Marcos Epp is milking 1,000 Holstein cows on Regia Farm, about 100km from the city of Castro, Parana state, in southeast Brazil. He farms 1,100ha with his father Marvin Epp and 350ha of the land is used to grow feed such as maize and soya beans. Epp is responsible for the dairy and his father, who is in his late 70s, takes care of the tillage ground.
The cows are milked on a 32-bail DeLaval rotary parlour, which was installed in 2014. When Epp was planning to buy the rotary he had planned to milk 450 to 500 cows. As a result of increasing his cow numbers, the rotary is going 18 hours a day.
Epp operates an almost total confinement system, with only young replacement stock grazing grass.
Labour
The cows are milked three times a day by some of Epp’s 38-strong labour force who work in six-hour shifts.
Epp said his workers were mainly unemployed before starting to work for him, with little chance of work elsewhere. Employees work six days a week.
Marcos Epp owns and runs Regia Farm in Brazil.
He pays them more than the average in Parana at BRL 2,500/month (€565/month). A normal income for such a worker is more in the region of BRL 1,500-2,000/month (€339-452/month).
He said he pays them more than the average as he wants to keep good labour. On top of the wages, he provides them with accommodation, power and, of course, milk.
The workers also get a 13th payment at the end of the year and 30 days off a year.
“The real cost per worker is in the region of BRL4,000/month (€904/month). Most of the workers live in houses on the farm or in the neighbourhood. A lot of the workers are from around here, but some are from northeast Brazil,” he said.
The cost of production of a litre of milk on Regia Farm is 30c/l and the current milk price his co-op, Castrolanda Co-op, pays is 36c/l.
The herd milks 37,000l/day. Milk averages at 3.75% butterfat and 3.2% protein. The SCC is 135,000.
The cows are split into five groups and on average are fed around 24kg/day, made up of a diet of 9kg of maize silage, 6kg of corn, 2kg DM of grass silage, 4kg of soya bean meal, just under 2kg of brewer’s grains 1.5kg of cotton seeds and 1.5/kg of soya bean hulls. Cows average three lactations.
Expansion
Epp is limited from going up further in numbers as a result of land availability. He said if he was to increase again in numbers he would either have to rent land or buy another farm.
Epp said he started to think about how he would handle 1,000 cows three years ago
Soon all stock will be totally confined on the farm, as a new shed is being built. One of the reasons behind total confinement in the south of Brazil is the weather. In summer temperatures can reach 34°C and it can be freezing in winter.
Epp said he started to think about how he would handle 1,000 cows three years ago. In the last three years he has built three new sheds. When the Irish Farmers Journal visited Epp’s farm in early April 2019, the last shed was 60% of the way finished.
It is 125m by 32m and will house 320 cows. Epp said that the sheds cost around BRL6,000/cow (€1,355/cow). Doing the maths on those figures puts the cost of the sheds at €1.35m.
Finance
Half of the sheds are financed by the bank. He has a loan for 10 years at 8.5% interest.
He said he has arranged that he will have no repayments for the first three years of the loan – the plan is to pay it off, in full, in seven years’ time.
When asked where the other half of the finance for the buildings came from Epp said that his father helped him out, saying that he doesn’t want to invest his money in tillage.
Farm size: 1,100ha
Cow numbers: 1,000
Cost of production: 30c/l
Current milk price: 36c/l
Cost of sheds: €1.35m
Employees: 38
Amy Forde recently travelled to Brazil on the IFAJ exposure-4-development tour.
Read more
Brazilian agriculture in numbers
Making €80/head profit on dairy bull calves in Brazil
Watch: milking 850 cows for 37c/l in Brazil
Marcos Epp is milking 1,000 Holstein cows on Regia Farm, about 100km from the city of Castro, Parana state, in southeast Brazil. He farms 1,100ha with his father Marvin Epp and 350ha of the land is used to grow feed such as maize and soya beans. Epp is responsible for the dairy and his father, who is in his late 70s, takes care of the tillage ground.
The cows are milked on a 32-bail DeLaval rotary parlour, which was installed in 2014. When Epp was planning to buy the rotary he had planned to milk 450 to 500 cows. As a result of increasing his cow numbers, the rotary is going 18 hours a day.
Epp operates an almost total confinement system, with only young replacement stock grazing grass.
Labour
The cows are milked three times a day by some of Epp’s 38-strong labour force who work in six-hour shifts.
Epp said his workers were mainly unemployed before starting to work for him, with little chance of work elsewhere. Employees work six days a week.
Marcos Epp owns and runs Regia Farm in Brazil.
He pays them more than the average in Parana at BRL 2,500/month (€565/month). A normal income for such a worker is more in the region of BRL 1,500-2,000/month (€339-452/month).
He said he pays them more than the average as he wants to keep good labour. On top of the wages, he provides them with accommodation, power and, of course, milk.
The workers also get a 13th payment at the end of the year and 30 days off a year.
“The real cost per worker is in the region of BRL4,000/month (€904/month). Most of the workers live in houses on the farm or in the neighbourhood. A lot of the workers are from around here, but some are from northeast Brazil,” he said.
The cost of production of a litre of milk on Regia Farm is 30c/l and the current milk price his co-op, Castrolanda Co-op, pays is 36c/l.
The herd milks 37,000l/day. Milk averages at 3.75% butterfat and 3.2% protein. The SCC is 135,000.
The cows are split into five groups and on average are fed around 24kg/day, made up of a diet of 9kg of maize silage, 6kg of corn, 2kg DM of grass silage, 4kg of soya bean meal, just under 2kg of brewer’s grains 1.5kg of cotton seeds and 1.5/kg of soya bean hulls. Cows average three lactations.
Expansion
Epp is limited from going up further in numbers as a result of land availability. He said if he was to increase again in numbers he would either have to rent land or buy another farm.
Epp said he started to think about how he would handle 1,000 cows three years ago
Soon all stock will be totally confined on the farm, as a new shed is being built. One of the reasons behind total confinement in the south of Brazil is the weather. In summer temperatures can reach 34°C and it can be freezing in winter.
Epp said he started to think about how he would handle 1,000 cows three years ago. In the last three years he has built three new sheds. When the Irish Farmers Journal visited Epp’s farm in early April 2019, the last shed was 60% of the way finished.
It is 125m by 32m and will house 320 cows. Epp said that the sheds cost around BRL6,000/cow (€1,355/cow). Doing the maths on those figures puts the cost of the sheds at €1.35m.
Finance
Half of the sheds are financed by the bank. He has a loan for 10 years at 8.5% interest.
He said he has arranged that he will have no repayments for the first three years of the loan – the plan is to pay it off, in full, in seven years’ time.
When asked where the other half of the finance for the buildings came from Epp said that his father helped him out, saying that he doesn’t want to invest his money in tillage.
Farm size: 1,100ha
Cow numbers: 1,000
Cost of production: 30c/l
Current milk price: 36c/l
Cost of sheds: €1.35m
Employees: 38
Amy Forde recently travelled to Brazil on the IFAJ exposure-4-development tour.
Read more
Brazilian agriculture in numbers
Making €80/head profit on dairy bull calves in Brazil
Watch: milking 850 cows for 37c/l in Brazil
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