What to charge for feeding cattle this winter.

[Ingi]

Hi. My name is Ingi for short, this being my first post. The plan is to feed cattle for somebody this winter. Strictly baleage, this a grass fed beef operation. What is the going rate these days? I live New York. I would appreciate any input on the matter. Thank you.

[topside1]

Hi, welcome to the forum. Well what I'd do is walk through the chore list with the owner of the cattle now. Figure out how long it takes to complete and then charge twice as much. Nothing is as simple as it looks, especially in the winter. Only you know what your time is worth....Topside

[Ingi]

Originally Posted by topside1

Hi, welcome to the forum. Well what I'd do is walk through the chore list with the owner of the cattle now. Figure out how long it takes to complete and then charge twice as much. Nothing is as simple as it looks, especially in the winter. Only you know what your time is worth....Topside

Well, this is somewhat simple. You put the hay in front of them and make sure the water is working. You need the tractor to start up to move the bales of course, no matter the weather. The bales are all ready stacked up close to where the cattle is going to be. The animals will be outside and the bale feeders moved around to spread the manure. Had 80 head contract fed last year without loosing any, but they ate a lot of hay. I am just trying to find out the going rate. What it is worth another story, us farmers not payed accordingly last time I checked.

[tinknal]

OK, first you have to tell us who owns the farm and the hay. Are you going to his place to feed his hay, or are you feeding your hay on your place, or what?

[topside1]

Once again factor in your total time involved, including road time, your time and gas. Times two...What happens when the water system breaks and your on the farm for 3 hours fixing the problem? From what you described, I'd charge $25 per day everyday for one hours worth of work...$20 for you and five dollars for your truck. Way to many variables to help answer your initial ????? One more things if you don't charge enough you will end up regretting it all winter long....Topside

[Ingi]

Originally Posted by tinknal

OK, first you have to tell us who owns the farm and the hay. Are you going to his place to feed his hay, or are you feeding your hay on your place, or what?

Mark Twain would have liked me a lot. This is my hay, my fields and my equipment. I do not take responsibilty for the cattle getting out, running into town or getting sick, do my best though so neither happens.

This hay is mostly first cutting and some of it out of weedy fields not hayed for a couple of years, good hay though. I try to bale and wrap it as dry as possible, so the cattle doesn´t get filled up with mostly water. They did good last winter, looked good by spring, better than when they came in 1. Nov. left, left 1. May. I actually think they came in a little starved, big framed animals. And that´s another issue, how heavy they are. My own cattle is mostly small framed highland, hereford crosses that do well on grass and hay. I think some of these animals are meant and bred to put on weight in feedlots and might struggle a little bit in a situation like this. But cows are ment to eat hay and thrive on it, surprise surprise.

[tinknal]

Ingi, I would figure the price of the hay, sold off the farm (how much you could get for the hay if someone just came and picked it up). Then figure extra wear and tear on equipment and fences, fuel, cost of the water feeder, what your time is worth, total it up and then add 10%.

JMHO.

[Ingi]

This is the way I see it and tell my “business associate”. I do not expect him to pay for the farm, my daughter in college (have four) or all the equipment I have invested in, not his fault I am a farmer. I just want us both to make a profit. Or if nothing else, pay the bills this winter. I am grateful to be part of this grass fed beef revolution, believe it to be something that could be part in saving agriculture in New York State, thereby the State and even the country, always been an optimist.

It is actually decided, the cattle coming and he deciding the price for the feeding. I was just hoping for some friendly discussion and me having some real information up the sleeve to slam him with. In all friendship of course.

[haypoint]

Could you work out a deal on the amount of weight they gained?
Those 600 pounders might be worth $1.00 a pound, live weight. In the spring, 180 days later, they should bring 85-95 cents a pound and weigh closer to a 1000 pounds.

Do your math, understanding the cattle owner has to make something for his investment, then see if you can get paid on the gain. He may like that better, because you now have an incentive to get those cows growing. If they come in thin, all the better,they'll be able to gain faster. Get him to pay for the wormer, too.

[rancher1913]

most feeders around here get 1 to 1.50 per head per day to feed and water.

[Ingi]

Thanks, this the reality check I needed. You are in the ballpark with $1 to $1.50. We talked about weight gain but then it starts to get complicated. A cold spell and they start burning fat. If his cattle is no good and doesn´t gain I loose.
Then there is another question, is $1 to $1.5 for grain feeding, should hay feeding be more expensive. He has mentioned concerns about first or second cutting, more protein in the second cutting. Somewhere I heard cattle can use more energy out of first cutting in cold weather. Much to consider and this a good place for it. Again, thank you for your input, much appreciated.

[Ingi]

Originally Posted by rancher1913

most feeders around here get 1 to 1.50 per head per day to feed and water.

In last post I raised the question if feeding cattle only hay was cheaper or more expensive than feeding them a grain based diet like they get in feedlots. When rancher1913 says $1 to $1.5 a day, what kind of diet are you talking about?