Thread by @shukoz

MY AGRIC STORY

I started with dairy animals and quicky learnt the hard way dairy is expensive.

I came across some cheap cows and jumped in head first.

PROBLEM #1: Feeding
Dairy cows EAT in large quantities and need a lot of space. Bales are not an option, you need real grass

PROBLEM #2: Dairy animals are fragile and fickle. They are very susceptible to tick borne diseases, mastitis and only produce enough when fed a balanced diet.

If pure milk volumes are affected by many variables including breed and temperature

PROBLEM #3: Dairy is a volume game. It's not the same having 5 cows as having 50 cows, the more milking cows you have the easier it is.

Milk buyers are only interested above a certain volume and having 10 cows is not worth their while from a volume perspective

PROBLEM 4: The milk yield curve is real. The longer you milk a cow the lower yields you get over time.

In an ideal world you dont milk all of your cows at the same time, you need to stage when they start and stop milking.

You need a proper plan you cant just wing it

PROBLEM #5: Milk in its raw form is cheap and the margins are low. If you have a small operation you are better off selling to individuals looking for raw milk than looking for ppl like Parmalat.

Margins are better and payments are in cash when selling to individuals.

PROBLEM #6: You have to be ruthless. Dairy accepts no passengers, calves in general must be seen as cost.

Male calves in particular need to go asap. You cant afford to feed passengers they are an unnecessary cost.

#dairyfarming #ngombe #notfort