Setting up a new dairy farm

1
Setting up a new dairy farm

• Teagasc, Moorepark

2
Introduction

• Income
• Scale
• Debt
• Land Rent
• Labour efficiency
• Capital costs/cow

3
Income/Scale/level of debt

• Assumptions
• 420 kg ms /cow
• 2.8 cows/ha
• 2 /kg ms cost
• 400 /ha land rental

4
Income
milk price /kgms milk price /kgms milk price /kgms milk price /kgms 4.00
Level of debt/cow Level of debt/cow 60 60 100 140 180
own land own land 0 50,400 84,000 84,000 117,600 151,200
own land own land 2,000 38,400 64,000 64,000 89,600 115,200
own land own land 4,000 26,400 44,000 44,000 61,600 79,200
rented land (400/ha) rented land (400/ha) 0 41,829 69,714 69,714 97,600 125,486
rented land (400/ha) rented land (400/ha) 2,000 29,829 49,714 49,714 69,600 89,486
rented land (400/ha) rented land (400/ha) 4,000 17,829 29,714 29,714 41,600 53,486
5
Income
milk price /kgms milk price /kgms milk price /kgms 3.20
Level of debt/cow 60 100 140 180
own land 0 30,240 50,400 70,560 90,720
own land 2,000 18,240 30,400 42,560 54,720
own land 4,000 6,240 10,400 14,560 18,720
rented land (400/ha) 0 21,669 36,114 50,560 65,006
rented land (400/ha) 2,000 9,669 16,114 22,560 29,006
rented land (400/ha) 4,000 -2,331 -3,886 -5,440 -6,994
6
Labour efficiency targets

• Target 20 hr/cow/yr
• 1 operator relief 125 cows
• Family farm relief 170 cows
• 2 operators minimum relief 200 cows
• 3 operators minimum relief 300cows

7
Features of Labour efficient systems

• Simple system
• Calving to grass
• Compact calving
• Robust cows suited to system
• Minimum supplement
• Single enterprise
• Contract heifer rearing
• Contractor for all machinery operation
• Suitable infrastructure

8
Capital costs of a dairy farm

• Stock
• Milking facilities
• Paddocks, Roadways, Water (tunnel)
• Soil fertility, Reseeding
• Slurry storage
• Winter accommodation
• Machinery/Other housing

9
Soil fertility/ reseeding

• 1 cow requires 4.8 t feed/yr
• Old non-ryegrass pasture (6-10t/ha/yr)
• New ryegrass, high fertility (12-18 t/ha/yr)
• Soil Fertility
• Soil test 25/sample
• Lime 22/t- (5 t/ha)
• K 40-120 kg/ha (1.00/kg)
• P 0-70 kg/ha (2.50/kg)
• Reseeding
• Grass seed 100/ha
• Tilling 100-300/ha
• Sprays 50/ha

10
Milking parlours

• Costs-
• steel concrete work - 4,000 - 7,000/unit
• Plant - 1,200-8,000 /unit
• Milk tank 1.7 - 2.5/l
• Feeders 400-1,500/unit
• ACRs 400-1000/unit

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No. of units

• lt100 cows
• Second hand 10-12 units
• 100-200 cows
• 16-22 units 1 person milking
• 200-300 cows
• 22-30 units 1 ACRs or 1.5 milkers
• 300-450 cows
• 30-44 units 2 /- ACRs
• gt450 cows Rotary 1,500-2,500/unit

12
Grazing infrastructure

• Layout
• Mapping 15-20/ha
• Paddock size
• Roadways-cow flow
• Water
• Roads
• Width 100 cows 4m, 50 cows 1 m
• Length 25 - 50m/ha (shape size)
• Depth 0.3 m (2 t/m3)
• Surface dust .05 m
• Cost 12-16/m3 material
• Digging/laying 4/m3
• Tunnel
• 30-50K

13
Grazing infrastructure

• Water
• Troughs (2 gals/cow) (1.50-1.10/gal)
• Piping (lt100 cows25 mm, 100-200 38 mm
• Pumps (1,500)
• Storage (gt20 gals/cow)
• Total Cost 350-500/ha
• Fencing
• 80-150 m/ha
• Cost 1 strand - 1-1.50/m

14
Slurry storage

• Slurry storage 5.28-6.3 m3/cow (legal
  requirement)
• EBT 15/m3 100/cow (site specific)
• Lined lagoon 30/m3 180/cow
• Steel/concrete tanks 50/m3 300/cow
• Slatted tank 125/m3 660/cow

15
Winter accommodation

• Feed passage
• 250-400/cow space
• Cubicles
• 900-1300/cow
• Wintering pad
• 8-12/m2 ( 10-18m2/cow)
• Kale
• Similar feed cost
• Eliminate housing cost
• Very useful as part of reseeding programme

16
Other Capital Investment

• Machinery 50-1000 /cow
• Other housing 150/cow
• Silage pit 7 m3/cow _at_ 12/m3

17
Capital costs of a dairy farm/cow

• Stock 1,400
• Milking facilities 1,000
• Paddocks, Roadways, Water (tunnel) 500
• Soil fertility, Reseeding 310
• Slurry storage 180
• Winter accommodation 250
• Machinery/Other housing 500
• Total 4,140

18
Conclusion

• Borrowing capacity at high efficiency
• own land - 4,000/cow
• Rented land- 2,000/cow
• Capital cost of Greenfield site
• minimum 4,000/cow
• Dont compromise efficiency
• To cut costs focus on non productive assets
• Machinery, Winter housing, milking automation