hello first time poster here, i will be posting here quite a bit in the future as i am brand new to cattle ranching and would like to get started soon after i finish my degree. i have a thousand questions that im sure can be answered here but i'll start with this one. what are the basics in buying cattle, what are the terms the banks applies and also how many bulls per cow do i need to ensure they all being serviced. also how much cattle per acre of land is suitable. again i am brand new and i apologize for my ignorance but i have to start somewhere and thanks for all those that reply.
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Campground Cattle
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okmike":vafijfq6 said:
Well 1st I would say pay cash for your cattle if its only a few, I believe Hillbilly made this point in another thread. You can safely assume a 24 month old bull can service 24 cows 36 month 35 to 40. As cow per acre no way to know as we don't know where located.
the area that im in is mostly hay/pasture type, there are small to little amounts of trees on the land. say i started with about 5 cows to begin with do you suggest keeping the offspring to increase herd size, what exaclty was hillbilly saying about this subject if you can remember, thanks
Campground Cattle
Well-known member
okmike":q0o9hn23 said:
This still does not tell the members on the board what area you are in.
There can be huge variations in pasture conditons in just a few miles. In East Texas we can run a cow/calf to an acre to an acre in a half. Drive two hours west beatiful pastures and ranches takes 3 thats a heck of a difference in your planning. Mike their are members from all over the country if we knew your general location who could give more than general advice.
Get your local county agent/USDA NRCS people to help you out. Types of grass/forage soil fertility and ph, lots of things go into how many head any given area can support.
The NRCS people get paid for doing this kind of stuff and are more familiar with your particular area and what types of forage are appropriate. Also there is cost share money available for a lot of different pasture/grazing system practices. They're your tax dollars, might as well get some of them back.
dun
The NRCS people get paid for doing this kind of stuff and are more familiar with your particular area and what types of forage are appropriate. Also there is cost share money available for a lot of different pasture/grazing system practices. They're your tax dollars, might as well get some of them back.
dun
sorry, more specifically, im in north eastern oklahoma about 25 miles east of tulsa. i found the thread from hillbilly on keeping your heifers to grow your herd so nevermind that. what does "nrcs" stand for and how do i get a hold of them. if anyone knows anything more about getting the before mentioned share money please inform me of what that is. also if it helps anymore im located in between rogers and mayes counties. thanks
C & C Land & Catt
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A friend of mine runs cattle between Inola & Verdigris. 3 cows per acre fertilized.
sidney411
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3 cows per acre? are you sure it isn't 3 acres per cow?
C & C Land & Catt
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yeah sorry bout that 3 acres per cow 
3 acres a cow. thats the most acre per cow ratio i have heard yet, assuming this is true, if i were to run say a cow per acre, (i have a around 150 to play with) would i need to feed excessively to make up for this ratio being so low. thanks
ollie
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Mike it would be cheaper to Feed lot them if your going to do that. In your part of the world three acres per cow on fertilized land is still good land all open and be completely out of grass a couple years in ten. I would say more conservatively don't fertilize and run a cow to every four or five and spray for weeds instead of bushog.Is it fescue or bermuda?okmike":3vehvg3b said:
okmike":2k11ybxm said:
Afairly safe rule of thumb is 2% of the body weight. The type of grass, fescue, fescue and something mixed, mostly something else with a little fescue, etc., those are things that NRCS can help you with. A soil test and identification of the type of forage is the first place to get started. It's hard to get where you're going if you don't know where you are now. Search on these boards for endophyte and you'll get a pretty good primer on fescue.
dun
fellersbarnoneranch
Well-known member
okmike, OSU has a county extension agent that would be a valuable resource to you. Look in the book for your county and get a hold of them with some location specifics. They could come and take soil samples or loan you the tool to do it and analyze it at a low cost. Their opinion is a service at your disposal and they have a lot of great information from the university in the way of pamphlets and such. I am a bit south of there, and our pastures are primarily bermuda, but have quite a bit of sericea lespedeza and fescue in the more shady areas too.
By the way, I brushhogged the last two years instead of spraying--all I will say is that the intent for 2005 is spraying for weed control.
By the way, I brushhogged the last two years instead of spraying--all I will say is that the intent for 2005 is spraying for weed control.
okmike":8bpiq8o9 said:
In my part of OK we figure 12 acres per animal unit (cow/calf pair). I know you guys get more rain and have a higher stocking rate than we do, but if you overstock you'll damage your grass. And your grass is where you will make any money. I don't see how you can be profitable by buying feed and feeding cows on a regular basis.
You really should talk to your extension people and others mentioned on this thread. They know the resources in your area. They can help you identify what sort of grass you have and how many cattle it can support. Look into a rotational grazing program; you can run more cattle and it's also good for the grass.
cattle_gal
Well-known member
okmike":ufhrxm29 said:
Mike, I'd be in absolute heaven if we could run on 3 acres per cow. put a 4 behind that three and that would be more like it here on a normal year.
Since Dun mentioned the NRCS there is grant money available for conservation improvements(EQIP - Environmental Quality Incentive Program). Our state got 22.25 million. Each county sets what % they want what to go where. From water improvement, to wildlife habitat, to organic practices to ground improvement. And this year we added a multi use category and experimental practices. However it's not cut and dry. They have rules you have to abide by. And you have to deside if you want them to know every last land practice that you do during that period.
ok the extension people seem to be what i need to do next that seems to be clear. i didnt realize how educated i needed to be on the grass growing in my pasture. i knew that overgrazing is a serious issue and i obviously want to avoid that but at the same time i also didnt know that fertilizing the cow pasture is something of importance as well. the way that i thought was correct was to fertilize my hay pasture and let the cows do their own thing, all but overgraze. im so thankful for everyone one this board posting so keep the responses coming i appreciate every one!
In reality, the cow raising part isn't as hard as the forage growing. You can see the cow, with forage, a lot of the important part is the round and under the ground.
I think we're really grass farmers that market the grass through the cattle.
dun
I think we're really grass farmers that market the grass through the cattle.
dun
okmike":3r3caax0 said:
You first need to find out if your pasture grass needs fertilizer. We have mostly native grasses here, big and little blue, indiangrass, etc., that doesn't respond much to fertilizer. We also have a patch of bermuda and some Plains bluestem. We fertilize the bermuda and Plains. The roatational (or intensive) grazing has done our native grass a world of good over the years. At least, when it rained!!
Below is a link to OK State's Cow/Calf corner. They have quite a library there, mostly devoted to the OK rancher. I'd also suggest joining your local cattlemen's group. Those groups in my area will have programs over the year with info on marketing, herd health, taxes, a multitude of things that affect the ranchers in the local area. The Noble Foundation at Ardmore joins the extension office in that county for one of the best such program in the US. There's a good one at Norman, too. Welcome to the cattle business; it's a world of fun.
http://www.ansi.okstate.edu/exten/cc-corner/
