Seamus Quigley, who has dairy farms in Galway and Tadhg Buckley from AIB spoke about the importance of financial budgeting and cash flow management to mitigate the risks of cash shortages and milk price fluctuations.Earlier in the morning, Kevin Lane, CEO of Ornua said that he expects a milk price in excess of 30c/l in 2017.
Seamus Quigley, who has dairy farms in Galway and Tadhg Buckley from AIB spoke about the importance of financial budgeting and cash flow management to mitigate the risks of cash shortages and milk price fluctuations.
Earlier in the morning, Kevin Lane, CEO of Ornua said that he expects a milk price in excess of 30c/l in 2017.
Listen to “Forecast of 30c/l for Irish dairy farmers in 2017” on Spreaker.
Optimum stocking rate and calving date
Brendan Horan from Teagasc Moorepark presented a paper on the optimum stocking rate and calving date for Irish farms. He said that on many farms the stocking rate is too high, is adding extra complications to the farming system and is posing environmental risks.
Increasing stocking rate reduces days at grass, increases costs and does not lead to any more profit
“Increasing the stocking rate on the home farm by bringing in lots of feed from out-farms is not a good idea. Increasing stocking rate reduces days at grass, increases costs and does not lead to any more profit,” Brendan explained.
He said that stocking rate should be matched to grass growth and the amount of supplementary feed you are willing to give. As for calving date, he said that it should be based on magic day projections – when grass growth equals demand. The optimum according to Horan is to calve cows 50 to 60 days before calving.
Building from scratch
The final session was reserved for two young farmers that have built substantial businesses from scratch. Matthew Jackson is farming in north Wales and milking over 450 cows while Will Grayling is milking 3,300 cows in New Zealand.
Sharemilking has been the vehicle for both to progress. “I treat myself like a bank, always trying to add value to myself so people will want to invest in me. This involves showing integrity, sticking to your values and being yourself,” Matthew said.
Both encouraged young people to travel, work on different farms and see the world. Both encouraged young people nervous about making the first step into stock ownership to just do it and be prepared to make a calculated risk when the right opportunity comes along.
Read more
Listen: how to make 30% more profit from dairy farming
This is a subscriber-only article
SHARING OPTIONS: