The 300-cow man

Scheme and Dairy Improvement Scheme commenced in 2007/2008, marking the start of the new expansion phase. Some experimented with going over quota in 2008, 2009 and 2010, but the horns were pulled back as the superlevy became a reality. Most limped along until the shackles came off on April 1, 2015.

Some of these farmers had now grown to 300-plus cows, by renting additional land onto the grazing block and investing heavily in livestock, roadways, paddock fencing, housing, slurry storage and milking parlours. Then came 2016!

The milk-price collapse last year caused some of these farmers to hit what I call ‘The 300-Cow Wall’ — that day when one questions what it is all for and whether it was the wrong decision to expand.

The causes for this temporary meltdown were: ÷No cash due to the low milk price; ÷Lack of management experience and being dependent on employed labour; ÷No exciting new development/expansion/building projects to energise the spirit.

In the past, at 180-200 cows, an employee leaving was not that big of an issue. Everybody in the family just worked a bit harder until a replacement was found.

But in a 300-plus-cow dairy herd, there are not enough hours in the day for the farmer and his family to run the show — employed labour is a must.

This, for many, was a harsh lesson that ‘big is not always beautiful’ in the new reality of dairy herd expansion.

We are now one month into 2017; farm business plans are projecting cash surpluses. Will the expansion bug kick off again?

Somehow, I believe those who experienced ‘The 300Cow Wall’ will be a little more cautious this time around.

Michael Brady is an agricultural consultant based in Co Cork Email: mike@bradygroup.ie