Milking 25 cows

Sort of have a mad itch to consider the idea of doing the start up thing myself thanks to running into people considering - planning the same and reading this interesting thread , il probably be over it in a week or two but were i myself able to rent land for silage , fifty cows would be very doable on the block i have which is entirely in one piece , parlour and tank to go with it is all id need as ive a lot of sheds easily convertible , beit for cows or calves

land adjoining me either in grain or part time farmers and retired men , biggest thing to consider perhaps is the tightening of stocking rate rules

were I to only make silage on my own place , cant see how id go over thirty five cows and its probably a case of thirty five cows only being for the fun of it , i would not have to borrow a penny however , not saying im wealthy but ive pretty solid income streams from several properties both residential and commercial and a fair bit in shares

like i said , il probably be over the notion in a week or two and take up rock climbing or something
 
Sort of have a mad itch to consider the idea of doing the start up thing myself thanks to running into people considering - planning the same and reading this interesting thread , il probably be over it in a week or two but were i myself able to rent land for silage , fifty cows would be very doable on the block i have which is entirely in one piece , parlour and tank to go with it is all id need as ive a lot of sheds easily convertible , beit for cows or calves

land adjoining me either in grain or part time farmers and retired men , biggest thing to consider perhaps is the tightening of stocking rate rules

were I to only make silage on my own place , cant see how id go over thirty five cows and its probably a case of thirty five cows only being for the fun of it , i would not have to borrow a penny however , not saying im wealthy but ive pretty solid income streams from several properties both residential and commercial and a fair bit in shares

like i said , il probably be over the notion in a week or two and take up rock climbing or something
You could also rent out the land tax free to a dairy farmer and invest in more property.
 
Sort of have a mad itch to consider the idea of doing the start up thing myself thanks to running into people considering - planning the same and reading this interesting thread , il probably be over it in a week or two but were i myself able to rent land for silage , fifty cows would be very doable on the block i have which is entirely in one piece , parlour and tank to go with it is all id need as ive a lot of sheds easily convertible , beit for cows or calves

land adjoining me either in grain or part time farmers and retired men , biggest thing to consider perhaps is the tightening of stocking rate rules

were I to only make silage on my own place , cant see how id go over thirty five cows and its probably a case of thirty five cows only being for the fun of it , i would not have to borrow a penny however , not saying im wealthy but ive pretty solid income streams from several properties both residential and commercial and a fair bit in shares

like i said , il probably be over the notion in a week or two and take up rock climbing or something
You should have come here milking last week it would put you off for a few years at least.
 
Good piece on ear to the ground there about a lad milking 45 cows. He has his head screwed on anyways.
 
What was the take home point of that piece supposed to be?

Work four jobs to cobble a bit of money together instead of taking on some manageable debt?

Herdsize has increased by 25%. Doesn't care about numbers but in the same breath 100 will do.

That's the first time I've watched a bit of ETTG in about 15 years. Glad to see it's maintained it's standard of broadcasting.
 
What was the take home point of that piece supposed to be?

Work four jobs to cobble a bit of money together instead of taking on some manageable debt?

Herdsize has increased by 25%. Doesn't care about numbers but in the same breath 100 will do.

That's the first time I've watched a bit of ETTG in about 15 years. Glad to see it's maintained it's standard of broadcasting.
Well it's better that some young lad that's just after coming back home and saying the "dream" is 1000 cows and he probably wasn't even there for calving
 
What was the take home point of that piece supposed to be?

Work four jobs to cobble a bit of money together instead of taking on some manageable debt?

Herdsize has increased by 25%. Doesn't care about numbers but in the same breath 100 will do.

That's the first time I've watched a bit of ETTG in about 15 years. Glad to see it's maintained it's standard of broadcasting.

right or wrong , some people are more averse to debt

i think the purpose of the piece was that there is still room for smaller units too ?
 
Sort of have a mad itch to consider the idea of doing the start up thing myself thanks to running into people considering - planning the same and reading this interesting thread , il probably be over it in a week or two but were i myself able to rent land for silage , fifty cows would be very doable on the block i have which is entirely in one piece , parlour and tank to go with it is all id need as ive a lot of sheds easily convertible , beit for cows or calves

land adjoining me either in grain or part time farmers and retired men , biggest thing to consider perhaps is the tightening of stocking rate rules

were I to only make silage on my own place , cant see how id go over thirty five cows and its probably a case of thirty five cows only being for the fun of it , i would not have to borrow a penny however , not saying im wealthy but ive pretty solid income streams from several properties both residential and commercial and a fair bit in shares

like i said , il probably be over the notion in a week or two and take up rock climbing or something
Well it’s one way of reversing your good fortune in those sectors :unsure:
 
Only hopping ball. But by the same token I would have though returns in property etc would be a better return on the round when taking time, effort to manage etc into account.

very probably but its not always wise to be all in on one sector either , property is getting less attractive these days thanks to government meddling

im now out of suckling , was a stroke of luck i chose not to put the cows in calf last summer as i broke six ribs in july and would not be up to pulling calves this spring ( nearly recovered though ) , the cows will be factory fit by mid summer and worth as much as a cow with a calf ( my cows are only limousin angus cross )

im sort of half wondering if i should get into cows but il admit if i never managed to secure land for silage in the long term , id be quite disappointed as i do think you need fifty cows for it to be worthwhile , dont think id chance just buying in silage each year , you might succeed two out of three years but one year could ruin you and cows need to be fed

ive forty five acres adjusted in one block and half of the farm already has a roadway through it , two slatted sheds and several other ones , could hang a parlour off one of the existing slatted sheds

il probably just consider the idea throughout 2021 before even making any move , can buy a few cattle back end to keep things ticking until i get off the pot
 
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That young man was very likeable and I've no issue with what he's doing per se. However I would maintain that it shouldn't be highlighted as an example of what to so. I would put the narrative being pushed in a similar bracket to the 1000 cow example you gave.

Working four jobs and scraping all the hours you can lacks sustainability just as much in my opinion, it's no way to live for the sake of saving the interest on a manageable loan.

It may leave an individual with no debt owed to a bank but there's a debt to your body, mind and relationships that you don't get to pay back.
 
That young man was very likeable and I've no issue with what he's doing per se. However I would maintain that it shouldn't be highlighted as an example of what to so. I would put the narrative being pushed in a similar bracket to the 1000 cow example you gave.

Working four jobs and scraping all the hours you can lacks sustainability just as much in my opinion, it's no way to live for the sake of saving the interest on a manageable loan.

It may leave an individual with no debt owed to a bank but there's a debt to your body, mind and relationships that you don't get to pay back.

lads can work like demons while young , doesnt do them any harm , what age is he ? , late twenties ?
 
just reading over this thread again

has anyone heard any stories about processors refusing to collect milk from small herds ?

i imagine a small herd would end up dumping a fair bit of milk in the early part of the spring until a sufficient number of cows were calved ?, costly ?

The guy who gets picked up by the tanker before me is apparently sending 350 litres every other day.

They pick me up at 11.30pm, and the drivers have been moaning to me that he's not finished milking when they get there
 
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