Some of the stuff partner is right on, but certainly not true in totality unless you catch some breaks. I started from absolute scratch myself at 39. The capital outlay will keep most from even having the ability to enter the business.
I retired from the Coast Guard, and see a pension from that, and from the VA for being a physical wreck from the physical beating a military career can have on your body. But if not for those "breaks" I'd have no money for cow business. Try to start cheap with old equipment was my plan-I gave that up in the first year, spent all my time working on equipment when I needed to be using it.
Cattle ground that sucks in Western Kentucky is at least 3k an acre-I have bought 150 acres of it. Old or no fences. Add time, cost of fencing, clearing, soil amending, etc- that was about 25k for me, and I got away cheap because I did most of that myself…
Tractor, mower, baler, etc, probably in 130k into equipment. I did the math-and because I have access to "free" hay ground it was the better route for me than buying hay.
Oh, I bought cows too… and handling equipment, and probably around 10k in seed-but I need more for the ground I just bought last month.
What profit have I seen? Nothing. Losses are plentiful though.
Now, long term, sure I will realize profit. I'm 42 now, my equipment is paid off or close to it. My farms, well, that'll be another 20 years. By the time I kick the bucket my kids should have a profitable ranch that's free and clear of debt.
So if you look at it like a savings account, I could agree with that methodology-my investments will pay dividends. But if I had to support my family off of a new farm, well, that would be impossible…at least for me.
I'll be in the black this year or the next, but my coming years showing a profit will really just be paying back my initial investments into the ranching operation. It doesn't pencil out when you look at everything, but I'm a cattleman and I love the work and the routine keeps me relatively sane. I'm not disagreeing that it can be done-but even for the willing it's a tough row. But I'm glad you've made it work, there are still first timers like us willing to give it a shot and always will be.
I'd go into more depth, but I've got cows to feed.