Cattle Questions

[strutter]

Who here raises cattle. I have good bit of family land that is already fenced and has had cattle on it before. I am thinking about getting a few cows for me and my kids to raise. Any advice??

[MudHog]

If your planning to sell at the sale barn, Angus has the highest prices. Sell at around 800 lbs to get the best return. You will get more per pound at a smaller weight, but your check will be smaller.

You can either do commercial cattle or registered cattle and either sale barn or private sale.


Do you have a tractor, what would be your plans for Winter feeding (hay). You can either bale your own or buy. Round bales are around $25/bale here and square bales are around $5/bale. Do you have water on the property?

[DanP]

Here's a little video in the grazing/management strategy we are utilizing in Yazoo County. https://vimeo.com/80518559

If your kids are involved definitely get them in 4H. Incredible learning opportunity.

[stang67]

I've got some cattleman blood in me from a couple generations back. I've spent hours reading about and watching YouTube vids about mob grazing and the soil impacts. I'd love to give it a shot one day, but that seems like a pipe dream at this point.

Look for videos from Gene Sollock. He's another guy that has mastered this. Lots of Gabe Brown vids online too.

Cool to see someone doing it in the Sip! Thanks for posting that, Dan!

[eSJay]

That's good stuff Dan!

[Chuckle12]

My mom's side of the family are cattle ranchers. I grew up working cattle on horseback all summer and moving on/off rye grass in the winter months. That's a great video. Major change to the old way of doing things.

[StraightUp]

In the early 1980's I worked with a guy in Yazoo county who started this philosophy of intensive grazing. He learned it from New Zealand. Everyone thought he was crazy. I knew after two years he was on to something. It is amazing what clover and vetch will do to restore the health of your soil if your will quit putting out synthetic fertilizer. The folks at MS Chemical weren't too enthused with the idea.

[hillhunter]

One thing to consider if you've never owned cattle. They are living, breathing animals that need feed and water everyday just like a family pet. When it's raining like it has been the last couple of days, do you want to be out there feeding, putting out hay, trying to save a baby calf potentially? Going by there pretty much everyday to check on them, whether you had plans or not. Or do you mind getting a call before your going to go out on the lake saying that your cattle are out of the fence..... Woops no more lake time today.

Not trying to run you down or the cattle business down, but if your going to truly run it as a business, or even if you're not, then the questions above are really something to consider. I grew up with both sides of my family in the cattle business, and at times it's a great business and fun to be in, but it does take more commitment than some folks think. If your ready to sacrifice some of your leisure time for some big animals that you will wind up cussing half the time then I say go for it. If your weekends are already filled up with the lake, travel ball, hunting, etc, then you may want to reconsider. If not then your about to go on an adventure that will teach your kids about responsibility, hard work, rewards for their effort, and life experiences they won't learn in school.

Also, you will probably at minimum need access to a tractor to feed hay with, you will need to buy hay, figure 2-3 bales per head per year depending on your grazing program. It's SLOW turn around on your money. Sound like your not looking at more than a few head.... Don't let some guy talk you into hay equipment. Every situation is different but most years it's cheaper to buy it than to raise it. Don't buy heifers if you haven't ever done it and can't check them regularly.

Side note.... I don't currently own any cattle. We sold all of ours four years ago, but starting to miss it and wanting to buy some more. We still have most of the hay equipment and feeders, but still not sure it's worth it to jump back in right now.

[Agua]

Dad raised them as a side line while I was growing up, which meant they were a part of my daily chorses too.

They're a PiTA. They're not quite as bad about getting out of fences as goats, but they're not far from it. You'll spend your spare time checking / mending fences, worming them, helping deliver calves, chasing down that bull that keeps finding a way to get through your fence, etc.. You can make some money with it, but they're kind of expensive to keep up between purchase and sale.

[kb7722]

And don't forget about vet bills. My parents were dairy farmers; therefore I am an engineer. I did learn about hard work and how important an education was. So it could be a valuable experience for your children.

One thing to consider if you've never owned cattle. They are living, breathing animals that need feed and water everyday just like a family pet. When it's raining like it has been the last couple of days, do you want to be out there feeding, putting out hay, trying to save a baby calf potentially? Going by there pretty much everyday to check on them, whether you had plans or not. Or do you mind getting a call before your going to go out on the lake saying that your cattle are out of the fence..... Woops no more lake time today.

