cant make money at this anymore

[dieselbeef]

honestly dont know why i do it...always something...bull died...cpl cows not producing..drought...over run with weeds cuz it never rains and the pasture is bare....herd down to 15 now with 11 calfs on pasture and im feeding all i can..i got 50 ish acres of almost sand and unedible weeds..if i sold all the calfs here in fl i be lucky to get 6000$ hardly enough to carry them thru buying hay and feed..new bull cost me 4500...tax losses are my only reprieve and theyre not getting it done

cannot get anyone local to frtilize or spray weed for me...prices are outrageous but id do it if i could find someone wants to do a small timer..50 ac theyd dont even wanna bother..blackroot is taking over..cant get rid of it..gonna run me outta business crowding the grass out..

i dont ave alot of expenses but hay cost me 45 a roll..i fed 45 rolls..that and a new bull..i had to loan the cows money...thats not working

i cannot imagine how anyone without thousands osfacres can make a buck

 

[Warren Allison]

honestly dont know why i do it...always something...bull died...cpl cows not producing..drought...over run with weeds cuz it never rains and the pasture is bare....herd down to 15 now with 11 calfs on pasture and im feeding all i can..i got 50 ish acres of almost sand and unedible weeds..if i sold all the calfs here in fl i be lucky to get 6000$ hardly enough to carry them thru buying hay and feed..new bull cost me 4500...tax losses are my only reprieve and theyre not getting it done

cannot get anyone local to frtilize or spray weed for me...prices are outrageous but id do it if i could find someone wants to do a small timer..50 ac theyd dont even wanna bother..blackroot is taking over..cant get rid of it..gonna run me outta business crowding the grass out..

i dont ave alot of expenses but hay cost me 45 a roll..i fed 45 rolls..that and a new bull..i had to loan the cows money...thats not working

i cannot imagine how anyone without thousands osfacres can make a buck

What kinda calves are they, Diesel? How old are they?

 

[MurraysMutts]

Sometimes I think the same thing. Why do we do it?
Like climbing a mountain. Because it's there..

Plenty of ways to change things up and turn a nickel into a quarter tho.

 

[moses388]

Someone might allow you to use their bull in exchange for feeding him. What about renting a bull? I don't know anything about blackroot. Would a controlled burn do any good? Would like to help, but I'm no where near Florida.

 

[SBMF 2015]

We do it because we have a passion for it. Sometimes profit isn't measured in dollars.
If it's that that destitute, sell the cows. Use the money to fix the pastures. Then think long and hard about how much you really miss them. If you have a passion for it you'll rebuild.

 

[dieselbeef]

theyre beefmasters..about 3-4 mos right now..wont change...here ya get about 550 whether theyre 6 mo or 2 mos..lb goes up..price goes down...i cant remember ever making more than 500 on a 500 lb calf..which takes about 8 mos here not 6

 

[1982vett]

Dang it Diesel....hate to see a tough man like you discouraged.

You didn't ask for advice, but I'm going to throw some out their. Consider cutting the herd to 8 or 9 head. Doing so should let you rest some of your pasture. You will still have to figure out the weed problem but overgrazing might be some of the cause. A bull for so few is a "problem" but their are solutions for that too. You will need to network with some folks in the cattle business to find a reasonably priced bull. Doesn't have to be the fancy $4500 one, but one that is put up for sale by a "bigger time operator" that "doesn't need it anymore". They come trough the sale from time to time around here. Unless you have a couple people looking for a bull that day, they are quite reasonably priced. You don't necessarily need to keep him full time either. Breed your cattle and send him on. When I ran 3 groups of cattle, one was usually a bull of this type. In fact, the last bull I bought was an 18 month old that came through the local auction. Nothing "special" but a good bull none the less.

Guess the point I'm trying to get across, is you don't have to go full speed ahead, Hang on to a few to "play" with and watch the land respond. Don't worry about hurting your local agribusiness men's profits.

