Any Advice for Starting New Ranch

[Williams80487]

I've been working for other people on THEIR ranches. We've been tossing around the idea of starting our own place because we figure "Stop looking for the perfect job, make it". Any advice would be great. We've also been trying to find out if there's government grants out there... Thanks for the help yall.

 

[shaz]

Need more info:
Location
What kind of ranch? Cow calf? Stocker?
Cattle farming is a cash flow problem. You end up with alot of assets and little cash and in the startup phase it be be really bad if your starting from nothing.

 

[Williams80487]

Georgia. Probably cow/calf. My opinion is that there's a growing potential in the grassfed markets. I know more about a stocker opperation.

 

[Thinbluelinetx]

IMO it depends on if you're leasing the land or buying it. Depending on the price of land in your area, it would take half a lifetime to pay off the mortgage with profits from cattle. Also if you encounter a catastrophic event, you're stuck with tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars of debt.

 

[papavillars]

Cattle are at an all time high. I would be careful about buying right now. You could buy your ranch and get your pens ready. Cattle prices will come down eventually.

 

[JDsafeman]

I will give you the secret advise that I got from an old-time cattle rancher.
He told me a guaranteed way to make a million dollars in the cattle business...
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Start with TWO million dollars. :cboy:

 

[Brute 23]

Only do what you can pay cash for.

 

[piedmontese]

better to buy a few quality animals than alot of inferior animals.

 

[stockbub]

You have to be willing to not have a pay check for at least 2 years, but you WILL get all the expenses for those two years as a part of doing business. We have had our ranch for a little less then two years and even now all our money from sale of calves go to paying for tractor and equipment, fence corrals, ect. We figure next year, the calves will start paying for the expenses of the business and then after that we should start seeing a return on investment.

 

[shaz]

You have to be willing to not have a pay check for at least 2 years, but you WILL get all the expenses for those two years as a part of doing business. We have had our ranch for a little less then two years and even now all our money from sale of calves go to paying for tractor and equipment, fence corrals, ect. We figure next year, the calves will start paying for the expenses of the business and then after that we should start seeing a return on investment.

Your doing really well. I started this farm in 2005(my second farm) and didn't see profit until 2008. I can't seem to go a year without a major fence project or some planting misadventure. Sometimes I just mismanage pasture but this forum has help alot. ;-)

 

[Busterz]

Some states have programs that help connect new farmers with retiring farmers. So the old can transition out and the young can get started. You might want to research your state (proabably start by asking at the local extention office) and other states to see if they have anything like that. I think Nebraska is at least one state I'm thinking of that has a program like this.

 

[TobyBenoit]

I'd kind of like to echo Papavillars... With these high cattle prices, I'd spend money right now on pens, chutes, fencing, and various necessary equipment and wait for the cattle to come down a bit in price. Running cattle without the necessary equipment and good fences is a huge recipe for headaches!