Cattle business "easy money"

[RiverHills]

Having cattle is like money in the bank!!!!!! :banana:

Never mind I'm in the cattle business that's not true at all. I'm just a little sour today. Heifers started calving end last week. I get a call from dad early morning that one is messing around. Up and down little pushing nothing else though. Waited an hour still nothing. He gloves her and grabs a tail. :bang: He loads her up and heads to the vet. The vet gets the calf out dead. :bang: He goes back in yep another one. The second one was hard to get out and yes dead. Both calves were small just not positioned right. Cattle are not money in the bank until you have the money in hand.

Try to learn from bad experiences. Is there any signs of a breech other than gloving them?

 

[Nesikep]

that sucks... I lost 2 calves in a row as well.. both breech birth as well.. thankfully I had some twins for them to adopt and it went well..

Hope that's the end of the bad luck for you!

 

[RiverHills]

Thanks Nesikep

Seems just a little harder starting this way. It's not the first time and I know it won't be the last. I always try to learn from bad luck.

 

[skyhightree1]

Cattle business is not easy atleast not for me.. IMO unless you have a couple hundred or more at these current prices fooling with them is a labor of love cause your definitely not rewarded fairly when you sell them IMO. I been kicking around the idea of selling way down to maybe 15-20 of best cows and using pastures for hay. I made way more off hay sales than cattle for sure. I don't know what I will decide on but I know the work and bs I personally deal with in regards to my cattle is not giving me a warm fuzzy feeling when my sale check comes in the mail.

 

[farmerjan]

There is no real easy way to tell if they are a breech unless you go in them. Or see a leg/s out or a tail, or something. Someone on here said that a 1/2 hour is all they let them strain before getting them up and checking....or something to that effect. I know that I will watch them/check on them for an hour and then they are coming in somewhere to get a looksee....
With the current prices we are also giving a little thought to cutting back some; of course, we are losing one place and that has helped to make that decision.....but we will see. We are also culling a little harder. Anything open is leaving, unless it is a first calf heifer that put so much into the calf that she has gotten too thin; and they will get one second chance to move to the next calving group, and there are 2 that are 7-8 months that are very high-headed, and they will not get a chance back with the bull after this calf. We are also being a little more selective on keeping females for replacements....no matter how good they are, if they don't have a nice disposition, they are gone....

Our problem in turning the grass into hay is that so many fields have A LOT of rock and ledges that hay is just not practical. Cost more in torn up equipment than it's worth. We have alot of hay ground and most of it doesn't have any fencing so we have enough of that already.

 

[kenny thomas]

Cattle business is not easy atleast not for me.. IMO unless you have a couple hundred or more at these current prices fooling with them is a labor of love cause your definitely not rewarded fairly when you sell them IMO. I been kicking around the idea of selling way down to maybe 15-20 of best cows and using pastures for hay. I made way more off hay sales than cattle for sure. I don't know what I will decide on but I know the work and bs I personally deal with in regards to my cattle is not giving me a warm fuzzy feeling when my sale check comes in the mail.

Sky, I know of 2 people from here that are delivering grass feed beef to people in your area at outrageous prices. I could be rich real quick if I lived near there.

 

[quartermeter]

Yeah whoever said raising cattle is easy money...

Hasn't raised any...PERIOD

 

[skyhightree1]

Sky, I know of 2 people from here that are delivering grass feed beef to people in your area at outrageous prices. I could be rich real quick if I lived near there.

Well I don't know who there marketing to cause lately people here don't want to shell out $$ for halves that's all I sell and i sure wasnt giving it away.The USDA facilities know if you want to sell meat legally they can bend you over. I don't even band anymore it's really no point for me to do so. I have to make $$ on them I got enough hobbies that I don't make money on. I make a little on cattle emphasis on little but when I put in time spent fooling with them and everything to do with them Its not really worth it. I've always liked cattle but I don't like slaving away for little return.

 

[kenny thomas]

Sky, I know of 2 people from here that are delivering grass feed beef to people in your area at outrageous prices. I could be rich real quick if I lived near there.

Well I don't know who there marketing to cause lately people here don't want to shell out $$ for halves that's all I sell and i sure wasnt giving it away.The USDA facilities know if you want to sell meat legally they can bend you over. I don't even band anymore it's really no point for me to do so. I have to make $$ on them I got enough hobbies that I don't make money on. I make a little on cattle emphasis on little but when I put in time spent fooling with them and everything to do with them Its not really worth it. I've always liked cattle but I don't like slaving away for little return.

They have relatives in the Richmond and Williamsburg area that sell for them. They get $4.50 hanging weight and deliver when they go to visit the relatives.

 

[skyhightree1]

They have relatives in the Richmond and Williamsburg area that sell for them. They get $4.50 hanging weight and deliver when they go to visit the relatives.

I sell 4.00lb when I was doing it. I just have no desire to continue selling it. I prefer cow calf operation but I'm about making $$ not just saying I own cattle.

 

[True Grit Farms]

They have relatives in the Richmond and Williamsburg area that sell for them. They get $4.50 hanging weight and deliver when they go to visit the relatives.

I sell 4.00lb when I was doing it. I just have no desire to continue selling it. I prefer cow calf operation but I'm about making $$ not just saying I own cattle.

