Raising Cows for personnel consumption

[mbohuntr]

After growing up on a beef farm (~60 head), we raised summer beef.. Bought Yearlings in the spring, and left them in the pasture until fall.. You need at least 2, they like company. You should also split the pasture in half, giving one side a chance to re grow to several inches.

They will need a fresh water source, and shade. Herefords are pretty immune to cold, and only need a dry place out of the wind for the coldest weather..

You also should go to the pasture daily, check the fence for shorts, and bring a bucket of grain/molasses for each.. build a chute for loading them onto the truck, and bang on the bucket, and feed them there.. on the day you take them to the butcher shop, simply close the rear gate to the chute... and put thegrain in the truck..

 

[mbohuntr]

After growing up on a beef farm (~60 head), we raised summer beef.. Bought Yearlings in the spring, and left them in the pasture until fall.. You need at least 2, they like company. You should also split the pasture in half, giving one side a chance to re grow to several inches.

They will need a fresh water source, and shade. Herefords are pretty immune to cold, and only need a dry place out of the wind for the coldest weather..

You also should go to the pasture daily, check the fence for shorts, and bring a bucket of grain/molasses for each.. build a chute for loading them onto the truck, and bang on the bucket, and feed them there.. on the day you take them to the butcher shop, simply close the rear gate to the chute... and put thegrain in the truck..

I don't know about southern winters, but up here in NY, they will need 1 bale of hay per head/ per day for feed. Small bales....
Now you see why people said you need more land.. plus cost for hay, plus bldg to store it, plus equipment to handle manure..and maybe haying..

 

[fishheadbob]

30 years growing beefers here, 20 at a time. A lot of very valid points made in the above posts. Some observations: Not much profit to be made but you do know what you're getting. They all taste pretty much the same after their hide is off, depends mostly on how they've been fed. Different breeds grow at different rates, a large Holstein (dairy) will take longer than a smaller Hereford. No vacations unless you have competent coverage while away. Daily chores. You will learn basic veterinary skills or go broke. Flies become part of life.
While these guys don't sell your way, there are similar enterprises in lots of places. Google Lake Country Beef to see what I'm talking about.
I've come to love growing Christmas trees on the same acreage. I can go on vacation anytime except 4 weeks a year. It's a lot easier to get a customer to part with $50 for a tree than $1000 for a side. Some of the knowledge I picked up was transferable to trees. More profit in it too.

 

[ededic]

Support your local 4-H and buy one at the fair. It may be more expensive but we come and go as we please. Find a good, reliable butcher/processor.

 

[RSKY]

When growing up my parents had a 60+ acre farm that was completely fenced and always had beef cattle. All I ever ate was beef (and pork) that we had raised and carried to a slaughterhouse. By far the best tasting to us was a Jersey steer. They don't put on weight as fast as other breeds but the meat just has a better taste. The steers we raised for selling were always Angus or Herford or a cross of the two. But there was always a Jersey in the bunch.

Two things we always did before taking one to the slaughterhouse. First the steer would be penned up in the stables and fed on hay and feed made from ground corn and oats. This would take some of the smell out of the beef. Believe it or not Mom had to throw away some beef because the steer had been feasting on onions that were growing in a back field. When she would unwrap the packages the smell would hit you. Second, while penned the steer was watered with water from the well and not allowed to drink from the pond. I don't remember why he did that but I do remember having to move 300+ feet of water hose to mow the yard then move it back to water those steers.

Also see if there is an Amish or Mennonite run slaughterhouse in your area. They seem to be the best run and cleanest if not the cheapest. And if you take a beef to them you will be assured you will get your beef back and not somebody else's. We have had that problem.

After dad died and mom sold all the cattle we started buying a steer from a local farmer and had it slaughtered every year or so. The last one we bought was sight unseen. I was told the steer weighed about 800-900 pounds and we ended up with that much packaged beef. We had our freezer full, my mother's full, my in-laws' full, and one of my sister's full. That steer must have weighed a ton. Must have led a rough life too because the meat was tough. Took us three years to finally use it all.

After all this rambling I will finally get to the point. It is a lot of work tending to even one steer. Unless you have a pond or other source of water they must be watered every day. If it gets too dry during summer and during the winter you must have hay. You must have a good fence. You must have some type of shelter for the animal in winter. You must have a way to transport the animal to slaughter. You must have a loading chute or a way to get the steer into your transport. You must have enough freezer space.

