Getting Started

[Anonymous]

Hey Everyone. What a great broad! I just came across it a few days ago and have allready learned alot. Can I tell yall my story and ask for advice? I'm 45 years old and can retire from my job in 10 years. I have inhereted 114 acres in eastern North Carolina. It is being leased to a local farmer at this time. It has about 15 acres of good costal bermudia hay and about 25 acres of sand land that is being rotated between peanuts and sweet potatoes. There is also about 45 acres of bottom land that is producing corn and soy beans. The rest is overgrown pasture (my father was a daryman back in the 60's -70's.) Most of it is allready fenced in because the farmer was thinking of buying cows several years ago. Given this situtation does anyone have any advice. I'm not looking to get rich just wondering if the farm can support itself.
Thanks
jack

 

[TexasCountryWoman]

It really depends on what you mean by "support it's self". Do you mean you want to live there and not work. Yes, you can homestead and live off the land. You would be poor and would need at least a part time job or a savings or something like that. I fall into the living off the land and being poor category. I have always been the Bohemian/ Artist type and choose to live in the woods. I am disabled from a head injury so now can't work outside the ranch as I take too many meds for that . Now I milk goats for food and eat their male offspring for meat, raise a garden, poultry, and raise cows for the ag exemption and small profits. If you can raise your winter feed, great. Fencing is expensive, so get them up and sturdy. I don't know about weather there. But here, winter shelter isn't much of a problem, neither is winter hay storage. Your question was a bit general, so I don't know what lifestyle you are aiming towards. If it is a mansion and a pool, then talk to someone else. If it's how to use a milk pail and baling wire, I might could help. Don't overwhelm yourself with projects at the beginning and make friends with all the neighbors. Play by community rules, which are very charming in my neck of the woods.

 

[Anonymous]

I will be living there. Just wondering if I can make a profit raising cows on 100 acres of land.
thanks jack

 

[dun]

I will be living there. Just wondering if I can make a profit raising cows on 100 acres of land.
thanks jack

A profit yes, a living maybe. Depends on how mcu of the infrastructure is still in good enough condition, how much equipment is completely paid for i.e. tractor brush hog, and other misc equipment that is needed in the day to day functions required. Then there are the clairvoyance issues, will there still be a beef market that is paying above costss, etc.
Good advice about living within your community rules. Get to know your neighbors. Keep in miinddd that at 55 you can't do near as much ass you could at 50 and that's a lot less then you could at 45. Prioritize what needs to be done and make sure that your facilities are up to snuff before you bring in your first head of stock. Get to know yoour local extension office people and the folks at your local USDA-NRCS office. Find out what kind of programs are available that will provide assistance. May be financial or just information..
As I was told all my life "Don't start vast projects with have vast plans".

Start small and graduallyy increase from the profits, stay out of debt.
Off the top pf my head that's about it.

dun

 

[Running Arrow Bill]

Dun's & cattle lady's advice is good.

Determine your lifestyle and take it from there. Assuming your infrastructure is already there for cattle management, that's probably 90% of the battle. A good start would be to have the livestock (sales) pay the taxes, feed, Vet costs & Rx, etc. After that, it takes volume production and sales to "earn a living." This is a lifestyle, not necessarily a profit-making, "good $$ lifestyle."

With our Longhorn cattle seedstock breeding/calving program, after 3 years of serious effort (with all our infrastructure in place and property paid for) we are just selling enough locally and out of state to pay for our feed, hay, utilities, and taxes...have other income to supplement our needs. We are retired from the 9-5 job scene and are 100% here and doing our thing. We are currently running about 30 head Longhorn seedstock, bulls for X-breed sales, and other. Have 7 registered TWH and Peruvian horses currently. Horse sales and demand are way down across the country...our horses are a "lifestyle"...no way we would sell any of them for the prices being paid at this point in time...horses are a "long term" investment....compared to cattle.