Asking for your assistance

[Earl Burus]

Since the people associated here are the ones daily involved I want to know what you recommend.
Wanting to put forth the effort to keep farmland we own vital and would like to begin cattle operation. What would you folks recommend for the beginning cattleman?
I really would appreciate your responses. This is not just a neat thing I would like to do.

 

[Anonymous]

I have been reading the posts on here for the last month or so but am far from an expert. My first advice is to kiss up to Dun. I am not sure who he is but he seems pretty sharp. I am basicly in the same situation as yourself and I have learned quite a bit from just sitting back and reading

 

[Anonymous]

I didn't mean to insult the rest of the regulars, also campground ,l4,ellama, cattle annie,craig,and a few others that I can't think of right now

 

[dun]

Find someone that will serve as a mentor. Start with the infrastructure, i.e., fencing, working facilities, water. Determine what your market will be, a niche of a specific type of animal, longhorn, beef, feeder calves? Attend a lot of local sales or sales in the area you plan on marketing. Determine what type of cattle are in demand of the type you want to be involved with. Start small and start with the best qaulity you can for the market you want to reach. If you decide to just raise stockers, get healthy ones to start with. While you're learning the ins and outs and finding out what you need to do to improve/get set up right you don't need extra headaches of doctoring. Deleop a good working relationship with your local large animal vet. When you're starting out he/she/it can be your best friend and be almost a partner in your herd health program. There is also the option of leasing the land to someone else to graze. Raising and selling hay, plus the gov has several conservation programs available through NRCS that may fit your land.

dun

Since the people associated here are the ones daily involved I want to know what you recommend.
Wanting to put forth the effort to keep farmland we own vital and would like to begin cattle operation. What would you folks recommend for the beginning cattleman?
I really would appreciate your responses. This is not just a neat thing I would like to do.

 

[Anonymous]

Dun really seems to know what's best. I'm new to the boards, well actually I'm new to cattle farming.

What is probably the cheapest breed with the most profit ratio right now?

 

[D.R. Cattle]

Dun really seems to know what's best. I'm new to the boards, well actually I'm new to cattle farming.

What is probably the cheapest breed with the most profit ratio right now?

Boy did you just open up a can of worms!

 

[BLACKPOWER]

Dun really seems to know what's best. I'm new to the boards, well actually I'm new to cattle farming.

What is probably the cheapest breed with the most profit ratio right now?

Good quality ANGUS with out a doubt. There's gonna be a slew of people and a mexican guy on here that's gonna tell you to breed all this crap with ear together to make a super cow but stay away from all that. Use the KISS method (keep it simple stupid) and breed angus cows to angus bulls, your probably only gonna have a few head so finding angus breeding animals is going to be easier to find than the others.

 

[Anonymous]

Well, see Its a long story lol. I have recently gotten alot closer to my girlfriend's grandfather...now "papaw" to me he has a cattle farm and i started out helping him a couple times a week about 3 months back. Now i help every day, and love it. i went to a sale the other day a saw that big fat paycheck so i thought, why not? hehe i know the basics im just wandering what breed to start out with to help clear up that bank note lol.

 

[la4angus]

Your location can be a major factor in what is the cheapest breed. You need to know what is the least expensive to raise and produce in your region..
You need cattle that is adaptable to your region. Even though a breed may be inexxpensive it could be very expensive to raise in certain regions. ie: cattle showing a strong brahman influence does not do very well in the colder climates. Long haired galloways do not fare very well in the warmer climates. Thick haired Angus will do well in the cold but not so well in the Deep South. Angus that shed early with a thin hair coat will do well in the Deep South. Brahman Influence could be expensive to buy in the Deep South but when you figure the cost of keeping them they could
end up being very inexpensive. All breeds have their pros and cons.

 

[txag]

Dun really seems to know what's best. I'm new to the boards, well actually I'm new to cattle farming.

What is probably the cheapest breed with the most profit ratio right now?

Good quality ANGUS with out a doubt. There's gonna be a slew of people and a mexican guy on here that's gonna tell you to breed all this be nice with ear together to make a super cow but stay away from all that. Use the KISS method (keep it simple stupid) and breed angus cows to angus bulls, your probably only gonna have a few head so finding angus breeding animals is going to be easier to find than the others.

unless you're raising seedstock, there's no reason to raise purebred or straighbred animals. crossbreds will outperform purebreds any day. the angus suggestion was fine, but use a different bull of a different breed than your cows.

i agree w/la4........it will depend on your area as to what will do best. check around, talk to your county agent & maybe if your "papaw" did well w/his calves, maybe that's a good place to start as well.

