Cattle For Profit?

[Dixieangus]

Well as grubbie said there is money in cattle but you have to play your cards right...1 People do this around here, they go to a sale or buy from a producer for less than you the market will give then take them home and take em to an auction say you bought 200 in a week then the next week made 15 a piece off them thats 3000 dollars in 2 weeks...Give or take.....Next, buy calves in spring then keep them till fall then sell theres a big profit margine.Theres many more but these are a few

 

[backhoeboogie]

All right kiddo - I am old enough to be your Grand Dad if you are in school so here is some rock hard advice - you can take it to the bank.

You want to do this full time? On your own place? Does not matter.

Then forget about it until you have an education and a full time job that will pay for your entry - unless you are independantly wealthy - stand to inherit - plan to marry into it or - you plan to get it from raising dope.

You keep 100 cows on your place and you make 100 bucks profit off each of them you just made 10,000 bucks - the carrying cost of your operation is higher than that. So you need a JOB - yeah - JOB that pays you in the six figure mark - and then you will still be in a tough spot.

By the way - check out all the Canadian Cattle organizations - you will see there is no one making that profit if they start out - they are in a LOSS position.

So once again you need the good, solid, HIGH PAYING job to subsidize your farm. And if you are smart you marry a nurse or teacher and she will help you when you are going broke.

That means you need an EDUCATION - which means you will stay in school until you have at least a Masters degree if you are really smart.

And do not think a farmer is a dumb guy and that it is easy - planning and forecasting budgets, fighting the tax man, improving genetics, calculating fertilizer inputs and a tonne of other things means you better be darned good at ALL sciences and math.

You need to be a financial wizard, a mechanical genius and be prepared to work around the clock while you also work OFF farm to pay for everything.

Why? Because your answer to question number six tells me you do know enough about cows.

So - get your education - get your job and dabble in cows until you know enough to maybe - just maybe - keep a couple on the back lot for a few years.

Harsh words? Nope - reality.

Lots of folks will be glad to help you once you get started but for heavens sakes - stop dreaming and do something about your future that can actually allow you to perhaps get into the game.

You need money - cows will not provide that - but a dammed good paying job will.

I wish you all the best - but do not waste all that time dreaming (do some though)- spend it studying - that way when you are old, fat and grey haired like me - you actually will not only have the pot to pizz in - you will have any window in your PAID for mansion to throw it out of.

No matter what you hear from the folks south of the border on input costs vs profit - they have a different tax structure, a different market structure and one additional thing that makes it a bit easier - population.

Your input costs are higher than south of the border, your taxes are higher - and your return on sold animals is lower

For most of the folks down south - other than those on the border - you have a tougher and longer winter - meaning more feed and input costs there as well.

They cannot feed their population and fill their export markets with domestic production - so there is always a demand for beef down there.

Canada has an EXCESS of animals - meaning there is less profit as you sell into an already flooded market - unless of course you are in a niche market - but you do NOT get there in a hurry - it took them years to develop.

Get educated and then go for it - it is a tough row to hoe and you need a solid base to make it happen.

Without it you WILL go down.

Regards

Bez+

Is that good advice or bad advice Bez?

You start with nothing. You work a full time job and several part time jobs. You pay your way through night school and continually struggle with payments. Pay for your wife to go to school and keep up the struggle while raising a family and all the expenses associated with that. You scrimp save and invest a little all along the way. Your tempted to use that money during hard times but you refuse to go into it. Occasionally you get lucky. Occasionally you make mistakes and pay dearly.

Eventually you succeed. Times get easier. It seems like you are now on easy street based on the life long struggles and sacrafices you have made that got you where you are.

Now "spread the wealth" is a threat to your life long plans, work, successes and failures. Someone comes on the forum asking questions and when you respond, other members acuse you of bragging of how you succeeded and sends out pms to others on the board. You know your success also involved a lot of failure in between. (no one asks how to fail)

So now you are a bad guy for doing exactly what you have suggested Bez. So is it good advice or bad? I choose to say it is good. And I choose to enjoy the good folks on this forum such as yourself.

 

[Bez+]

Is that good advice or bad advice Bez?

You start with nothing. You work a full time job and several part time jobs. You pay your way through night school and continually struggle with payments. Pay for your wife to go to school and keep up the struggle while raising a family and all the expenses associated with that. You scrimp save and invest a little all along the way. Your tempted to use that money during hard times but you refuse to go into it. Occasionally you get lucky. Occasionally you make mistakes and pay dearly.

Eventually you succeed. Times get easier. It seems like you are now on easy street based on the life long struggles and sacrafices you have made that got you where you are.

Now "spread the wealth" is a threat to your life long plans, work, successes and failures. Someone comes on the forum asking questions and when you respond, other members acuse you of bragging of how you succeeded and sends out pms to others on the board. You know your success also involved a lot of failure in between. (no one asks how to fail)

So now you are a bad guy for doing exactly what you have suggested Bez. So is it good advice or bad? I choose to say it is good. And I choose to enjoy the good folks on this forum such as yourself.

Well the next time I am in Texas we can sit down in the shade - have a drink of your choice and decide upon the answer - because in truth I do not know.

Take care

Bez+