Sharefarming

[Keren]

Talk to me about dairy sharefarming ...

 

[regolith]

What do you want to know?

I'm sharemilking in New Zealand. There's a standard contract, or understanding of what should be in the contract. PM if you like.

 

[regolith]

I should mention also, that if you want to do it the way I'm doing it - yeah, it's possible, but you could be in for a very tough ride. A lot of farm owners won't give a single female a chance at this level of management, which limits the choice of jobs available to you.

 

[dun]

Rather then share milking cows have you thought of starting a goat dairy? When we had ours (late 60s) there wasn;t a big demand volume wise but the demand that there was was very strong.

 

[Keren]

haha, dun, I'm considering sharefarming a commercial goat dairy. I just know nothing about it. So if someone could give me the basic elements, what it is, how it works, pros and cons, challenges etc.

 

[dun]

haha, dun, I'm considering sharefarming a commercial goat dairy. I just know nothing about it. So if someone could give me the basic elements, what it is, how it works, pros and cons, challenges etc.

Glad to see you're staying true to the dairy goats. Next you'll need to learn to AI them

 

[regolith]

So if someone could give me the basic elements, what it is, how it works, pros and cons, challenges etc.

I'll have a go at a rough summary but every contract may be slightly different.

Essentially, the sharemilker owns the stock, machinery that they need to manage the stock and provides the labour to run the farm. They're self-employed, and have a contract with the farm owner.

The farm owner provides the land and infrastructure - milking shed, water troughs and fences, races.
Income from the operation is split. Some costs are split in the same percentage - bought in feed is one, so is applied nitrogen.
The farm owner bears the sole cost of maintaining the land and infrastructure. The sharemilker bears the cost of managing the cattle and running their own machinery and the running costs of the milking shed, and pays any wages to labour. Paying the freight for applied fertiliser is common.
They may also be asked to provide the labour for jobs where the farm owner pays teh cost - as in the farm owner buys weed spray but the sharemilker uses it, the farm owner buys paint but the sharemilker does the painting, farm owner buys wire and posts but the sharemilker puts up the fence.

Pros - if it works well it benefits both parties, as the sharemilker is building up their asset (stock) and experience and can generate a good income. The farm owners are often older people who are ready to step back from day to day management of the farm and don't want the hassle of employing staff.

The sharemilker takes over an existing business, simply moving their own stock and machinery onto the land. Some farm owners are very supportive of new sharemilkers, some less so. You can start with a small farm and move to a larger one as your equity and ability to manage increases. Compared to buying or leasing land there's a fairly low initial capital outlay.

 

[regolith]

Starting a new post for cons and challenges because my computer sulks if the posts get too long...

Not so much a 'con' but it's accepted that to even think about sharemilking you need about five years experience in the industry, some of that at management level. You must be capable of actually walking onto a farm and running the whole operation.
Finances can be a challenge at start-up, especially with seasonal dairying when there are all the set-up costs and the winter to go through and you may have no income until mid-spring. Budget well ahead of time, first-year sharemilkers can go hungry waiting for that milk cheque.

Your income is insecure, and all holidays, milkings off must be arranged and paid for by yourself. If you have a bad year it's your loss - a good year you win. Costs are always present and tend to go up.

As I'm finding out to my cost, malicious farm owners can ruin you and do it legally. Get a reference on the farm owners, just as they do on you. The contract can only go so far to protect you.

I don't know how you'll fare in Australia, but I come across good old sexism expressed in various ways - from overcharging to garages sabotaging my vehicles to refusing to take on work for me to porn mags left in my driveway... plus of course all the people who explain so kindly why they won't consider my application because I don't have a support system cooking and cleaning house for me, or because they're concerned I might not be able to lift those baby calves.

 

[Keren]

thanks heaps for that, as I said I really didnt know much and this has given me something to work on. I have to laugh at the last paragraph, which is completely true :roll: and the reason I didnt get into vet school - I'm not big enough apparently.

already been there and done that dun, whole lot easier than cows I gotta say, at least my face isnt pressed up against a cows butt as I try and stretch my very short arms just a little further ... my preg rate isnt as good as cattle yet but its improving.

