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I would like to get started in the beef industry. Would I be better off starting with mother cows, stockers, ect.? I am currently looking for pasture to rent. Where do you all get your feed? Any information would be thankful. I have been around cattle all of my life, I am just wanting to start on my own.

Thanks
 
It would be eaiser for these folks to answer your questions if they knew where you plan to set up your operation.
 
I am located in Cooke County, Texas, which is located along the Red River and I-35 runs through the middle of the county.

Thanks
 
Having grown up near you in Denton County, TX., there are a lot of resources in the N. central Texas area. Plenty of hay suppliers in that area (including the "double priced" Hay at the feed stores). Look in the Gainesville or Denton papers for hay advs. Also, any of the feed stores should have a good selection of minerals, bagged feeds, range cubes, etc., to supplement your pasture and hay. If you plan to use the large round bales of hay, make sure you use a hay ring and have tractor with loader or a "Tumblebug" single bay hauler/placer to move the bales.

Your area will most likely have native or coastal bermuda hay as well as some prairie hay available (e.g., Kansas or Nebraska source). Alfalfa in your area (even thou excellent % of protein) will probably be costly since your area is not famous for growing alfalfa. Shoot for grass hay with 10 to 15% protein content, weedfree if possible...you don't need any more weed seeds! Also johnsongrass is very prevalent in your "Grand Prairie" and "Blackland Prairie" soil area. Avoid this type of hay...johnsongrass is extremely difficult to get rid of!

Get your hay by end of September for the winter useage if possible...after that, prices and availability become more problematic.
 
young farmer":1gjn5b0o said:
I would like to get started in the beef industry. Would I be better off starting with mother cows, stockers, ect.? I am currently looking for pasture to rent. Where do you all get your feed? Any information would be thankful. I have been around cattle all of my life, I am just wanting to start on my own.

Thanks

"Ideal" purchase is a 3 in 1 package: Confirmed bred young cow with a calf at side; and, with their shots and de-worming up-to-date. If you're primarily interested in raising beef for slaughter, probably buy weaned, 300 to 400 lb calves and feed them out to finish weight.
 
I appreciate your information. I would like to one day be able to have some type of cattle operation and grow my needed feed and forages that would allow me to farm full time. I just graduated from high school. I have been working on a dairy for a little over 2 years.

Take care
 
Running Arrow Bill":o0sko7ih said:
young farmer":o0sko7ih said:
I would like to get started in the beef industry. Would I be better off starting with mother cows, stockers, ect.? I am currently looking for pasture to rent. Where do you all get your feed? Any information would be thankful. I have been around cattle all of my life, I am just wanting to start on my own.

Thanks

"Ideal" purchase is a 3 in 1 package: Confirmed bred young cow with a calf at side; and, with their shots and de-worming up-to-date. If you're primarily interested in raising beef for slaughter, probably buy weaned, 300 to 400 lb calves and feed them out to finish weight.

Agree good advice, if you can't find 3 in 1's you like look for older bred cows with a history of easy calving. Don't start out on first time heifers.
 
If you've selected a certain breed or breeds that you are interested in raising, it's worth your while to check out a registered sale if there are any in your area. Get to meet breeders with the same interest as you.. and you can pick up some good deals also. Especially with the commercial cattle market so good right now. There's not much of a spread between commercial and registered!
 
In your (our) area, finding the cows will be the least expensive part of the operation. Land prices have just skyrocketed here the past 10 yrs, but since you grew up there, you might be able to find someone who just bought some land but has no intention of developing it yet. Ask if you could run your cows on there in exchange for keeping the ag exemption. Maybe offer to fence it in if you can afford it, but that can get costly after awhile.
The further north you go, the less exspensive the land gets, so go north young man, go north! My neighbor just purchased 2200 acres in St. Jo a few months ago. Pd somewhere around $495 an acre or something like that. Good luck and welcome to the board!
 
young farmer":3dzdqoo5 said:
I am located in Cooke County, Texas, which is located along the Red River and I-35 runs through the middle of the county.

Thanks

Take time to visit the http://www.noble.org site. That's the site of the Noble Foundation in Ardmore, OK. Their Southern Plains Beef Symposium is August 14 in Ardmore and it's one of the best programs of that type in the US. They have tons of info on their site and offer all sorts of informational meetings and flyers to their cooperators. They also have a good retained ownership program. Believe me, education is very important if you plan to make your living from the livestock industry....
 
Given the fact that there are several diseases of intrest to watch out for

I would select a seed stock (registered) producer who sells cattle that are older or are not quite quality to sell as registered as commercial females, have them bred or bred with calves at side, also get evaluations from a vet

get length of pregnancy confirmed, vaccination history, get blood tests for Johne's, Bovine Leucosis, Bangs, TB, herd health history on animals you are interested in, ie age at first calving , production records, with est. birth weight of each calf, if they can't provide this stuff, find someone else to deal with or you will end up with someone elses wreck,

and also ask if they can recommend some competitors to looks at as well so that you can see what other people raise, and if they are better you will be back, that is what I do any way, and if the other guy has better, then you did your self a favor, if they won't offer up at least one or two competitors, they are affraid of losing the sale, probably because they have mediocre cattle and know they will lose the sale
 

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