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Cleaning up rotational grazing paddocks in late fall
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<blockquote data-quote="SRBeef" data-source="post: 708153" data-attributes="member: 7509"><p>I knew there was something I liked about you...we have eight children also...although most are on their own now. I agree that having livestock on even a small farm and getting the children used to having their own regular responsibilities early in life that just get done every day is a great thing for kids.</p><p></p><p>About your land purchase question - if there is a 40 for sale adjoining your current property I would purchase it as quickly as possible before the seller changes his mind or the folks on the other side decide to buy it. jmho. </p><p></p><p>About carrying capacity that will vary a lot depending on what your goals are. I would buy the property first, if you can do it. Then I would decide just what part of the cattle business you want to be in. What is it you are going to sell to whom and how much of it are you going to sell each year. If you have a good nearby processor and are not too far from a city then freezer beef might make sense.</p><p></p><p>In this case I would look at greatly reducing the 30 acres of hay you put up and really manage that ground to make it good pasture. I find that I can buy better hay than I can make without the equipment expense. But then I am not around my place full time either.</p><p></p><p>Good pasture will keep getting better whereas hay depletes a field unless you apply large amounts of expensive fertilizers every year. Buying hay is also a way of buying fertilizer and fertility. I also raise corn for winter grazing and finishing but that is another topic...</p><p></p><p>I don't want to say exactly what stocking rate you could use because that depends on the state of the ground, type of ground and the weather/rainfall. If you establish what you income needs or goal is from cattle per year you can back up into how many head you need to sell or process per year and that will tell you how many head you should target. Then you choice is either to buy the land to support that many head or manage the land that you do have in a way so that you can support that many head.... not sure I'm being clear but that is one approach. Freeing up 30 acres of hay ground and adding 20 acres of good pasture in C MI (50 a) should let you have a nice profitable size herd.</p><p></p><p> And since you have lots of good labor available and some experience with cattle an n intensive rotational grazing system should work out great. It gives all involved close contact with the animals as they are moved from pasture to pasture. Herefords are a perfect breed for this type operation with their general good disposition. I would get yourself a good northern grass-oriented, good-disposition Hereford bull from Jerry Huth at Huth Polled Herefords in WI. I would also suggest that you put up good perimeter fence and subdivide the interior with single electric wires and move the wires and herd about every day at the same time.</p><p></p><p>This should be a fun and profitable family business. Share the profits with the kids in relation to the hours spent or something like that so they establish a relationship in their heads between money and work at an early age.</p><p></p><p>Good luck.</p><p></p><p>Jim</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="SRBeef, post: 708153, member: 7509"] I knew there was something I liked about you...we have eight children also...although most are on their own now. I agree that having livestock on even a small farm and getting the children used to having their own regular responsibilities early in life that just get done every day is a great thing for kids. About your land purchase question - if there is a 40 for sale adjoining your current property I would purchase it as quickly as possible before the seller changes his mind or the folks on the other side decide to buy it. jmho. About carrying capacity that will vary a lot depending on what your goals are. I would buy the property first, if you can do it. Then I would decide just what part of the cattle business you want to be in. What is it you are going to sell to whom and how much of it are you going to sell each year. If you have a good nearby processor and are not too far from a city then freezer beef might make sense. In this case I would look at greatly reducing the 30 acres of hay you put up and really manage that ground to make it good pasture. I find that I can buy better hay than I can make without the equipment expense. But then I am not around my place full time either. Good pasture will keep getting better whereas hay depletes a field unless you apply large amounts of expensive fertilizers every year. Buying hay is also a way of buying fertilizer and fertility. I also raise corn for winter grazing and finishing but that is another topic... I don't want to say exactly what stocking rate you could use because that depends on the state of the ground, type of ground and the weather/rainfall. If you establish what you income needs or goal is from cattle per year you can back up into how many head you need to sell or process per year and that will tell you how many head you should target. Then you choice is either to buy the land to support that many head or manage the land that you do have in a way so that you can support that many head.... not sure I'm being clear but that is one approach. Freeing up 30 acres of hay ground and adding 20 acres of good pasture in C MI (50 a) should let you have a nice profitable size herd. And since you have lots of good labor available and some experience with cattle an n intensive rotational grazing system should work out great. It gives all involved close contact with the animals as they are moved from pasture to pasture. Herefords are a perfect breed for this type operation with their general good disposition. I would get yourself a good northern grass-oriented, good-disposition Hereford bull from Jerry Huth at Huth Polled Herefords in WI. I would also suggest that you put up good perimeter fence and subdivide the interior with single electric wires and move the wires and herd about every day at the same time. This should be a fun and profitable family business. Share the profits with the kids in relation to the hours spent or something like that so they establish a relationship in their heads between money and work at an early age. Good luck. Jim [/QUOTE]
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