Green as the grass

[Beefy]

It takes about 500 head to make a "living" nowadays. we run one pair per 2 acres here and i think thats considered "good".

 

[Campground Cattle]

So are you saying to raise cows to sell as calfs and not fatten up for beef sales for the table ?

You will be better off selling your calf crop at the salebarn. Starting out until you figure out the ins and outs you will be ahead running a terminal operation.

 

[Mahoney Pursley Ranch]

This may hit a sore spot with you genuine cattle men but would a guy make more money raising exotic registered cows say like Minature Herefords? I read some about these cattle and it seems to be something not many people are doing. They are expensive but you can run two - three times more animals on the same number of acres than full size cattle. I'm open to other suggestions as well.

 

[Campground Cattle]

If you are thinking about raising cattle to make a lot of money, stay in town. This is a way of life, hard times and hard work, praying and cussing the weather, sick cows, bad prices, drought,flood,army worms and hay to name a few things.

God I love it.

 

[dun]

This may hit a sore spot with you genuine cattle men but would a guy make more money raising exotic registered cows say like Minature Herefords? I read some about these cattle and it seems to be something not many people are doing. They are expensive but you can run two - three times more animals on the same number of acres than full size cattle. I'm open to other suggestions as well.

Per head they will sell for more. Probalem is there is a very small niche market for them. Too small to market as beef, a limited market as oxen, pretty much novelty and pets. Trying to locate an area that would have a continueing adequate demand would be the problem. Even if you can run more per acre, they'll eat a whole lot more if they stay ther forever because you can't sell them.

dun

 

[D.R. Cattle]

If you are thinking about raising cattle to make a lot of money, stay in town. This is a way of life, hard times and hard work, praying and cussing the weather, sick cows, bad prices, drought,flood,army worms and hay to name a few things.

God I love it.

Pretty much sums up. I love it too. The way of life is exactly why most of us do it.

 

[Anonymous]

Ok so the bottom line is enjoy raising cattle and the money comes second. Like I said I'm not going into this for a living just would like to see some return. Ok then so back to one original question. If I was going to raise herefords (full size) would I buy one bull and two cows to start or 1 hereford bull and 1 Black Angus bull and 1 or 2 angus cows to crossbreed and get these Baldies you spoke of. Please explain Baldies to me.

 

[Mahoney Pursley Ranch]

Don't know why my last post showed up as a Guest ?

 

[dun]

A baldy is a hybred cross of a solid colored breed and a Hereford. The traditional baldy is Hereford X ANgus. You can also get them from some Simmenthals crossed to solid colored, or for that matter some Simmenthals are kind of baldy looking.
Get a couple of the very best Hereford cows you can find, AI them to good Angus bulls. If your area has a prejudice towards black baldys use a black Angus, if they are more enlightened use a Red Angus bull.

dun

 

[eric]

just a somewhat uneducated guess, i'd say you'll be able to run 10-20 cows.

[/quote]



I realize this is just a guess made on unknown and unseen land, but how do you guys figure up the land per acre per cow? I dont have all that great of pasture, and I have 9 hd on about 13 acres of pasture, and I have had to brushhog the pasture twice this summer already. I had planned on running more cows in order to keep from having to mow the grass. Granted, we have had a very wet summer and this is the first time cows have been on this land in a few yrs, but it appears I could run twice as many hd as I have now and thery still wouldnt eat all the grass. Am I figuring this wrong, or am I just in good pasture country? My only drawback is feeding that many hd in the winter.

 

[dun]

just a somewhat uneducated guess, i'd say you'll be able to run 10-20 cows.

I realize this is just a guess made on unknown and unseen land, but how do you guys figure up the land per acre per cow? I dont have all that great of pasture, and I have 9 hd on about 13 acres of pasture, and I have had to brushhog the pasture twice this summer already. I had planned on running more cows in order to keep from having to mow the grass. Granted, we have had a very wet summer and this is the first time cows have been on this land in a few yrs, but it appears I could run twice as many hd as I have now and thery still wouldnt eat all the grass. Am I figuring this wrong, or am I just in good pasture country? My only drawback is feeding that many hd in the winter.

