Am I crazy? buying land for cattle ????

[Ohio Cowboy]

so 1 calf every yr out of 20 cows and a bull..or ai em...makes ya 20k less expenses..+/-...

I think it could be done..but I don't think 25 ac will support 40 animals... 20 cows/20 calfs. every 6 mos they gotta go..every one..then 4 -6 mos later another crop...land will be beat to death just them walking it..and it wont make nearly as much grass as they will eat..it never does..

That's what I thought. What part of the country can you run that many pairs on 25 acres without turning it into stomped and grazed down dirt? My little 40 acres is loaded down with 6 pairs and a bull.

Im in farm county, great soil for growing. That is why a vast majority plant crops not cattle. I know several people in the area that keep 12 pair on ten acres here. All about MIG.
Also mine will only be on grass during the warm months. I have a nice barn setup on my place and its to easy to feed in the winter to not bring them home. Also i cattle will not have to pay for the entire place. I do have a great day job that more then allows me to pay for it. I was just looking for some thoughts.

 

[M.Magis]

I'm curious what part of Ohio? Here in southeast/east central Ohio, it would be very difficult to support that many. In other parts of Ohio (central), with good attention to soil fertility, it's probably more likely. But I'd keep your fences in top shape. I do have a neighbor nearing those numbers, but he has excess hay that he supplements with. And his pasture is overgrazed.
As long as you don't have everything depending on the cattle paying for the place, I'd do it. You have to assume prices won't hold for the next 30 years. You can also venture into selling halves/wholes to city people if you're close enough. That can certainly increase your profits, assuming you don't mind with dealing with people.

 

[AdamsCreek]

so 1 calf every yr out of 20 cows and a bull..or ai em...makes ya 20k less expenses..+/-...

I think it could be done..but I don't think 25 ac will support 40 animals... 20 cows/20 calfs. every 6 mos they gotta go..every one..then 4 -6 mos later another crop...land will be beat to death just them walking it..and it wont make nearly as much grass as they will eat..it never does..

That's what I thought. What part of the country can you run that many pairs on 25 acres without turning it into stomped and grazed down dirt? My little 40 acres is loaded down with 6 pairs and a bull.

Im in farm county, great soil for growing. That is why a vast majority plant crops not cattle. I know several people in the area that keep 12 pair on ten acres here. All about MIG.
Also mine will only be on grass during the warm months. I have a nice barn setup on my place and its to easy to feed in the winter to not bring them home. Also i cattle will not have to pay for the entire place. I do have a great day job that more then allows me to pay for it. I was just looking for some thoughts.

10-4 buddy. If you can do it without breaking their teeth and starving them go for it. I'm jealous of anybody that can stock at that rate.

 

[bigbull338]

ok if you can buy the land and make the yearly payments without straining yourself then i would buy the land.the calf sales will support the cows.plus they may even make some of they payment.

 

[Stocker Steve]

All about MIG. Also mine will only be on grass during the warm months.

Pretty easy to summer a pair on 1.0 to 1.2 acres of cool season improved grass. The complications are:
what are your input costs,
how heavy is the pair,
how long is your MIG season...

 

[dieselbeef]

it wont work out like ya hope..but id buy it anyways..wish I could buy the 30 ac adjoining my prop I lease now..but it is 5k and ac and I cant swing it..so I lease it...

 

[Supa Dexta]

And when you have an odd weather year where your pastures don't perform.. Like I'm having this year, grass is struggling already only 5 weeks into grazing season. I stock heavy and normally can get away with it, but this year the grass just isn't coming on. Good news is I have excess hay land this year, so it'll cover me.

 

[dieselbeef]

id still buy it..owning real estate is good for your net worth

 

[backhoeboogie]

You can buy land with cattle... but you need a lot of cattle to buy a little land... and a good primary source of income just in case.

Why not both? I disagree with the "lot of cattle part". You have to know which land to buy and know what kind of dirt is there. Don't buy barren land.

Buy something that has been depressed. It takes a few years to get good ground into production. Restore infrastructure. Then someone else wants to buy you out. Flip it and do it again. $392,000 profit this time, just on the land. Gotta roll it into more land or else pay capital gains. Gotta sell over $100K worth of cows if I don't have some place to move them too.

Yes. I bought land. Dang good thing too.

