . Go into a fairly large town and sit in a cafe and look out at the people and think about their day . A lad doing deliveries from a van . What time did he start how easy was it for him to find a loading bay and what time will he finish. Look at other people and think about them and their problems. Small shops hanging in there with multiple stores taking their business. Milking cows might not be the worst job.
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Post is a work of art,jf and geoff I think suggested before about getting someone here to see what suggestions they would make,some of the best advice has been given here ,be no harm to listen to even a 1/4 of it.
 
Bog Man said:
Any way you could get your €300 back. I could have been bankrupted by experts over the years . I know nothing about milking but I do know telling someone that does not like milking to spend €300K is nonsense.
If someone gave you a €300k yard would you be any happier or richer. Milk away and make a few changes . Load up your father with work to take the nonsense out of him . Start the milking at your times and if the father comes along leave him to it and go off and have a bite to eat and a read of the paper and get the children ready for school . Dry the cows off NOW and minimise your day to four hours for a few weeks. Try a few hobbies in your spare time and put yourself first . Go into a fairly large town and sit in a cafe and look out at the people and think about their day . A lad doing deliveries from a van . What time did he start how easy was it for him to find a loading bay and what time will he finish. Look at other people and think about them and their problems. Small shops hanging in there with multiple stores taking their business. Milking cows might not be the worst job.
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Spot on. That is a post and a half.
 
Have you done any building in the last few years at all? Have you made up your mind of a plan going forward? Have you told your parents you're not happy at the moment?
 
Look to be honest I don't think I have the love for cows to make any changes regards yard set up .my father even said to the grasteck guy sure that is crazy.
But maybe that was the answer I was looking for all along and should just quit while I am ahead now before any more expense .
Like ye have said you would really want a passion for it to stay in 1st of all not to mind going spending big money on it .

I know ye have given great advice there again but this is the truth of it .
 
podge 23 said:
Look to be honest I don't think I have the love for cows to make any changes regards yard set up .my father even said to the grasteck guy sure that is crazy.
But maybe that was the answer I was looking for all along and should just quit while I am ahead now before any more expense .
Like ye have said you would really want a passion for it to stay in 1st of all not to mind going spending big money on it .

I know ye have given great advice there again but this is the truth of it .
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Do what’s right for you lad, best of luck to you in what ever you decide.
 
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