Not trying to run you down or the cattle business down, but if your going to truly run it as a business, or even if you're not, then the questions above are really something to consider. I grew up with both sides of my family in the cattle business, and at times it's a great business and fun to be in, but it does take more commitment than some folks think. If your ready to sacrifice some of your leisure time for some big animals that you will wind up cussing half the time then I say go for it. If your weekends are already filled up with the lake, travel ball, hunting, etc, then you may want to reconsider. If not then your about to go on an adventure that will teach your kids about responsibility, hard work, rewards for their effort, and life experiences they won't learn in school.

Also, you will probably at minimum need access to a tractor to feed hay with, you will need to buy hay, figure 2-3 bales per head per year depending on your grazing program. It's SLOW turn around on your money. Sound like your not looking at more than a few head.... Don't let some guy talk you into hay equipment. Every situation is different but most years it's cheaper to buy it than to raise it. Don't buy heifers if you haven't ever done it and can't check them regularly.

Side note.... I don't currently own any cattle. We sold all of ours four years ago, but starting to miss it and wanting to buy some more. We still have most of the hay equipment and feeders, but still not sure it's worth it to jump back in right now.

[farmboy]

https://www.stockmangrassfarmer.com This will take you to a site that is food for thought it's not main stream but does have some good info along with a lot of bull no pun intended what the others have said is on target if you have cows there is always something you need to do.

[DoublePslayer]

One thing to consider if you've never owned cattle. They are living, breathing animals that need feed and water everyday just like a family pet. When it's raining like it has been the last couple of days, do you want to be out there feeding, putting out hay, trying to save a baby calf potentially? Going by there pretty much everyday to check on them, whether you had plans or not. Or do you mind getting a call before your going to go out on the lake saying that your cattle are out of the fence..... Woops no more lake time today.

Not trying to run you down or the cattle business down, but if your going to truly run it as a business, or even if you're not, then the questions above are really something to consider. I grew up with both sides of my family in the cattle business, and at times it's a great business and fun to be in, but it does take more commitment than some folks think. If your ready to sacrifice some of your leisure time for some big animals that you will wind up cussing half the time then I say go for it. If your weekends are already filled up with the lake, travel ball, hunting, etc, then you may want to reconsider. If not then your about to go on an adventure that will teach your kids about responsibility, hard work, rewards for their effort, and life experiences they won't learn in school.

Also, you will probably at minimum need access to a tractor to feed hay with, you will need to buy hay, figure 2-3 bales per head per year depending on your grazing program. It's SLOW turn around on your money. Sound like your not looking at more than a few head.... Don't let some guy talk you into hay equipment. Every situation is different but most years it's cheaper to buy it than to raise it. Don't buy heifers if you haven't ever done it and can't check them regularly.

Side note.... I don't currently own any cattle. We sold all of ours four years ago, but starting to miss it and wanting to buy some more. We still have most of the hay equipment and feeders, but still not sure it's worth it to jump back in right now.

This is really good advice. I grew up messing with cows since my dad always had them, and I bought 30 head a few years back before the prices got high, so i kind of hit it at the right time. I had a lot more spare time then than i do now, but i still get everything done. The part about getting called that they are out will definitely happen, and probably more than once. Make sure you have liability insurance on them. It shouldn't be much, but if one get out and gets run over, make sure you accidentally left the gate open. Iv'e heard of more than one insurance adjuster try to blame the dead cow/totaled vehicle on a negligent rancher due to a hole in the fence and not pay. The truth is unless you have a concrete wall 6 inches thick, and 10 feet tall, a cow will find a way to get through it if they want to. I usually get around my fences at least once a week looking for a hole, and try to stay ahead of the problem. But my day is coming i'm sure. Probably get called before the day is up now. If you don't have a solid catch pen, build one before you get the cows. You'll need it eventually.

And spend some time out there with them. It will make them easier to handle when you need to get them up. I'll pull up in the middle of them in the truck/rhino and just park for awhile. We keep a back or two of feed at all times just for this, and i always make them come to me to get a bite to eat.

[britton]

What's the average price per acre to lease pasture?

[hillhunter]

$10-30 per acre in most places