Off the wall guess

[bqz]

How many head of cattle do you think a fellow we need to be a full time rancher and how many acres would it take?
This is a hypothetical question,so go easy on me here.

[tinknal]

Geography! How many varries so much by location that you really have a hard time figuring this one out. To make it simple, if you can raise corn, soybeans, etc, don't raise cattle. Cattle are grazers and the more low cost grazing land you can get the better. As far as how many you need to do a cost benifit analysis for the area that you decide to raise cattle in.

[Up North]

If you are to make your entire living - no town job- no other complimentary business enterprises, for a husband and wife team that do everything themselves and hire no help, the number I come up with is 400 cow-calf pairs for a commercial ranch to provide a living for a family. If you sell elite breeding stock, or direct-market the beef you produce, then these numbers can be reduced.
How many acres depends on location, just as tinknal says. Some areas take 2 acres/cow....some take 8 acres/cow...and more the drier range it gets.

[Rockin'B]

We have friends on the Nebraska-So. Dakota border and they make only part of their living with about 125 cow/calf pairs. They own about 2 sections, part crop and the rest pasture. They also lease some pasture.

[agmantoo]

What level of income is this hypothetical couple grossing after expenses allocated to the livestock?

[Yldrosie]

In Northern AZ and NM, it's figured about 10 pairs or so per section. Do the math.

[piglady]

"Income" is actually the profit, not the gross. It's expensive to get into farming/ranching. We first purchased our land, 185 acres. Then we had to fence (government subsidies helped), installed a well, bought a tractor with a front end loader, hay spike, brush hog, fence auger, blades, and rock rake (we are in the Ozark mountains). It never ends though so we also had a barn, quickly outgrew that and started on another, purchased livestock, working equipment and assorted tools before we could even begin. Then there is the waiting game. Feeding animals while you wait for them to give birth and for the new ones to grow. Unless someone died and left all this to you, the cost can add up pretty quick. If you have to borrow to buy this then the bank expects payments pretty regularly. It seems all the money and work go in during the early years and all the pay and rewards come in years later. As long as you know that and plan for that, you can do it EVENTUALLY. We kept our town jobs at first so we could pay for most of it up front. If you can avoid debt, you'll be much better off. Most people think of their income as being the amount they receive for the sale of their animals less the cost of feed. That would be your direct expenses but those fixed expenses are hard to overcome in the beginning. If you can work it out though, there is no better life. I wouldn't change it for the world.

[JeffNY]

It all depends what market you target. If you are after selling lots off, then you need a large herd. If your into trying to get into a niche market (restaurants), you wont need a ton, because you can sell the meat at a prime price.



Jeff

[bqz]

Ok here we go !!
I have plenty of land say 270 acres.
I have all machinery ,a well, tractor with a front end loader, hay spike, brush hog, fence auger, blades, and rock rake,everything I need.
I have a couple barns.
I Need an income of at least 25k.

It all depends what market you target

What market would be best to target?

[agmantoo]

You should be able to have twice that amount of income easily from a cow/calf operation and not work your behind off.