cattle per acre in oregon

[Double R Ranch]

Hey everyone.
I have access to 320 acres in Chiloquin (40 miles north of Klamath Falls) and want to know if anyone knows aprox. how many cows per acre average south central oregon can handle year round without added hay. It is possible I will be willing to feed hay however once I start running cattle in the beginning I won't be able to feed. The land is half forestry land and half wetlands with no irrigation. This land has in the past been a working cattle ranch however there hasn't been cattle on half of it for a couple of years.
I am thinking about running steers on the land from weaning to slaughter weight. Hopefully finding a direct buyer for the finished cattle.
I am fully aware that it depends on many things but I am wondering what the best use of this land will be. ie. feeders, calving cows, etc.
Thanks,
Double R

 

[LoveMoo11]

Maine is kind of similar to Oregon I guess-I've never been to Oregon but from what I've heard they seem pretty similar-they tell us 1-2 acres per cow/calf pair. But then again, it depends what kind of pasture it is, how fast it grows, how the weather goes that year-there are quite a few factors.

 

[Dave]

That is a tough one. There are parts of Oregon like the Willamette Valley that grow lots of grass and you could run a cow for every acre or two. And parts in the Southeast corner where it is more like 100 acres per cow. This is sort of an in between area. The year round also causes an issue. How wet is the wetland in the winter? Too wet and you wont be able to run cattle there in the winter. How thick is the timber? Too thick and there wont be any feed under the trees. That is far enough north and high elevation to the point that winter grazing with no feed might not work.

 

[Bez+]

Hey everyone.
I have access to 320 acres in Chiloquin (40 miles north of Klamath Falls) and want to know if anyone knows aprox. how many cows per acre average south central oregon can handle year round without added hay. It is possible I will be willing to feed hay however once I start running cattle in the beginning I won't be able to feed. The land is half forestry land and half wetlands with no irrigation. This land has in the past been a working cattle ranch however there hasn't been cattle on half of it for a couple of years.
I am thinking about running steers on the land from weaning to slaughter weight. Hopefully finding a direct buyer for the finished cattle.
I am fully aware that it depends on many things but I am wondering what the best use of this land will be. ie. feeders, calving cows, etc.
Thanks,
Double R

Double R

I am thinking as well.

The way you ask this question tells me you likely are someone who might not know a whole lot about cattle - otherwise the person giving you that access would be the first place to go for this advice - or his/her family if the person is dead - or the neighbours if all else fails - you might consider starting real small and having the infrastucture in place - first - because you will need it more than you will need cattle - and the trouble they will cause you when you bring them home.

Do some searches here on starting out - tens of thousands of pages.

I figure we could all tell you something but you need to take a trip before you buy - and I figure you need to be there with the animals as well. How far away you planning to live?

More stories about wrecks from people bringing home animals when they have no experience or a poor set up than I could shake 10 sticks at.

It can be fun but it is a lot more than putting them on grass for the summer. Even though I am not a resident of that area - can you graze year round there? My memory tells me maybe not.

Watch your pennies on this one.

Best of luck

Bez+

 

[ga. prime]

Maine is kind of similar to Oregon I guess-I've never been to Oregon but from what I've heard they seem pretty similar-

I've been to Maine and Oregon and they are very dissimilar.

 

[Double R Ranch]

Double R

Bez, thanks for responding. I am guessing you didn't realize who I am on here. I have been ranching most of my life. I am not a greenhorn but I do ask the questions I have in hopes of learning more. Especially in this case where I am not familiar with the location. I am only familiar with my home and where I grew up.

I am thinking as well.

The way you ask this question tells me you likely are someone who might not know a whole lot about cattle - otherwise the person giving you that access would be the first place to go for this advice - or his/her family if the person is dead - or the neighbours if all else fails - you might consider starting real small and having the infrastucture in place - first - because you will need it more than you will need cattle - and the trouble they will cause you when you bring them home.

The person who ownes the property is a family member who knows nothing about cattle. He has just bought the land and isn't living there at this time. There is no house or facilities on the property and he isn't looking to move onto the land for several years.
I do know about cattle. I have no access to neighbors etc. I am in CA and it is quite a drive to the property and I wouldn't even know where to begin. That is why I began my quest by asking on here. I will not make the trip if it isn't worth running cattle on it. I do well here at home but have unlimited access to this land and "free feed" is "free feed". That is where the ? of what should I run on it comes in.


Do some searches here on starting out - tens of thousands of pages.

I figure we could all tell you something but you need to take a trip before you buy - and I figure you need to be there with the animals as well. How far away you planning to live?

More stories about wrecks from people bringing home animals when they have no experience or a poor set up than I could shake 10 sticks at.

It can be fun but it is a lot more than putting them on grass for the summer. Even though I am not a resident of that area - can you graze year round there? My memory tells me maybe not.

That is why I am asking the ?'s I am asking. Hopeing that people who have experiance in the area would know if I can run year round, run during calving when feed is more scarce here etc. Maybe just put my steers there from weaning til butcher weight.

Watch your pennies on this one.

Best of luck

Bez+

Thank you for commenting and look forward to your opinions.
Double R

 

[PATB]

I would suggest visiting the property before making any decisions on how many acres per animal. Bez gave you good advice. When I visited Oregon the carrying capacity varies greatly from coastal area to the high desert. How has the land been managed and what facilities are available?

 

[traks44]

We use a 7 acre AUM here in our mountain pastures and a 10 acre AUM in Our lower Native grass pastures. Now that may not help alot but I can tell you this area will not be 1-2 acre AUM land.

You would not be able to run very many pairs on here at all for for any amount of time. The best bet might be to run stockers out on it. Pick up some 650-700 wt cattle or buy them early if you can feed them cheap and get them to 650-700, you will only need 150-175 lbs of gain on the grass. Implant them and with good grass they should touch 2.5lbs gain per day. Plan it right and you could make as much as $100 a head on a load of 50-55 animals. Or thats what I would try and do. Really depends on just how good of grass it is but since you dont wonna feed hay I suspect a marketing program where you only have ownership for 3-5 months would be the best.

I would stray away from steer finishing, I am not sure if you have alot of experience trying to get animals to finish but getting the last 150 lbs on "grass finished" animals is really tough. In this case if you started running out of grass and they werent quite there yet you would have serious problems. Just my opinion.