cattle

[kringo]

Hi all its me (kringo) again. I think we settled on a couple of different choises. 1, would have to be the Angus and the other would be the white face. As far as some of your questions I appreciate them and hope this will inspire more answers to your que.and more que. for me. We will be having approx. 65 acres. I will be also letting the cattle graze grass as well as feeding them corn, hay alpha, and poss. soy beans. Our intentions are to start in the spring poss. sell some in the fall and/or keep till the next. I have the prop. to grow my own corn and hay/alpha and the resources to purc. the beans. Any idea on were a good start would be to get the cows???? An auction?? or A private farm??? (good points and bad). We are looking at starting small about 20 to start. Is that a good sizew to start with?? Any idea on what they will be running to purchase?? I've heard around $200. Does that sound right?? Also will my acreage be enough to handle them?? I guess I should have started by saying we were going to have 4 different pastures all that measure 240' x 190', some may be bigger not sure on that but we can change later. I've looked into the round bales, water tanks and bunk feeders so they won't be just eating grass.
thanks for the help I need all I can get bye for know

[Jena]

You need to keep your money in your pocket for awhile

Feeder calves (not cows, those are momma cows) will cost you at least $500.

Your pastures are about 1 acre. 20 head will totally strip them of grass in short order. I don't graze just feeder calves, so I am not sure what you'll need, but I graze 30 cow per acre per day on an intensive rotational grazing. They graze each paddock for 3 days and don't return for at least 30. Continuous grazing I could do about 40 head on 80 acres.

If you can find an honest farmer, buy from the farm. If you buy at a sale barn, take someone experienced with you. Anything goes at the sale barn...sick or whatever. It doesn't sound like you have enough experience to make a good buy there. Be careful on the farm as well. Some people make a nice living by buying and selling lots of cattle. They are really just a sale barn, but a little slower. Ask around and find someone who raises cattle reputably.

I still suggest that you start slow...like 5 head to see how it goes. You will learn alot and spend less to do it. Things might look good on paper, but until you actually do it...

Jena

[pointer_hunter]

Starting smaller would be a good idea. If it doesn't work out, or you just don't like it there's not too much of a loss. Also, you said you were going with the 1 Angus 2 white face. Are you partial to the Angus? You will pay for the color. You can get a Hereford for less then an Angus but equal quality. You can then breed to an Angus bull and your offspring will be the black baldies. Then you can sell them as Angus beef because their hide is black (I'll never really understand that thought process ).

I would not go to an auction...there normally is a reason that animal is there. I would buy from a reputable breeder. You may even talk them into selling you cows already bred. Two for the price of one!

[uncle Will in In.]

To show a profit with beef cows raising calves to sell, you can't put much boughten feed in them. The biggest profit maker you have is good pasture. If you put too many head on the pasture you will have to feed hay with it. Hay is worth quite a bit, even if it came off your own ground.
A cow with a calf will need at least 2 acres of good pasture. 2 acres is over 80,000 square feet. If you have extra pasture it is a good thing because they can graze on it during the winter, even with a little snow on the ground. Herfords are nice cattle to handle but breeding them to an angus bull will make the calves worth more per pound.
This a poor time to go into cattle very heavily. They are higher priced now than they have been forever. Cattle prices have gone up and down through history with a few years between the highs and lows. In other words if you can't afford to take a big loose it's best not to gamble.