ALACOWMAN
Well-known member
I could be here 24/7 and nothing happen.. But plan a trip one of them will pull a monkey shine...
Sounds like G&O ruined ranching there. Time to move east or north. :cowboy:Brute 23":1ziozvyc said:Its impossible to make a living off cattle now days. The cost of living is too high and the margin on cattle is too low.
Some inherit some land to keep the debt down, or send the wife in to town, but I started with a couple hand operated fencing tools, a lease, some disposable syringes, and a credit card advance. Made for an interesting ROE calculation.Brute 23":364ejx87 said:There is no way you can start from scratch and live on 100 head.... any where. There is more to that story.
Brute 23":257j8d4a said:There is no way you can start from scratch and live on 100 head.... any where. There is more to that story.
Stocker Steve":1cryu9w6 said:Some inherit some land to keep the debt down, or send the wife in to town, but I started with a couple hand operated fencing tools, a lease, some disposable syringes, and a credit card advance. Made for an interesting ROE calculation.Brute 23":1cryu9w6 said:There is no way you can start from scratch and live on 100 head.... any where. There is more to that story.
Brute 23":1n6gfnfo said:The fact is if you are industrious enough now days to make a ranching operation work you are wasting your talents.
Stocker Steve":cmyf7yhi said:You are adding conditions with the "starting from scratch". That is a different thread.
The more detailed "make a living" questions are:
1) what is your family draw from the ranch?
2) how much capital does it take to make this living with cattle?
3) what are the big risks?
4) is it wise to invest that much in a cattle operation?
Aaron":1pf2xuds said:Most of the full time guys I know aren't lazy by any stretch, they just don't play well with others and get along with cows much better. Not hard to do if you don't mind lowering your standards and forget about keeping with the Jones's. But most of N. America has priced it's land out of value in terms of livestock. Just a few pockets left where land is cheap and decent to raise cattle.
Stocker Steve":1ijngclp said:Yes. I have been digging into this, so no opinions here. Just the facts Man. Examples are:
cow/calf - several with over 100 cows, low debt, less than 25K family living expense
stocker - several with north/south connection and/or custom backgrounders who can take 2 or 3 wts.
back grounding - several with a semi to haul by product, but most of these went under in the 2014 to 2016 price collapse
feedlot - just one, he feeds his own grain, likes to buy green or chromed up calves
seed stock - several second or third generation operations with a lot of rep
Craig Miller":1u2ntnzj said:So you think you can't live on that? From data usa:
The median household income in Winston County, AL was $33,194 in 2015
We've never lowered our standards and most people have to keep up with us. lolAaron":xn0fdjcd said:Most of the full time guys I know aren't lazy by any stretch, they just don't play well with others and get along with cows much better. Not hard to do if you don't mind lowering your standards and forget about keeping with the Jones's. But most of N. America has priced it's land out of value in terms of livestock. Just a few pockets left where land is cheap and decent to raise cattle.
Stocker Steve":1jf8rmzw said:Craig Miller":1jf8rmzw said:So you think you can't live on that? From data usa:
The median household income in Winston County, AL was $33,194 in 2015
I know you can, and I know people that do. They burn wood, raise a lot of food, shop thrift stores, and drive used vehicles. But there are limits w/o going Amish. Insurance is getting to be a big challenge.
At some point you need to focus on more income, not on saving your way to prosperity. You can search the Farm Business Management cost and income numbers for ideas - - looking at the average net (not much) vs. the top 20%.
cowgirl8":qdcfvs43 said:We've never lowered our standards and most people have to keep up with us. lolAaron":qdcfvs43 said:Most of the full time guys I know aren't lazy by any stretch, they just don't play well with others and get along with cows much better. Not hard to do if you don't mind lowering your standards and forget about keeping with the Jones's. But most of N. America has priced it's land out of value in terms of livestock. Just a few pockets left where land is cheap and decent to raise cattle.