Buying when you needed to be selling is hard to overcome. To make money in the cattle business you need some luck, and a lot of persistence. Those who weather the storm will have another good run in a few years...hopefully.

 

[skyhightree1]

They have relatives in the Richmond and Williamsburg area that sell for them. They get $4.50 hanging weight and deliver when they go to visit the relatives.

I sell 4.00lb when I was doing it. I just have no desire to continue selling it. I prefer cow calf operation but I'm about making $$ not just saying I own cattle.

Buying when you needed to be selling is hard to overcome. To make money in the cattle business you need some luck, and a lot of persistence. Those who weather the storm will have another good run in a few years...hopefully.

This is true..TGF I'm beginning to truly wonderful if we will have a good run within 10 years.. I constantly keep in mind all cattle related products will only increase in price and the gradual increase we see may be more dollar wise but against the cost to raise them will it truly be better ? Know what I'm saying?

 

[True Grit Farms]

The outlook is bleak but there is definitely a trend between cattle numbers and price. I've been studying the market trends for the last 70 years and trying to stay up beat. There's some very unique markets through out the southeast that I plan on taking advantage of. Some of the breeder sales I attend younger animals sell good and others older ones sell for a premium. Inputs are going to kill us if fuel goes back up. And Mexican boneless ribeyes for $4.68, and T-bones at $3.99 is killing us. US beef at Harvey's is $3.00 more for t-bones, and $6.00 more for the ribeyes. That's today's prices by the way.

 

[SIMMGAL]

Yeah whoever said raising cattle is easy money...

Hasn't raised any...PERIOD

Ain't that the truth! :clap:

 

[skyhightree1]

Inputs are going to kill us if fuel goes back up. And Mexican boneless ribeyes for $4.68, and T-bones at $3.99 is killing us. US beef at Harvey's is $3.00 more for t-bones, and $6.00 more for the ribeyes. That's today's prices by the way.

I agree with what you are saying. Fuel usually goes down here over winter but not this year it went up atleast .60 per gallon compared to previous years. Local fuel truck driver who was delivering the fuel I spoke with him and he told me basically you haven't seen anything yet wait till summer hits as far as pricing on fuel goes. Yea that cheap beef is hurting us folks see cheap and run with cheap they don't care if it's American they just know they save money.

 

[cotton1]

Riverhills-breech is just one of those things you cant pencil in. It even happens with people(ask me how I know).

Cattle are like all kinds of agriculture, if you love it you do it if at all possible. Then money has to play a part as you need to pay for things to stay in business. The situation today is not as great as it was some years ago in my opinion. I used to make less money per acre on my row crops yet profited more per acre since the cost of production was lower. Same thing with the cattle, outside inputs started costing more than my returns.

I have significantly reduced the size of my total operation in the last 3-4 years. The seed man, fuel man, fertilizer man, insurance man, chemical man,semen salesman, cow sale manager, etc have picked us to death lately. They don't seem to think about the reality that is if they run us out of business there will be no one left to get "their cut" from.

Your current situation reminds me of a few years ago when I had a similar mess. I was not afforded the luxury of a vet. I fought and pulled and struggled to turn that calf for a long time. Finally I knew I had to do something and put the come along on it. I use a B groove fan belt behind the front legs then twisted and hook to a come along(if possible) when it comes to it. When I did it this time I'm thinking of, I put the belt behind the back legs. I couldn't understand why I couldn't turn the calf as I had done before.

After some time I got the calf out. I was so exhausted I could hardly stand. Since it was late night/early morning I decided to wait until daylight to bury the calf. So I went home and cleaned up/rested. When I went back a few hours later at day break, there were two dead calf's. I busted the sack pulling the breech one.

Standing there in the breaking daylight I was looking at two dead calf's and a cow who was exhausted and confused. My muscles hurt all over from the 3 hour fight to save that calf. In that moment it became reality just how insignificant money is in comparison to life, and became a thing I spite because it is the biggest limiting factor to those of us with the heart for agriculture.

I hope things go better for you moving forward, and likewise you will have greater appreciation for every live calf you get.

Cotton1

 

[Margonme]

This song will not bring back a calf and it will not increase your profits but it does symbolize that people have struggled:

https://youtu.be/KQf1rZ14y98

 

[Son of Butch]

At the start of the 1880's cattle ranching in the Dakota Territory was booming.
In 1883 Teddy Roosevelt put down $14,000 to invest in and build a cattle ranch to cash in on the Easy Money.
Saying $14,000 is a small price to pay for so much freedom, with the idea he may one day spend the rest of his life
as a cattle rancher.
A late thaw followed by the scorching summer of 1886 left most ranchers heading into 1887 with under fed cattle.
By the end of March 1887 Roosevelt decided to sell out after winter blizzards had wiped out nearly 2/3 of his herd
and over 70% of the other local cattle.
Although a financial disaster, it was recorded his enthusiasm, genuineness, manner and conduct earned him the respect
and even the admiration among the locals who had initially viewed him as an Eastern Greenhorn upon his arrival.

 

[talltimber]

Sorry to hear of your bad luck, RH. I hope it gets better for you.