Wanting to get into Beef Cattle

ThePigeonKid · #1 07/29/13, 09:12 AM

I have really enjoyed raising calf’s for meat and now they’re gone I have been thinking about maybe raising beef cattle.

I was thinking I could buy 2 pregnant Heifers this fall and then after they give birth buy a bull and two more pregnant heifers next year (2014).

What do you all think about my plan do you think it is cost effective?

GaryS61 · #2 07/29/13, 09:30 AM

Bulls are expensive and you need more cows to justify one they also cost a lot to keep, and can be destructive on small places.

You'd be better off to buy light weight bull calves (make them steers) at weaning or steers and feed them to finish. Bred heifers could be ok if you can borrow a bull or AI them.

ThePigeonKid · #3 07/29/13, 09:52 AM

That is what I was thinking about the bull, but was not sure... So if I start with 2 bred heifers this fall and after they give birth borrow a bull or AI them and buy 2 more heifer again and do the same. I would be raising them to sell the calves and eventually make a profit, at first I would be just trying to cover costs of raising them. What do you all think about that? Everybody keeps telling me if I want to do it just do it... I am not that type I would like to have at least some sort of plan.

GaryS61 · #4 07/29/13, 10:44 AM

In your climate your pasture would go a lot further than mine, how many acres of pasture do you have? If you need hay it is about 35 lbs/day plus figure some waste, so figure your hay days and your pasture days, add some allowance for Vet supplies they will need vaccinated. Also you will need a free choice block of salt in front of them at all times, and mineral. The salt is ten bucks, and a sack of good mineral is 33 up here anyway. Cows can make you a little money but it is not much per head, the meat you eat is your profit and it is much better than store bought and you know where it came from... good luck. They are fun to have.

sammyd · #5 07/29/13, 11:59 AM

Lots of variables that you haven't mentioned.
Amount of land, what sort of facilities do you have, what is your intended market...

ThePigeonKid · #6 07/29/13, 12:31 PM

I have 3-5 acres of pasture and 3 of woods. I am working on building a barn. I am not really sure what you mean by market but I would like to sell there calves, but I am open to really anything. I was hoping to make an avg. of $100 each a year off of them.

BTW, I am trying to get 20-30 more acres of pasture next year or the year after (2015).

Bret · #7 07/29/13, 03:18 PM

Good luck. I am glad you enjoyed raising calves. Keep going and learning slowly.

ksfarmer · #8 07/29/13, 03:39 PM

Would you be buying all the hay and supplemental feed? How long is your grazing season? Here, 3-5 acres will barely carry one cow-calf unit for the season from May 1 till October. The other six or seven month requires hay unless you have access to field stubble or wheat pasture to help lower feed costs. A spring born calf will be eating a lot of grass and hay by fall.
If you get the additional 20-30 acres of pasture you will have a better chance of making a profit with a few cows. Otherwise, I would suggest staying with raising calves till then.
I don't mean to sound negative, just some things to think about. Good Luck.

Awnry Abe · #9 07/29/13, 10:39 PM

I encourage you to give it a go and make adjustments as you need. You can reasonably expect to cover the cost of your own beef supply, which is worthy in and of itself. If you have had calves already, your infrastructure should be in place. A couple of thoughts come to mind.
1) you may want to find alternate means of getting your cows pregnant other than owning one for multiple calving seasons. (Borrow from a neighbor, run your cows with a neighbor's bull, rent-a-bull, buy/use/sell a bull, AI,...)
2) weaning time might be the best go-to-market time, so you don't have to allocate precious space for weanlings.

Enjoy!

bigmudder77 · #10 07/30/13, 07:04 AM

With 3-5 acres your not gonna have much luck we have 3 acres and 1 full size cow one small bull and 2 steers on it and we rotate them around it but they can clear it all in a matter of a week if dont spilt it up

but when we had 16 days of rain they were stuck in one area with the barn and it was alot of hay and then winter is more hay if you have a place to store it its best to buy it out of the field if not then you pay market price for it and in the winter is more or like last year crap hay was over $5 a bale and anything good was 8-12 a bale (small squares)

but best advice you can get is start small and see how things go change stuff up till it works best for you

ThePigeonKid · #11 07/30/13, 07:45 AM

Thanks!

I will just keep reading up and hopefully try it out this fall. I can get a round bale of hay for $45 and it is 1500 to 1700 lbs.

bigmudder77 · #12 07/30/13, 09:48 AM

That's all iI buy for the bigger ones and with the 2 steers and the milk cow and the smaller bull they go through one in about a week in a half when the pasture is gone but with pasture iI can streach it out to 3. Weeks

FarmerDavid · #13 07/30/13, 10:23 AM

If your planning on buying your heifers from an individual as opposed to a sale barn you might make arrangements to use one of his bulls. I bought a few heifers off a local farmer for the last three years. The first two we arranged to use one of his yearling bulls as part of the deal. You might have to work around his breeding season so that's a down side but it was pretty ecconimal till I bought a bull. Which I ended up buying off of him

ThePigeonKid · #14 07/30/13, 11:19 AM

I will try to get something worked out so I can rent or borrow a bull. I am working on putting more fence up on our property. I am planning on fencing what land I do have in 4 different sections. Maybe I could get hay for cheaper if I buy large amount. Is there any book you think I should read that would help me? I am looking at getting these books: 1. Storey's Guide to Raising Beef Cattle: Health/Handling/Breeding
2. Successful Small-Scale Farming
3. Small-Scale Livestock Farming: A Grass-Based Approach for Health, Sustainability, and Profit
Thanks!

FarmerDavid · #15 07/30/13, 11:32 AM

Reading isn't a bad thing but I've found you'll learn alot more through experience.

ThePigeonKid · #16 07/30/13, 11:50 AM

I agree FarmerDavid! I raise Chickens, Ducks, Geese, Turkeys, Pigeons, quail and goats and I read up before getting them and there is a LOT of things you can't learn from a book.

bigmudder77 · #17 07/30/13, 01:52 PM

Personally I like the storeys guides there is alot more info on there iI think than other books

ThePigeonKid · #18 07/30/13, 09:29 PM

One more Q what is a "Club Calf Sale"?