 

[dun]

thanks heaps for that, as I said I really didnt know much and this has given me something to work on. I have to laugh at the last paragraph, which is completely true :roll: and the reason I didnt get into vet school - I'm not big enough apparently.

already been there and done that dun, whole lot easier than cows I gotta say, at least my face isnt pressed up against a cows butt as I try and stretch my very short arms just a little further ... my preg rate isnt as good as cattle yet but its improving.

Do you do the 2 AI 12 hours apart apporach?

 

[Keren]

Dun, the teachers didnt mention it (they did only one insemination), so I did the same, but was wondering whether that would improve things. They tell me part of the problem is using frozen semen for cervical/transcervical insemination, instead of fresh or extended. They recommend frozen semen for laparoscopic intrauterine insemination only. What did you use and what was your pregnancy rate?

 

[regolith]

Goodness - that really sucks about vet school. Unbelieveable.

When I did the AI course I was told I was minimum height for a technician - since I was training to do my own cattle it wasn't so important. The LIC supervisor also told me when he asked my height that the girls at that size were some of the best techs they had.
Day three of training and the tutors pointed me towards a six inch platform they'd made for me out of 2x4s overnight. It was like someone had turned the lights on in those big Friesians...
I'm 5'3" and about 120 lb, so not that much larger than your good self and not going to grow any more thanks for the suggestion :D ;-)
Do I need to remind the boards I'm sharemilking 280 cows on my own? I can't imagine anything a vet would be asked to do that I'm not doing.
Back in college I had to change my thesis because it suddenly occured to the tutor that I couldn't go to the college milking parlour on my own lest bad things happen and he figured the college couldn't provide me with a bodyguard :roll:

 

[Keren]

rego I'm 4'9'' and about 105.8lbs ... so yes I'm little. But it hasnt stopped me yet.

I stand on a milk crate for Ai'ing/preg testing/assisting cows.

But I will admit the goats are a little easier because of the size!

 

[dun]

Dun, the teachers didnt mention it (they did only one insemination), so I did the same, but was wondering whether that would improve things. They tell me part of the problem is using frozen semen for cervical/transcervical insemination, instead of fresh or extended. They recommend frozen semen for laparoscopic intrauterine insemination only. What did you use and what was your pregnancy rate?

We ran about 85% with single and close to 100% with 2. The timing was determined by the consistancy of the mucus. We didn;t do the AM/PM thing with them like we do with the cows. All w used was frozen

 

[Keren]

ok so tell me about mucus lol

one thing I am finding with dairy goats is they are so much harder to pick than meat and fibre goats. the angoras and boers are in season for a day, period. these blasted dairy goats are in season for days on end, makes it difficult to determine when exactly to breed her. at the moment I have a saanen who has been in season for 4 days, and an alpine who was in season for 1.5 days, then off for 2 days, then on again for 2 days going on 3 (both havent been joined for various reasons). its driving me insane. so please please please tell me about the mucus. I've been getting about 70% pregnancies from a single insemination with frozen semen.

 

[dun]

ok so tell me about mucus lol

one thing I am finding with dairy goats is they are so much harder to pick than meat and fibre goats. the angoras and boers are in season for a day, period. these blasted dairy goats are in season for days on end, makes it difficult to determine when exactly to breed her. at the moment I have a saanen who has been in season for 4 days, and an alpine who was in season for 1.5 days, then off for 2 days, then on again for 2 days going on 3 (both havent been joined for various reasons). its driving me insane. so please please please tell me about the mucus. I've been getting about 70% pregnancies from a single insemination with frozen semen.

If it's thin and watery that's too early, if it's thick and starting too look kind of mily it's too late. It's one of those deals that can be shown but not really explained. Id you look at it at different stages of heat you will be able to figure it out pretty easily. Most times I was only able to get inside the first ring and found that it didn;t seem to matter if I got further or not with the conception rate.

 

[Keren]

well thats good cos mostly I can only get through that first ring too.

hmm, the mucus is interesting, I might just do that, try and look at them at different stages and get a feel for it.

now why arent you in Australia, dun?

 

[dun]

now why arent you in Australia, dun?

Gun Control laws

 

[Keren]

lmfao fair enough!