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Bigdog13; I left a similar job description just this past year. Location was Colorado, 25 hd. cow/calf grass fed operation. We held over yearlings to sell to a grass finisher for direct marketing. Most of our hay was put up by a custom operator for sale to horsy people, we retained some of the...

$245.00 minus $135.00 overheads(my costs including: meds, vet, feed, pasture lease, fuel, interest, insurance. Does not include my labor, death loss or opportunity cost). Profit of $110.00 or a ROI of 9%. That was paying top dollar for a replacement. Replacements can be had for less money if...

You might be right cross_7 if you are having order buyers fill a ticket for you. We would be sitting in the sales ouselves and buying undervalued calves, probably as singles or two or threes. If a person is willing to sit all the way thru a sale, there are bargains to be had especially towards...

I tried answering but somehow I lost my post. There are only 3 ways to increase profit in any business; 1. Increase Margin 2. Reduce Overhead 3. Increase Units Since we can only work with what we have, and in this case we have no land, no cattle and little cash ;), buying more...

I am planning on purchasing light weight, 300-400 lb. calves from the local sale barns to pre-condition and background to 500# and then turn. I think I can easily do 4 turns per year, thus increasing the number of units turned for increased profit. This is in extreme South Central Iowa. My...

I have some questions for the Backgrounders in this group.and any other work that needs to be done. Let me start by saying that my experience is limited to stockers and all natural cow/calf. I'm just about to pull the trigger on some calves for pre-conditioning and backgrounding. I'm planning...

The standard answer here is "it depends". My advice would be to spend some time in prayer about it all first and ponder this scripture: Jeremiah 29 vs.11-14. If you can figure out what you were created to do and then do that, you'll be the happiest person on earth. Good Luck.

If you truly want this to be a profitable business and not a hobby, you should do you and your family a a huge favor and invest in some education that will help make this venture profitable. Sign up and attend "Ranching for Profit" school, put on by Ranch Management Consultants. This will be...

The most profitable ranchers don't own any land, cattle or equipment. Think about that awhile. A small operator would be money ahead to buy in his hay(fertilizer and micro nutrients), avoid the money and time involved in growing and making hay, and use his hay fields to run more cattle...

Another question for MM or somebody that knows: Here in Iowa the state has a Green and Gold Tag program. It certifies the calf has received a round of specific vaccinations(green tag) and two rounds(gold tag) and has been weaned for a minimum of 45 and 60 days, respectively. All shots...

.....or we can develope a plan for it. Profitable and sustainable ranching enterprises in the west have drought plans in place for droughty conditions. Sometimes this means de-stocking, selling off all livestock, or leasing more grass, sometimes several states away, or a combination of the...

Why couldn't a person wean them off calf starter by introducing hay to them to build the correct rumen microbes and then kick them out on grass and forego the cost of grain? †

Thanks. I'm also needing to figure in pasture lease costs and fuel. I want to do a comparison to buying stockers. †

Thanks Suzeorse. So maybe 2 50# bags of replacer, 2 50# bags of starter and 6# of grain for 5 months is about a 1/2 ton, or rather, 1000#. Are you buying your grain from a feed store or getting it from a mill? Mixed grains or straight? I'm thinking maybe $25. for meds, vacs, wormer and a...

Does anyone have a handle on costs to get bucket calves to pasture? Purchase price aside, how much milk replacer, meds, calf starter and grain is required to get them from 2-3 days old to weaned and on straight pasture? Thanks. †

Thanks Steve. Would you recommend fully insuring your stockers or just a percentage of the herd? And at what replacement cost, purchase price of replacements or your expected price at time of sale? Thanks!!!

What type of insurance are you referring to?

Sorry to hear about that Todd, but it sounds like you made a prudent decision that will allow you to stay in the game when the rain comes again(it will). Perhaps you can take your sale proceeds and purchase some silver to help you: 1) save for a future cattle purchase and 2) help preserve your...

I'm in the process of straightening out the tire situation here also. I decided to change out the dually rims on my flat bed trailer and also on the smaller stock trailer to 16" rims so that they match the tires on my two trucks. Purchase new tires for the trucks and rotate the older ones...

As far as Hi-Tensile being a PITA, I suppose it is all a matter of perspective. Compared to Barbed Wire, the installation, life-span, strength and durability, cost, not to mention it's ability to be electrified makes HT a dream. Compared to 14ga. or Polywire for temporary use, ease of...