from calf to butcher

Room To Grow · #1 01/12/09, 12:05 PM

Hello,
Can anyone tell me what it will take to raise a calf. I am looking to get a calf or maybe a couple to raise to butcher.I was even thinking about a hefer for milk. I was told by a friend that it is cheaper to buy a cow from one of our local farmers and have it butchered than to raise one. I was wondering what it all it takes?? I have 2 nice pastures and they are fenced with the kind of fencing that pulls the hair of the animal if they try to go through it. I am also new to farming. We bought this 10 acre farm last feburary. And we have just planted a garden last yr... We want to have animals, but not sure which way to go.
Thanks
Deb

Oldcountryboy · #2 01/12/09, 12:36 PM

Sounds like what you need is a good milk cow. Have her artificially insemened every spring and she should calve about March/April. Then you would have a fresh supply of milk all summer long and have the option of what to do with the calves. Butcher or sell.

Should mention, it will take 2 years before a calf is ready to butcher.

bill not in oh · #3 01/12/09, 12:57 PM

Keep in mind that a high quality very lean steer grown to 1100 lbs will yield about 500-600 lbs of finished cuts of meat. That's 1000 - 1200 servings of beef.

You might want to try some chickens and/or pigs to get your feet wet with livestock - easier and quicker 'results'....

DavisHillFarm · #4 01/12/09, 01:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Oldcountryboy

Sounds like what you need is a good milk cow. Have her artificially insemened every spring and she should calve about March/April. Then you would have a fresh supply of milk all summer long and have the option of what to do with the calves. Butcher or sell.

Should mention, it will take 2 years before a calf is ready to butcher.

If you have a heifer bred in the spring (let's say March) she'll calve in December. The gestation period of a cow is the same as a woman (9months).

Kevingr · #5 01/12/09, 01:48 PM

Milking is a lot of work, you need to be home a lot to take care of all that. This past June I ended up with a bull that some guy didn't want. I got him for free. He was 9 months old at the time. One of my pastures is just about an acre, woven wire and electric tape (sounds like you have barbed wire). The first thing I did was had him steered, I didn't want a bull around the place. Even with the woven wire and electric he managed to get out twice. I fed him an average of 100 pounds of corn a week that cost me $13-14.00 a hundred. I fed him 10 bales of alfalfa that came from my share of the field that my neighbor bales. And I had him drenched once. He went to the butcher on December 15th and I got him back the day after Christmas. Ended up with 515 pounds of meat. My cost was just under $1.50 a pound not including the cost of the free (kind of) hay. The pasture I put him in was getting a little low on grass by December 15th, not to mention under snow.

We don't know for sure what breed he was. The vet thought he was a Brown Swiss, or some combination of Brown Swiss. And boy, is he tasty! Nice marbling and very tender.

MN Gardener · #6 01/12/09, 01:58 PM

We usually get 3 - 4 calves in the spring from local farmers or auctions and then butcher in the fall. We sell 3 of them to people we know and it pays for the one calf we butcher for ourselves (so we basically have free beef for the year). We have 20 acres fenced in with a leanto. They graze and we supplimented with hay and grain (strictly grain for the last few weeks) we purchase at the feedmill. If you are just getting started I would not get a milk cow and maybe start with a few pigs and chickens. Welcome to our forum!

Ken Scharabok · #7 01/12/09, 03:56 PM

Obtain a copy of Raising a Calf for Beef by Phyllis Hobson. It is a Graden Way Book.

fin29 · #8 01/13/09, 06:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wind in Her Hair

and we usually planned 4 acres per cow for grazing in East Texas - but in other parts of the country, you need to plan for over 10 acres per cow or more.

...and in others, just one or two is sufficient.

Oldcountryboy · #9 01/13/09, 09:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DavisHillFarm

If you have a heifer bred in the spring (let's say March) she'll calve in December. The gestation period of a cow is the same as a woman (9months).

Well I was thinking more like May or June to have it inpregnated. It's still considered spring around here. That would put it in the neighborhood of Feb./March when she would calve. That's when a lot of cows are dropping calves here in my part of the country.

mary,tx · #10 01/13/09, 10:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fin29

...and in others, just one or two is sufficient.

I've never heard of such. Are you talking about bringing in hay?
IMO 10 acres per cow is more like it, assuming you do have good grass.

MOgal · #11 01/13/09, 10:18 AM

Mary, when I was a kid in Mississippi, a good pasture, one that had been planted or sprigged to Bermuda or other aggressive forage and fertilized with sufficient rain, would carry one cow/calf unit per acre with no problems. Rain was the key though.

**Terri** · #12 01/13/09, 10:50 AM

I think that how much it costs depends on your set up.

I used to work with someone who raised 4 calves a year. The calves job was to keep the pasture mowed, and when it was time to fatten them they were given hay and grain as well. And, they made a small but decent profit every year.

Then again, I imagine it is much harder to make a profit if you feed lot them! HER calves ate mostly pasture!

7.62mmFMJ · #13 01/13/09, 12:14 PM

You can buy livestock right now far cheaper than raising them.

Room To Grow · #14 01/14/09, 10:41 PM

Thanks everyone for the information. I was asked to go in with a friend and purchase a 1/2 a cow...my cost 200.00 I am then going to split it with my daughter. So my cost for 1/4 of a cow will be less than I would spend at the grocery store.
I am interested in getting chickens also...
Thanks again
Deborah

Ken Scharabok · #15 01/15/09, 12:50 AM

If you want to compare the cost of your homegrown beef to the supermarket.

1. Calculate all of your cost involved, which may include depreciation of one-time purchases, such as fencing. Based on your total costs and the pounds put into the freezer calculate your cost per pound.

2. Separate out your total processed beef by type of cut and weigh them (bathroom scale is close enough).

3. Go to this table: http://www.retail-lmic.info/CD/Stand.../BLSTable1.htm.

4. Multiply the cuts you put in the freezer by the prices on this table to get what it might have cost you to purchase all of them at a local supermarket. Then divide by the number of pounds put in the freezer.

5. Compare the two.

(However, note this is a composite of many supermarkets. Your local results may vary.)

Beeman · #16 01/16/09, 09:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Room To Grow

Hello,
Can anyone tell me what it will take to raise a calf. I am looking to get a calf or maybe a couple to raise to butcher.I was even thinking about a hefer for milk. I was told by a friend that it is cheaper to buy a cow from one of our local farmers and have it butchered than to raise one. I was wondering what it all it takes?? I have 2 nice pastures and they are fenced with the kind of fencing that pulls the hair of the animal if they try to go through it. I am also new to farming. We bought this 10 acre farm last feburary. And we have just planted a garden last yr... We want to have animals, but not sure which way to go.
Thanks
Deb

Right now I would immediately buy a steer and some hay and feed. It's cheaper now to keep it for a month or so until you finish it and get a butcher's appointment for it.

Calves will need a year and a half at least to make it to slaughter. That means you will need hay for the winter and the dry times to feed them.