Raising a Cow in Northern ID?

[Filson]

Hey guys n' gals, I am both new to raising livestock as well as moving to a new area and had some questions.

I haven't settled on a place to buy yet, and am not sure how much pasture I'll need (I know it varies greatly with location and other factors, please fill me in) to raise a single cow to slaughter weight. I've spoken to a few people in the Boise area that raise cows and the answer I always get is "it depends", or answers along the lines of "well, if you want to do XYZ..". Being completely new to raising beef, I have no idea what I'll want to do lol.

Anyway, I'm not interested in selling meat, and would like to raise quality beef for my family. Is grain a requirement? If so, how much? When?

In northern ID, how much land would be ideal to let it graze?

What kind of water requirements would the cow need, or other things I'm not thinking of. (Do they need shelter, or just hang out in the field all day/night?)

Medical costs/concerns?

Best breed(s) for the area? Where's the best place to buy?

Would it be more economical to try to breed a cow for every year's meat needs, or...?

I'm sure all these questions have probably been answered a 100 times on here before, and if so, I apologize. With all the "it depends" answers I've received, I didn't know if all of this was subject to geography or other factors. Anyway, any help would be greatly appreciated! Thank you for your time.

[G. Seddon]

Well, I've never even been to Idaho, but here's some info to get you started:

First, if Idaho has a county extension service, start there. The agricultural agent should be able to point you in the right direction and answer a lot of your questions (fencing, hay supply, water availability, vet recommendations, cattle transport, and more).

Second, don't buy anything at the sale barn (think about the exposure to disease, etc.) unless you have an expert by your side at the time.

Third, get a good book on the basics of raising beef cattle (Heather Smith Thomas has written a few good ones). It will give you a resource to look things up.

Fourth, see if there's a regional cattleman's association in your area and contact them; explain your situation and ask if anyone can give you advice, if you could attend a few meetings, etc. You'll meet people that way and establish a network of friends as well.

With every answer you get, you'll have more questions!

Another thought -- don't get just one. Cattle are herd animals and will do much better if you have at least two.

Hope this helps get you started.

[opportunity]

If you just want one to feed your family you might be able to buy yearlings and just summer them on your place. I used to use 13 acres near Mountainhome Idaho to finish 2-3 steers on grass. We would buy them the end of April and then butcher when the grass ran out in the fall.
You will need to make or buy hay in northern Idaho for the winter you should have enough to feed 25 pounds a day from the middle of October to May for each animal I figured about 2 tons per animal over the winter.
If you buy a single cow to raise a baby ever year remember you must winter over the baby to get it large enough to butcher so you will have more animals to feed in the winter, The other problem is how you are going to bred her AI or a bull. The other problem is not knowing what to do if she has a problem with delivery.
I now run 20-25 mama cows a year because I fell in love with those first steers and hated to kill everything for the winter.

[DJ in WA]

Some good advice above. Starting with steers or heifers for butcher would be a good way to start and get all your fencing and facilities in order before you try the more complicated world of breeding and calving a cow. Though for me personally, having new baby calves is where the fun is.

You don't need grain, but can supplement with some if you want them fatter. The other question is do you have pasture. Northern Idaho is wetter than the Boise area, but can still get dry in the summer, so would probably need to irrigate. We can't answer how many acres are needed for a cow unless we have information. Quality of pasture varies widely even in the same area - some areas around here are all rock. And if you don't have irrigation it dries up in the summer. Do you have the property yet?

Real good pasture might only take an acre or two for a cow, while range might take 100 acres or more for a cow. Not to mention cow size varies - some have 1000 pound cows, and some have 1800 pound cows.

Angus or Hereford are the safe bet - I prefer the Red Angus as they don't get as hot in the summer as the blacks. Wild is not an option, so try to spend time around them when buying. No fence is good enough for wild cattle.

I live just across the border near Spokane. Here's some Craigslist ads. Could probably get feeders from any of these, though those cows in the last one would sure be tempting. Just go to farm and garden and type in search words for steers or cows or whatever. Feel free to PM me if needed.

http://spokane.craigslist.org/grq/3796927986.html

http://spokane.craigslist.org/grd/3830430103.html

http://spokane.craigslist.org/grd/3759991966.html

http://spokane.craigslist.org/grd/3816958861.html

[Filson]

Thanks for all the advise everyone! No, we haven't settled on a place yet. While Northern ID is still our main focus, my wife has been looking around other places too (bleh... lol).

It sounds like it's way too difficult to tell (about the amount of land per cow) until I just get a place. I was hoping to have an idea in my head before buying, so I could think "looks like enough pasture for a cow or two" instead of buying a place, than realizing we don't have enough room, ya know?

I think raising a yearling (wasn't sure on proper terminology) is probably the most realistic path, at least to start with. How much meat could one expect on the average, from a single yearling by slaughter weight? I was told around 50-55% of the weight of the cow, but not sure how big they'll be after a year.

I picked up a book from Amazon on the basic of raising beef, but haven't received it yet.

Thanks again for everyone's answers!

[Filson]

Also a good question to ask - is do you think it will be economical to raise a yearling vs just buying beef from the market? What's the average price difference after taking into account feed and all the rest? Again, I realize there will be a large spectrum here, and am not looking for any specifics.