 

[1982vett]

Deleted double post

 

[dieselbeef]

yessir ive thought about that..doing it for a few yrs..def overgrazed but we in a drought for yrs now...its so dry things ive never seen dry up are dustbowls..springs on my place..dry..almost no flow...i cant believe it...

i bought another bull..i own the 4500$ one...wasnt gonna crapshoot on that...bought froma rep guy..but still was costly....getting older..tired of the work..feed biz is gone so feed is another big exp..cargill shut me down...too small an operation they said..only mved 100 tons...just been one hit after another..

 

[Warren Allison]

These 15 cows and 11 calves: Are they registered Beefmaster? Or purebred Beefmaster? Or just mostly Beefmaster? Right now, cow/calf pairs are doing well in other parts of the south. What if you sold them, and took the money and just 24D'd and RoundUp'd the whole place, and re-planted and fertilized and limed to specs. then bought back in a year or so? JUst a thought...

 

[tex452]

My brother has a few cows, about 10-12.
I let him borrow/lease a bull.
I bought 2 virgin grey Murray bulls and I took him one of them before that it was a BA
He takes good care of them and when he needs another one I use or sell the one he had. He always puts weight on them.
It works for both of us.

 

[BFE]

These 15 cows and 11 calves: Are they registered Beefmaster? Or purebred Beefmaster? Or just mostly Beefmaster? Right now, cow/calf pairs are doing well in other parts of the south. What if you sold them, and took the money and just 24D'd and RoundUp'd the whole place, and re-planted and fertilized and limed to specs. then bought back in a year or so? JUst a thought...

This, and the instead of cows buy a group of stocker calves, sell and let rest for a while then repeat. Might do some good on those, depending on how you get them bought. Keep you in the game since you obviously like it, quicker turnaround on money.

Look to a smaller feed company. A local sells Kalmbach, I'm sure moves way less than your 100 ton.

 

[dieselbeef]

id consider this..but dont have the eqpt..and time would be hard but i could...cant get any help around here for small time guys like me..we all struggle..cant get fert..nobody will spray..investment in renovation could be wroth while but id have to do it myself and buy all the eqpt...im too big for just me and too small for the ops around here..even the guys the ext agent gave me to call never bothered...

 

[Mrcopier]

You fed all year round? 45 bales seems like a lot with no more cows than you have unless your feeding year round. Crazy that Florida is in a drought

 

[dieselbeef]

no sir..from thanksgiving (sometimes halloween) til its gone..i have 2 rolls left..ive go about 35-40 ac of pasture...was decent but going to hell without water...they clean evry bit too.little waste...i know im probly over stocked now..but when grass was good i was running 20 and it never got poor except in winter and i rotated em...the dry is killing me..weeds are opuurtunists...and the blackroot is my latest battle...it comes from the root..so it spreads even if we mow the seeds off...i just cant win

 

[Mrcopier]

I am not sure what blackroot is, is it something you can spot spray?? Just looked it up will 24D kill it?

 

[moses388]

black root
Plant might have value in herbal medicine as a laxative or tincture. Nonetheless I would pull them out.

 

[Muletrack]

Sell your whole herd maybe and go to a "one and done" system. Buy short term bred cows or pairs and sell bother the cow and calf every year. Lots of discussions on this system on this forum. Drought is a natural part of farming. It's not a abnormal thing. Here we enjoy 18-20 inches a year, much less in Western N.D. But our good plenty would be a drought in Missouri. A guy works with what he has. Read Greg Judy, "No Risk Ranching." Also Walt Davis "How to Not Go Broke Ranching."

 

[Brute 23]

There are a lot of people in your shoes.

I would be tempted to buy a $700 tsc sprayer and spray the weeds myself but I know that takes money also.

If I were in your shoes I would probably sell and try to regroup with a different plan. If it's freezer beef, or show stock for kids, or maybe registered, etc to maximize your dollar with fewer animals. Use the money to pay yourself back, get pasture lined out, start new adventure, etc.

Is there a market for hay around you?

 

[callmefence]

One thing you got going for ya is prices aren't horrible right now. If you don't have grass your running a feedlot. If you've been overgrazing for years to where you have nothing but weeds my advice is to sell everything with hoofs. It takes a couple of years to recover from a real drought. Like @Brute 23 said buy you a atv sprayer if you don't have a tractor and get to work. Avoid soil residual herbicide like grazon and duracor until you get established grass again.