You have perfectly summed up the problem of pasture managment. In years pat, when we could afford stockers, we would buy a bunch of stockers and run them to keep the pastures down, then when the grass slowed we'ld sell them. This year we're leasing pasture to the vet to run a bunch of his heifers on. Plus we've hayed a bunch and put that aside or sold most of it. That's helped but not as good as a whole swarm of stockers.
You may find that hoggin is cheaper then having to feed a bunch of hay this winter.

dun

 

[Texan]

I dont have all that great of pasture, and I have 9 hd on about 13 acres of pasture, and I have had to brushhog the pasture twice this summer already.

Eric, sounds like you're doing a lot of things right! Are you talking about 9 hd of cows, or cows and calves? How much fertilizer and are you still feeding cubes on a regular basis? In any respect, sounds like you're doing a good job with your pasture management! Keep it up!

 

[frenchie]

Why not buy bred cows or 3 in ones ,so you don,t have to buy a bull right off.

Can you lease a bull , thats common here.

 

[Mahoney Pursley Ranch]

That is what i'm looking for, the best way to get started. What's a 3 in 1 ?

 

[Texan]

There's a great post from a guest on this very board, entitled "Thinking of getting in the biz (summing it up)" or something similar. Recommended reading, in my opinion. Also recommended not getting in until cows get a lot cheaper. Again, my opinion. Always lots of work to do before you turn out cattle, anyway.

You've mentioned "making money" in several of your posts. Like others have said, plan on spending a whole lot before you ever have any returns. A lot more before you have any real profit. Do it for the lifestyle, not the standard of living. In fact, probably best to plan on doing without some of the things that you have now!

 

[Texan]

What's a 3 in 1 ?

A cow with a calf by her side, that is bred back.

 

[Mahoney Pursley Ranch]

Thanks Texan. What would a 3 in 1 Hereford go for ? Sound like the way to go.

 

[sidney411]

Hello and Welcome to the board!

As was suggested previously, cattle are at an all time high right now. You may want to hold off and fix up the land and get your working facilities up to par before you jump in and buy your cows.

Now, when you do buy I would suggest getting cows that have had experience calving, the last thing you want is calving problems when you are new to cattle. I speak from experience here.

I would definately suggest looking in to leasing a bull. I have leased a bull for my heifers and will be picking up another Angus bull in a few weeks for my Herefords. The guy rents them to me for $150/yr. I can't justify buying a bull for $1500 that I can only use for 6-8 yrs when I can trade bulls every year if I want for $150. I don't know if you would be able to find something that can work as well as I have but my family has been doing business with this guy for years so he treats us right. I don't know what he charges other people to lease his bulls, I am suspecting more though.

Maybe you could go in with a neighbor with a bull purchase? You don't need 2 bulls though. You said something about an Angus and Hereford. Balck baldies sell better around here then any other calf. You can use Hereford mommas and an Angus bull OR Angus mommas and a Hereford bull. I would suggest the Hereford mommas and Angus bull. I can usually buy a hereford cow cheaper then an angus cow, and I like the performance of the hereford cows in the pasture.

Hope I have helped a little.

Have a great day!

 

[txag]

I dont have all that great of pasture, and I have 9 hd on about 13 acres of pasture, and I have had to brushhog the pasture twice this summer already.

Eric, sounds like you're doing a lot of things right! Are you talking about 9 hd of cows, or cows and calves? How much fertilizer and are you still feeding cubes on a regular basis? In any respect, sounds like you're doing a good job with your pasture management! Keep it up!

i agree. it sounds like you're doing well with your pasture management, but remember that this was a very unusual summer with the amount of rain. we still have green grass which is typically unheard of in august. many people tend to make the mistake of forgetting what it looks like in a dry year & stocking for what the place can hold in the best year. we're the opposite.....we stock for the worst & then don't have to sell off good cows for low prices or feed costly hay in a drought.

typically, head per acre is referring to pairs (or cows) per acre.

 

[Mahoney Pursley Ranch]

Thanks Sidney for the great advice !