Neighbor's cattle profits

[1982vett]

How hard can it be to let them eat grass all day?

Pretty hard when it won't rain....

[herofan]

He forgot the cost of the tractor,hay equip, bull cost just to name couple of things.

His equipment has all been paid off for several years, so their was no actual money out of pocket recently.

There is taxes, fuel, fertilizer, repair's, vet supplies insurance and so on.
I can barely fill a tractor for a 100 dollar bill much less cut rake and bale hay.
Everytime he cranks a vehicle of any kind for the operation it has a cost.
This sounds like another classic case of the guy not knowing his input cost.

He was including his fuel cost in the hay prices. He didn't fertilize this year, and I assume his vet bills, if he had any, were included in his other $1000. I agree with keeping up with expenses. Some people spend on the farm all year and then get a lump sum when they sell something and act like they're rich. On the other hand, it appears that cattle could be like the movie industry. I've read that the production companies often claim that a movie technically didn't make any money even if it's a blockbuster.

Like I said, i haven't sold any yet, but aside from the cost of buying the heifers and fencing, there hasn't been any major expenses. We have a tractor and a few pieces of essential equipment that has been paid off for years. It doesn't look like a farm machinery show when you pull up to my farm and I'm not driving a new pick-up truck. I did have a flat tire on the tractor, but that didn't set me back too much. If it's costing more than i realize, it's not coming out of my bank account, so maybe someone else is paying it for me.

Like my brother says, mine is just a bare bones operation; maybe that is what makes the difference. I have a neighbor, for example, who planted around 20 acres of corn recently, and the equipment he had was huge. It looked like it had been beamed in from Star Trek. I can't imagine what it cost. If it had been me, I would have been satisfied with dusting the cobwebs off my grandfather's old two-row planter. It might not have been pretty, but my bank account would have appreciated it more.

As for my other neighbor, just for the sake of argument, if his expense amount was quadrupled, he still made $8000. I have trouble believing he overlooked $4500 in expenses, but even if he did, $8000 is still a nice hunk of "extra" money for a hobby operation of 20 cows.

[salebarn junkie]

He forgot the cost of the tractor,hay equip, bull cost just to name couple of things.

His equipment has all been paid off for several years, so their was no actual money out of pocket recently.

There is taxes, fuel, fertilizer, repair's, vet supplies insurance and so on.
I can barely fill a tractor for a 100 dollar bill much less cut rake and bale hay.
Everytime he cranks a vehicle of any kind for the operation it has a cost.
This sounds like another classic case of the guy not knowing his input cost.

Did he pay for all the equipment with profit from cattle?

[mwj]

Figure in the land cost to run them and we will talk about the profit Run out and buy or lease a couple of sections and buy you some of them ''dirt cheap'' pairs and you can get rich along with your neighbor.

[Bigfoot]

When I am selling calves I think to myself "I couldn't make it with out em". When. I am buying supplies I think "wow I would have some money in the bank if I didn't have these cattle". Trust me he is not netting that much.

[Isomade]

Oh for crying out loud, if it was that be nice easy to make money in the cattle business banks would be throwing money a folks left and right to help em get started, people with deep pockets would have cattle on every hill.
The school of hard knocks is about to be in session for some of you. Thank God for a Dad with experience and wisdom or I'd have been in a heap of trouble. It looks dam easy on paper to anyone starting out, school is in session.

[gonzo]

Oh for crying out loud, if it was that be nice easy to make money in the cattle business banks would be throwing money a folks left and right to help em get started, people with deep pockets would have cattle on every hill.
The school of hard knocks is about to be in session for some of you. Thank God for a Dad with experience and wisdom or I'd have been in a heap of trouble. It looks dam easy on paper to anyone starting out, school is in session.

THANKYOU ISO ,YOU HIT THE NAIL ON THE HEAD.

[wbvs58]

Hey, but does it all matter, 20 females is a nice hobby, and what hobby doesn't cost you heaps of money. At least with cattle there is usually a pay day. That $14000 return is a nice lump sum to get in one hit, sort of like compulsory saving. Most of us in a situation like this are not overly concerned about the input, it is our entertainment. Pay day is just a nice bonus.
Ken

[Black and Good]

To me the best thing about them is them. My business owns them so it helps me charge rent to the cattle and etc,. But one thing that helps some people, is they are a good way to gather up money that you would not have save up on your own. JMHO I always figure I've got $400 in a calf the day his mom breeds back,then I start charging the next one.

[Caustic Burno]

Oh for crying out loud, if it was that be nice easy to make money in the cattle business banks would be throwing money a folks left and right to help em get started, people with deep pockets would have cattle on every hill.
The school of hard knocks is about to be in session for some of you. Thank God for a Dad with experience and wisdom or I'd have been in a heap of trouble. It looks dam easy on paper to anyone starting out, school is in session.

Aint that the truth. The test is going to be given before the lesson.
Haven't seen the figures in a couple of years the national average was a 100 dollar's a head profit a year.

[JSCATTLE]

I make good money on my cows but it ain't from selling calves .

[1982vett]

Figure in the land cost to run them and we will talk about the profit Run out and buy or lease a couple of sections and buy you some of them ''dirt cheap'' pairs and you can get rich along with your neighbor.

Come on now....EVERYONE knows land has been an investment of its own for 40 years. Agriculture is just a tool used to reduce taxes in order to be able to afford to own it.

[kjonesel]

I've started my heard 5 years ago from scratch, equipment, cows, everything. I am just now preparing to sell 3 yearling bulls which would be my first income beside some extra hay I've had. On the flip side we have had freezer beef, obtained hay equipment which was all purchased cash, so it is virtually impossible to have a true cost. And I know of noone who keeps track of their actual time, that's right I forgot to log the time that I spent checking on a cow this morning to see if she calved.

[TennesseeTuxedo]

Well, did she?

[herofan]

So, it appears that some feel that you don't make much money with cattle, and if you think you do ok, you are wrong. My grandfather must have been cheating. He passed away in the 80s, but he ran cattle on this farm for 50 years and not only made a living, but apparently made good money, I would go as far as to say they were fairly wealthy by the 70s. Neither he nor my grandmother worked public work. They were very frugal and didn't spend much. He bought a Ferguson tractor and a few pieces of equipment in the 50s and retained those the rest of his life. I can think of several old farmers from that generation who were known to have a lot of money and never did anything but farm. Have times now changed to the point one can't make anything?