how to make a living raising a beef farm

[tedpugh1]

just curious on how to turn my hobby beef farm into a profitable business. Something i have always wanted to do. Open to all suggestions. Currently i have 14 black angus and all the hay equipment and facility. I have my own bull also.

 

[MMagis]

How much property? How much room for growth? Your best bet is may be to start selling freezer beef by the whole, half, or quarter. There are a variety of ways it can be handled, depending on preference, as well as local regulations. A local processor should be able to help in that regard. I don’t think you will ever make much profit on that scale, but I think freezer beef usually provides the best price. It also requires more work compared to sending a load to the sale barn once a year.
How are you operating now? Just commercial cow/calf I would assume? Are you losing a lot, or just trying to make a little more?

 

[crash325]

just curious on how to turn my hobby beef farm into a profitable business. Something i have always wanted to do. Open to all suggestions. Currently i have 14 black angus and all the hay equipment and facility. I have my own bull also.

I'm no expert, so this is just food for thought.

Talk to some local butchers. Maybe some or 1 of them can butcher & sell your beef.

Maybe get it butchered and sell it yourself.

Yearlings & long yearling use to do real well at cattle auctions. And Angus should be a hot seller.

You have a good start, but to make some real money you will need more cows. If your property will support them.

Have Fun

 

[IronHog]

just curious on how to turn my hobby beef farm into a profitable business. Something i have always wanted to do. Open to all suggestions. Currently i have 14 black angus and all the hay equipment and facility. I have my own bull also.

There isn't money in cows.....there is money in people that think there is money in cows.

 

[creekbend]

HobbyFarms.com I am editing this post by adding additional info that I previously failed to include. In the Search section on the homepage of the website posted, type in "Processing beef for sale" and then go to "How to process livestock".This may be helpful. Best wishes in your endeavor.

 

[pjbci]

There isn't money in cows.....there is money in people that think there is money in cows.

I think thats true with most farming operations. I've planted over 20,000 acres in the last 25 yrs and had beef cows also. I made a tremondous amount of money for everybody except me. The tractor dealers, the parts house, the fuel suppliers, the chemical companys, seed suppliers, etc. Never did seem to have much leftover for me after everybody else got paid.

I hope you can make it work, but its not easy to make enough profit to live off of.

 

[creekbend]

You will have a very difficult time in obtaining the services of your local butcher in slaughtering and processing your beef for sale. Sanitation procedures, animal welfare, waste disposal; etc are many of the various concerns that will impede the services of your local butcher. Research your State and local regulations. If you cross State lines when selling your processed product, this will enter the Federal arena. My Father had part interest in a Custom Packing plant - aka slaughter house. We even had a Federal inspector on hand. I worked in all the aspects of the operation - from the kill floor, to the hide room, to the gut room, to the processing, and to the wrapping.

 

[creekbend]

BTW, best wishes. I tried to post another informative website, but it wasn't successful.

 

[RickB]

You will have a very difficult time in obtaining the services of your local butcher in slaughtering and processing your beef for sale. Sanitation procedures, animal welfare, waste disposal; etc are many of the various concerns that will impede the services of your local butcher. Research your State and local regulations. If you cross State lines when selling your processed product, this will enter the Federal arena. My Father had part interest in a Custom Packing plant - aka slaughter house. We even had a Federal inspector on hand. I worked in all the aspects of the operation - from the kill floor, to the hide room, to the gut room, to the processing, and to the wrapping.

The USDA stamp comes into play long before the meat crosses a state line. Pretty much anything that gets sold after slaughter is supposed to have a USDA inspection.

 

[RickB]

There isn't money in cows.....there is money in people that think there is money in cows.

That's so true.