Just an update from my previous posts, I'm Active duty military, and I will be getting out in about a year and staying in Colorado (maybe not the ideal place to start a ranch, but unfortunately I don't have much of a choice due to having primary custody of my son and the pain of trying to move with the court and all).
I will be staying here and I am finally in a position to start buying some heifers/heifer calves/cows this spring. My primary concerns are: Stocking rate, birthing ease, health, decent weaning/growth rate, cost of initial investment/continued growth and marketability. I will basically be using my military and in a year whatever civilian employment I get to finance and grow the herd, and all money from the sales will be invested into more land or replacements.
With that said, there are a couple of avenues of approach on this that I would like some feedback on:
Option 1: Hereford cows/running black angus bull on them.
Pros: It's what I grew up with and I know the breed
Black baldies market well out here from what I've heard
Hybrid Vigor
Cheaper to get hereford cows than angus
Cons: Initial cost and continued replacement cost is fairly high.
Trying to find replacements that have decent genetics seems to be difficult here. I've done some searching and all I've found is open heifers or bad conformation.
Limited on stocking rate till I acquire more acreage or a lease.
I would outgrow my acreage faster than I could buy new land most likely
Option 2: Solid color Longhorn Cows/Running hereford bull on them-Retain heifer calves and run a Terminal Angus bull on them.
Pros: Birthing ease/less loss at birth
Protection of calves/calving from coyotes-all my "neighbors" have horse ranches and do Zero coyote control, so they are an issue. I shoot them when I can (over the objections of the "we should all coexist" neighbors).
Initial startup cost far lower
Stocking rate increased by 20% give or take
More even grazing over some of the weeded areas of the pasture and better land utilization.
The F1 Calves should be decent, and they should be polled and hopefully not take too much of a hit at the salebarn
The F2 calves should have retained birthing ease, decent structure and marbling, and hopefully retain hybrid vigor of the 3 breeds. They should be black and similar to an Angus/Hereford cross and should even have some baldies out of the bunch.
I would be able to limit inputs and increase outputs and grow the herd fairly quickly while still retaining a good balance of grass conservation
Cons
Not much experience with the breed-I've heard good things, but I don't have personal experience with them
Possibly taking a hit at the sale barn depending on the calf crop.
What are y'alls opinions on the 2 options? I would think that the increased stocking rate and birthing ease would somewhat compensate for a bad day at the sale barn in the initial years. I'd love some feedback. Thanks
I will be staying here and I am finally in a position to start buying some heifers/heifer calves/cows this spring. My primary concerns are: Stocking rate, birthing ease, health, decent weaning/growth rate, cost of initial investment/continued growth and marketability. I will basically be using my military and in a year whatever civilian employment I get to finance and grow the herd, and all money from the sales will be invested into more land or replacements.
With that said, there are a couple of avenues of approach on this that I would like some feedback on:
Option 1: Hereford cows/running black angus bull on them.
Pros: It's what I grew up with and I know the breed
Black baldies market well out here from what I've heard
Hybrid Vigor
Cheaper to get hereford cows than angus
Cons: Initial cost and continued replacement cost is fairly high.
Trying to find replacements that have decent genetics seems to be difficult here. I've done some searching and all I've found is open heifers or bad conformation.
Limited on stocking rate till I acquire more acreage or a lease.
I would outgrow my acreage faster than I could buy new land most likely
Option 2: Solid color Longhorn Cows/Running hereford bull on them-Retain heifer calves and run a Terminal Angus bull on them.
Pros: Birthing ease/less loss at birth
Protection of calves/calving from coyotes-all my "neighbors" have horse ranches and do Zero coyote control, so they are an issue. I shoot them when I can (over the objections of the "we should all coexist" neighbors).
Initial startup cost far lower
Stocking rate increased by 20% give or take
More even grazing over some of the weeded areas of the pasture and better land utilization.
The F1 Calves should be decent, and they should be polled and hopefully not take too much of a hit at the salebarn
The F2 calves should have retained birthing ease, decent structure and marbling, and hopefully retain hybrid vigor of the 3 breeds. They should be black and similar to an Angus/Hereford cross and should even have some baldies out of the bunch.
I would be able to limit inputs and increase outputs and grow the herd fairly quickly while still retaining a good balance of grass conservation
Cons
Not much experience with the breed-I've heard good things, but I don't have personal experience with them
Possibly taking a hit at the sale barn depending on the calf crop.
What are y'alls opinions on the 2 options? I would think that the increased stocking rate and birthing ease would somewhat compensate for a bad day at the sale barn in the initial years. I'd love some feedback. Thanks