Do not get a bull. Get a steer or a heifer. Sister-in-law and her husband fenced off a little section of their large yard, probably a little over a half acre, and bought a small bull calf. They were gonna save money and raise their own beef. Neither knew what they were doing. By the time it should have been carried to slaughter it had become a cute friendly pet. So they kept it, couldn't stand the thought of eating it. A few years later they have this huge animal that was getting aggressive and wasn't afraid of them. The third time it broke thru the electric fence, the reinforced woven wire and barbed wire fence, and chased my s-i-l around the yard an uncle who raised cattle told them to get rid of it or he was going to come over and shoot it. It was going to kill one of them. So I get called and it took six of us with hot sticks to get it loaded. It was carried to the stock yard and sold.

RSKY

 

[AllDodge]

Thanks much for the info, a lot of real good info. I have a lot of thinking to do and discussion with extension office. I have the room, but all the stuff that goes along with raising them is slowing me down. I knew some of it and more discussions with buddy and others will be needed prior to doing it.

The christmas tree idea isn't bad, but do like my fields of grass and have been clearing trees for some time now

 

[D2Cat]

This is in the local CL ad. I see them all the time. Might find someone like this in your area, go visit their farm and decide on what to do.

Fresh Butcher Beef for Sale - $4

Beef for Sale from Nash's Red Barn Farm

Price: $4/ lb hanging weight (feel free to contact us if you are new to purchasing butcher beef and do not know what hanging weight is in reference too). Buyer will NOT have to pay any slaughter fees in addition to the $4lb/ hanging weight price. Cows will be processed through Easton Locker slaughter house, and custom slaughtering is included in the price.

Deposit: We request a deposit from first time buyers to ensure that we do not lose money paying slaughter fees for beef with no buyer. We request a $100 deposit when purchasing a quarter side of beef, a $200 deposit when purchasing a side of beef, and a $300 deposit when purchasing a whole cow. Ideally, customers will supply us with a deposit check; the check will be held (not cashed) until delivery. Upon delivery, customers can supply the remaining balance, minus the deposit quantity.

Quantity: We are looking to sell two cows worth of butcher beef in the quantities of either quarter, sides, or whole cows. Estimated hanging weight for purchase quantities are as follows: Quarter ~100-150 lbs, Side ~200-300 lbs, Whole Cow ~ 400-600 lbs.

Quality: We have raised these cows from calves. Antibiotics are not utilized during the finishing process. Cows are finished the last 90 days with grain. Our cows render high quality, lean low-fat beef.

Timeline: We will deliver the beef to your residence, or you are welcome to pick the beef up directly from the slaughter house in Easton. Cows to be sold are scheduled to be delivered to the slaughter house Dec. 16th; available for delivery on December 29th.

About the Farmer: Nash's Red Barn Farm has been in operation since 2002. In addition to beef, we also harvest cage free eggs that are sold through the Merc in Lawrence. I love farming and do my best to produce quality animals for my local community.

 

[LouNY]

That is a very low price for what the customer is getting, that would not even be break even pricing around here.

 

[Trillium Farm]

Thanks for your thoughts, but I'm thinking actually one cow. Only reason to think of maybe 2 is buddy has 40 acres. Don't need a cow to get full grown, just enough to get some good meat out of it. Most the meat I buy at the market, its full of fat. Get a rib eye and loose almost 1/3 in fat. We currently get chuck, brisket and round and grind our own ground beef because the GB in the markets do not look good, and the stuff that does they want almost what steak cost

Get 2 even if you need only 1. Calves do better if they have company, LouNY has given you very good advice. Your aim with 2 animals is to sell the 2nd to break even on the 1st

 

[cat fever]

The negative comments about raising your own beef surprise me. :confused3:

I have raised 1-2 calves a year for over 20 years. I do not find it that time consuming and I've only needed a vet a few times in all those years.

I do agree good fences will be a must.

This has been my practice;

Buy weaned calves in the fall. 5-6 months old, I usually go with Angus or similar beef breed.

Feed/graze until the next fall. The last 2-3 months get them on grain with a Bloat block and in a small pen. I like end of November or first of December to get them butchered. ( I like mine to age for a minimum of 3 weeks)

For a short time you would have 4 calves.

I sell 1 and half and keep the other half for my wife and I. The money I make usually pays for the 2 new calves bought each year and pays for the butcher. So I get my beef for free. I sold everything to co-workers. They knew what and how I fed/raised them. (retired now but they still buy from me)

Like I said, I've done this for over 20 years. I have moved and have more land now so I plan to raise about 10-15 cows and sell most of the calves each year.

Do NOT name the calves, your kids might not want to eat their pet.:licking: The only name ours ever had was Ribeye or T-Bone.:laughing:

Good luck, I find the whole process therapeutic.