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<blockquote data-quote="3legdonkey" data-source="post: 1095748" data-attributes="member: 17061"><p>At times the dead risen can have knowledge we need to know... Big grin.</p><p></p><p>So time for an update. My grand plan of doing grass fed turned into way to much of a pain so I have gone back to the sale barn. I increased the herd to 39 breeding cows and 2 bulls. My Beefmaster bull was throwing big headed calves and started to get aggressive so his nickname of hamburger was quite apt. He was sold last year and replaced with 2 Black Charolais bulls. I have lost three cows and 4 calves due to disease, birth, and one calf getting stepped on by its mother. On the plus side a few of my cows have huge bags and thus have had no issues taking another calf each and so I have been able to buy a few extra calves on the cheap.</p><p></p><p>Lessons learned:</p><p>1. Don't buy cows off of Craigslist site unseen. I made money after I held them for a bit but I got one very sick animal (one of my losses) and 4 that would never make good mothers.</p><p>2. DV Auction rocks. View the auction live, buy online, drink beer during the auction, and have them delivered that day.</p><p>3. Assume you have scours and watch carefully for the signs. And vaccinate ahead of time if possible. (I lost 2 calves to scours or my stupidity depending on your point of view)</p><p>4. Based on my current run rate and an auction price of $1.25/100wt it takes three years to start making income and 6 years to get all of your money back out of the operation (I know prices have gone up but I am not counting on it for projections).</p><p>5. If you are looking for a way to protect your savings (forget making money for the moment) cattle rock. If I sold all my cattle right now they would be worth slightly more than what I have in them including all of the extraneous expenses. VS leaving the money in the bank and earning negative interest. I have come out ahead. Then when I account for getting to write off all of the expenses on my taxes I am way ahead.</p><p></p><p>Some results:</p><p>This year (the first year I have made money) I will end up making $57 per head after all expenses. Next year I will make $282 per head if my expenses and production percentages remain the same as this year. And the next year when I am up to full production I will make $384 per head. This appears to be well above the average of $200 per head for a standard cow calf operation. But I have no land or people costs since my partner and I are doing this as a hobby and the land is long paid for.</p><p></p><p>I would love to hear other peoples lessons learned and results.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="3legdonkey, post: 1095748, member: 17061"] At times the dead risen can have knowledge we need to know... Big grin. So time for an update. My grand plan of doing grass fed turned into way to much of a pain so I have gone back to the sale barn. I increased the herd to 39 breeding cows and 2 bulls. My Beefmaster bull was throwing big headed calves and started to get aggressive so his nickname of hamburger was quite apt. He was sold last year and replaced with 2 Black Charolais bulls. I have lost three cows and 4 calves due to disease, birth, and one calf getting stepped on by its mother. On the plus side a few of my cows have huge bags and thus have had no issues taking another calf each and so I have been able to buy a few extra calves on the cheap. Lessons learned: 1. Don’t buy cows off of Craigslist site unseen. I made money after I held them for a bit but I got one very sick animal (one of my losses) and 4 that would never make good mothers. 2. DV Auction rocks. View the auction live, buy online, drink beer during the auction, and have them delivered that day. 3. Assume you have scours and watch carefully for the signs. And vaccinate ahead of time if possible. (I lost 2 calves to scours or my stupidity depending on your point of view) 4. Based on my current run rate and an auction price of $1.25/100wt it takes three years to start making income and 6 years to get all of your money back out of the operation (I know prices have gone up but I am not counting on it for projections). 5. If you are looking for a way to protect your savings (forget making money for the moment) cattle rock. If I sold all my cattle right now they would be worth slightly more than what I have in them including all of the extraneous expenses. VS leaving the money in the bank and earning negative interest. I have come out ahead. Then when I account for getting to write off all of the expenses on my taxes I am way ahead. Some results: This year (the first year I have made money) I will end up making $57 per head after all expenses. Next year I will make $282 per head if my expenses and production percentages remain the same as this year. And the next year when I am up to full production I will make $384 per head. This appears to be well above the average of $200 per head for a standard cow calf operation. But I have no land or people costs since my partner and I are doing this as a hobby and the land is long paid for. I would love to hear other peoples lessons learned and results. [/QUOTE]
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