 

[Brute 23]

Your the man backhoe... you should have your own infomercial.

I can help you with those cattle. Would you like to pawn them or sell them?

 

[backhoeboogie]

No need to pawn them Brute.

I've got access to a 20 acre place but that's only going to hold them over. Grass won't last a month. I am looking to buy another place but there's probably not going to be grazing if I buy depressed land again. But I could get lucky. Already have plenty of hay for the winter. Just need something to sustain them. Don't know of any leases around but I could come across one. I would much rather be in less of a need when people see me coming.

In my life I have seen many places I would like to own. I've never bought them. I've always bought something that was not appealing and made it work. Ya I'm cheap. But its worked. Worked me to death too.

Current calf prices have kept me in the black, even tho I was in debt and making payments. No mineral rights came with this land when I bought it. That's the shame of it.

People were mostly speaking in absolutes, in regard to the original poster. As you know, there really aren't any absolutes. Find a deal. Pass of the pretty pieces. Get something and make it pretty.

 

[Ohio Cowboy]

People were mostly speaking in absolutes, in regard to the original poster. As you know, there really aren't any absolutes. Find a deal. Pass of the pretty pieces. Get something and make it pretty.

Thats about it right there. Yeah maybe i wont be able to stock that many pairs, all i can go on is what the people who have been doing it for years around me say and give it a go. This piece was bought by the current owner in the early 90's for not much less then im am trying to get it bought for. They farmed it untill the past 5 year. Since then it just a grass field. All i need is some fence and then a show cattle rancher to buy me out

 

[backhoeboogie]

People were mostly speaking in absolutes, in regard to the original poster. As you know, there really aren't any absolutes. Find a deal. Pass of the pretty pieces. Get something and make it pretty.

Thats about it right there. Yeah maybe i wont be able to stock that many pairs, all i can go on is what the people who have been doing it for years around me say and give it a go. This piece was bought by the current owner in the early 90's for not much less then im am trying to get it bought for. They farmed it untill the past 5 year. Since then it just a grass field. All i need is some fence and then a show cattle rancher to buy me out

Too many times in my youth I missed deals because I was over extended elsewhere. Then again when you have capital everyone comes out of the woodwork trying to take advantage of it.

If you want this piece of land, and you can swing it, it is your nickels. I have never lost money buying land. Even land I paid too much for turned me profit. Better to buy land than buy a sports car or other toy.

I don't know the land market there nor do I know the cattle market there.

You seem set on this one piece. Why not work more than one piece?

 

[bball]

People were mostly speaking in absolutes, in regard to the original poster. As you know, there really aren't any absolutes. Find a deal. Pass of the pretty pieces. Get something and make it pretty.

Thats about it right there. Yeah maybe i wont be able to stock that many pairs, all i can go on is what the people who have been doing it for years around me say and give it a go. This piece was bought by the current owner in the early 90's for not much less then im am trying to get it bought for. They farmed it untill the past 5 year. Since then it just a grass field. All i need is some fence and then a show cattle rancher to buy me out

Too many times in my youth I missed deals because I was over extended elsewhere. Then again when you have capital everyone comes out of the woodwork trying to take advantage of it.

If you want this piece of land, and you can swing it, it is your nickels. I have never lost money buying land. Even land I paid too much for turned me profit. Better to buy land than buy a sports car or other toy.

I don't know the land market there nor do I know the cattle market there.

You seem set on this one piece. Why not work more than one piece?

Amen!

 

[Greenwood Forest]

I'm in the camp that buying land is generally a good investment. In Ohio the profit may be more geared to crops than cattle, but you're not likely to actually lose money on you initial investment. You'll always got that asset. Rural land has been a great investment in most of the country for many years now. Less volatile than stocks, taxes (at least here) are not bad, and you have a real asset.

I sometimes wonder if some of that farmland in Iowa etc, is getting into a bubble, as the cost/acre is nuts. That would be my only caution. Here in Oklahoma, land has been one of my best ever investments. In 1999 we paid $400/acre, which was a steal even at that time. (place needed some cleaning up) Now, everything is around $1200-1500 for larger places, and more for smaller acreages. Probably sounds cheap to most folks, but this is not great farmland, in general. Great for cattle, though. And the best part, its all mine, and I get to live on it.

Oh, the first time you spot an eastern red cedar, torture it, kill it, and burn it!