 

[la4angus]

Double E Farms

What area of the country are you in.

 

[D.R. Cattle]

Many may disagree, but I say Angus X Hereford cross is the cream of the crop.

 

[lazyhill]

I found that it was easier to start with the same type of cattle as my mentor and learn from there. This is because he knew the cattle, their EPDs, behavior, good points, bad points, etc. When I was ready to "fly solo", I did my research based upon what I learned and some of what I learned was how to do that research. From there, I chose my own breed and breeding program.

 

[dun]

Unless you want to be a pioneer, do what pawpaw does. He probably has more knowledge and experience for your particular area then 3/4s of those on these boards.
Remember you can alwasy recognize the pioneers because they're the ones with the arrows sticking out of them.

dun

Well, see Its a long story lol. I have recently gotten alot closer to my girlfriend's grandfather...now "papaw" to me he has a cattle farm and i started out helping him a couple times a week about 3 months back. Now i help every day, and love it. i went to a sale the other day a saw that big fat paycheck so i thought, why not? hehe i know the basics im just wandering what breed to start out with to help clear up that bank note lol.

 

[la4angus]

Many may disagree, but I say Angus X Hereford cross is the cream of the crop.

I don't think that there is any bout adout it. These will be market toppers about anywheres unless they are of inferior quality. But we, hopefully are not talking inferior quality. For a top market animal cross, good Angus X Hereford are the best about 75% of the time.

 

[D.R. Cattle]

Dun your answers always have to make so much sense!

Unless you want to be a pioneer, do what pawpaw does. He probably has more knowledge and experience for your particular area then 3/4s of those on these boards.
Remember you can alwasy recognize the pioneers because they're the ones with the arrows sticking out of them.

dun

Well, see Its a long story lol. I have recently gotten alot closer to my girlfriend's grandfather...now "papaw" to me he has a cattle farm and i started out helping him a couple times a week about 3 months back. Now i help every day, and love it. i went to a sale the other day a saw that big fat paycheck so i thought, why not? hehe i know the basics im just wandering what breed to start out with to help clear up that bank note lol.

 

[dun]

Thanks, I think. I've been lucky enough to make so many mistakes and still manage to get my butt out of a sling, I enjoy sharing what I've learned.
Seems like if you find something that's a success you can't go far wrong using that as a starting point.

dun

Dun your answers always have to make so much sense!

Unless you want to be a pioneer, do what pawpaw does. He probably has more knowledge and experience for your particular area then 3/4s of those on these boards.
Remember you can alwasy recognize the pioneers because they're the ones with the arrows sticking out of them.

dun

Well, see Its a long story lol. I have recently gotten alot closer to my girlfriend's grandfather...now "papaw" to me he has a cattle farm and i started out helping him a couple times a week about 3 months back. Now i help every day, and love it. i went to a sale the other day a saw that big fat paycheck so i thought, why not? hehe i know the basics im just wandering what breed to start out with to help clear up that bank note lol.

 

[Anonymous]

Im in the south eastern area, Tennessee. Although I have a confession to make, its actually a single e farm right now becuase im the other "e" fixing to start lol. It has to do with our first names.

 

[TXBobcat]

i went to a sale the other day a saw that big fat paycheck so i thought, why not?

Don't base your decision to go into the cattle business on that one big fat paycheck. If it's not "in your blood", so to speak, or you don't love doing it, it could be a long hard road. Along with that "big fat paycheck" comes some big fat expenses, especially if you're not careful in your planning.

Lots of good advice here from some very experinced people. The most important thing I would stress is to start out slow and keep your expenses down as much as possible.

 

[Anonymous]

if he was at the sale barn, he definitely saw only the "fat paycheck!" Hopefully he has also seen the trouble of mending fences, loading up the animals, sick animals and so forth. Alot of things have to go pretty smooth in order to keep those fat paychecks coming. Like anything else, if it were easy, everybody would be doing it. But if its something you think you would enjoy, then by all means go for it. You dont have to get rich, you just have to make a decent living!