Cattle

[Clint S]

Typical of every farmer "Don't do it - no money it. No, i won't quit"...LOL
.

Money...hard to say. From what I've been able to figure out, a calf runs $400 (yes, you can buy smaller and cheaper, but you get what you pay for). You raise them about a year, maybe a big longer depending. They are about 1800-2000 lbs at slaughter (on the hoof). 1/2 of that is waste (bones, guts, etc) so you'll have 800-900 lbs of salable beef - 55c of that 2.80 is for processing, so what, 2.25 a lb - $1600 ish gross on a steer, less the 400 - $1200.

What medical and what feed for a year?

What animal grows to 2k in a year or even 18 months??????

 

[kenmac]

I think most of you guys are pretty much spot on what the guys around me are saying.
Having cows there is something to do 7 days a week, with little profit to be made.

As I have stated, I was going to do the cow /cave business where the cows have caves. Take the calves to the stock yard and sell them, but it appears it is just going be much work with little returns.
I just can't understand why these old guys around me would do so much for so little profit.

At 60 almost 61. It appears, getting into something I know nothing about is just going to be too much.
Maybe I'll just get a donkey to help with the grass.

I appreciate all the advise.

 

[stuckmotor]

It's a lot of work and you're responsible for their care and the mischief they get into 24/7. I have 26 head that's 26 more than I need.

 

[stuckmotor]

I think most of you guys are pretty much spot on what the guys around me are saying.
Having cows there is something to do 7 days a week, with little profit to be made.

As I have stated, I was going to do the cow /cave business where the cows have caves. Take the calves to the stock yard and sell them, but it appears it is just going be much work with little returns.
I just can't understand why these old guys around me would do so much for so little profit.

At 60 almost 61. It appears, getting into something I know nothing about is just going to be too much.
Maybe I'll just get a donkey to help with the grass.

I appreciate all the advise.

Wise decision.

 

[two_bit_score]

I think most of you guys are pretty much spot on what the guys around me are saying.
Having cows there is something to do 7 days a week, with little profit to be made.

As I have stated, I was going to do the cow /cave business where the cows have caves. Take the calves to the stock yard and sell them, but it appears it is just going be much work with little returns.
I just can't understand why these old guys around me would do so much for so little profit.

At 60 almost 61. It appears, getting into something I know nothing about is just going to be too much.
Maybe I'll just get a donkey to help with the grass.

I appreciate all the advise.

'A man has to know his limitations.' Harry Callahan, Magnum Force.




TBS

 

[bcp]

One of my favorites.

Bruce

 

[Clint S]

We do it here because it's what we have done. Dad enjoys it and it keeps hip young and fit. It is a family affair and we all pitch in as we can. We always have 10 to 15 and its getting to be too many. We sell 2 to 3 and keep one. We sell for $3.50 a pound hanging just pick it up. We usually break even and get our butcher bill taken care of. I will downsize to maybe 3 or 4 when the time comes and then without family it will be a losing proposition

 

[jaxs]

Typical of every farmer "Don't do it - no money it. No, i won't quit"...LOL
A co worker's husband has been doing it on the side for 40 years. He sells it as 'freezer beef' -
Money...hard to say. From what I've been able to figure out, a calf runs $400 (yes, you can buy smaller and cheaper, but you get what you pay for). You raise them about a year, maybe a big longer depending. They are about 1800-2000 lbs at slaughter (on the hoof). 1/2 of that is waste (bones, guts, etc) so you'll have 800-900 lbs of salable beef - 55c of that 2.80 is for processing, so what, 2.25 a lb - $1600 ish gross on a steer, less the 400 - $1200.

What animal grows to 2k in a year or even 18 months??????

There are none amoung beef cattle unless you include Brahman which is used in cross breeding in the Southwest. Ha ha haaa,I'll buy tickets to watch op handle Brahmans on his place. Chianina bulls surpass 2k in weight but not as yearlings and they were long ago tried and failed as beef producers. Water buffalo reach 2k (500 of which is horn,hoof and hump) and used as draft animals in some Asian countries but who would pay top dollar to eat one? I'm beginning to think this bunch of advice giving cowboys might be all hat and no cattle. :cowboy::detective::jester::reporter:

 

[Clint S]

There are none amoung beef cattle unless you include Brahman which is used in cross breeding in the Southwest. Ha ha haaa,I'll buy tickets to watch op handle Brahmans on his place. Chianina bulls surpass 2k in weight but not as yearlings and they were long ago tried and failed as beef producers. Water buffalo reach 2k (500 of which is horn,hoof and hump) and used as draft animals in some Asian countries but who would pay top dollar to eat one? I'm beginning to think this bunch of advice giving cowboys might be all hat and no cattle. :cowboy::detective::jester::reporter:

My thoughts, LOL, those numbers just don't add up. How many 1500# animals grazing on a 2 acre pasture and for how long? That is alot of forage needed or alot of supplementary feeding needed meaning $$$. Our 2 yo Herefords usually scale out between 5 and 600 hanging weight.

 

[JimP]

BCP - my wife and I are still laughing at that picture.

5 years ago we started buying locally raised beef. Than it hit, we have land, lets buy cows to raise and sell. Luckily we chose belted galloway which is a very hardy breed requiring little attention other than keeping water troughs full and dropping hay when needed. Thats good because the rest of our time is taken by land clearing, putting in new fencing, repairing fencing, getting and stacking round bales, setting up and taking down corral panels, moving cows to and from remote pasture, repairing and maintaining equipment, repairing shelters, finding dependable suppliers and more. Did I mention there is essentially no market at our local auction for anything but Angus in this area, so we have to find and maintain customers interested in grass fed and grass finished beef.

Kenmac, lots of good information in this thread. You have a fenced pasture. Is it cross fenced into smaller pastures so you can control overgrazing? Do you have water in all of the smaller pastures? A feeder for supplemental feed? A mineral feeder? Do you have a small corral to gather animals? A squeeze or another way to immobilize an animal that needs attention? Shelter for the animals? A way to move animals from a pasture to a trailer to bring them to sale or process? Is there a local processor you can use? After starting I can see why it takes generations of time or big dollars to set up the needed infrastructure. You can work around this by using portable panels and such but you still need to plan for this and move stuff around as needed.

Beef cows won't raise themselves, consider raising beef a part time job with little or no profit. However, its been a great family experience. We still laugh about the time the cows broke free at a remote pasture and we had to chase them around that town and into someones fenced back yard. Good luck with whatever you decide. Jim