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roxybelles

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Hi All. I've been reading through threads on this site for months and just joined up today. I am looking to start an Black Angus herd from scratch so any advice would be greatly appreciated.

I was lucky enough to grow up on a cow farm. But once my grandfather and then my father passed we got out of the cow business (with the exception of a few hobby cows) and have only focusing our efforts on hay and horse boarding.

Our farm is setup perfectly for cattle. Great fencing is in place, nice pastures, and a fully functional cow barn. I hate to see the infrastructure that my grandfather and father worked so hard to build go to waste.

My plan is to buy 5 - 10 bred heifers to get started. Any input on the selection process for the bred heifers or any recommendations of farms/ranches that I should consider would be greatly appreciated.
 
Welcome! It sounds like you have good infrastructure in place, so that is a great start. Are you wanting to have a commercial herd, or registered? My personal preference would be to start out with some bred cows or 3 n 1s. Heifers can be a real headache sometimes, but I understand you may just want to start out with a young herd. Lots of good folks here will be able to give you some sound advice.
 
Thanks for the 3 N 1 recommendation. I'll definitely consider that. Thinking of starting out registered and then maybe doing both registered and commercial. I'd like to keep my options open. Still learning and doing research at this point.
 
And you chose Black
And you chose Black Angus because,,,?
Partially from experience with my grandfather and fathers cows. We've had everything from Charolais, Herefords, Angus, Brahman, and their crosses on the farm. The Angus seemed the best all around to deal with.

In doing recent research what I have put in the pro column for angus:

Earlier fertility
Calving ease
Marbling
Hardiness
Milk
Disposition
Marketability
High fertility rates
Maternal instinct


I'm thinking of eventually trying to sell some cows directly to consumer and cut out the packers (looks like they're getting the biggest chunk of the profit these days).

Angus beef seems to be well known to consumers. There's been a lot of marketing dollars spent on promoting angus I figure might as well take advantage of that.

I am open to any and all suggestions as I am just getting started and want to make the best decisions I can in this endeavor.
 
Partially from experience with my grandfather and fathers cows. We've had everything from Charolais, Herefords, Angus, Brahman, and their crosses on the farm. The Angus seemed the best all around to deal with.

In doing recent research what I have put in the pro column for angus:

Earlier fertility
Calving ease
Marbling
Hardiness
Milk
Disposition
Marketability
High fertility rates
Maternal instinct


I'm thinking of eventually trying to sell some cows directly to consumer and cut out the packers (looks like they're getting the biggest chunk of the profit these days).

Angus beef seems to be well known to consumers. There's been a lot of marketing dollars spent on promoting angus I figure might as well take advantage of that.

I am open to any and all suggestions as I am just getting started and want to make the best decisions I can in this endeavor.
Well thought out.

Welcome!
 
Partially from experience with my grandfather and fathers cows. We've had everything from Charolais, Herefords, Angus, Brahman, and their crosses on the farm. The Angus seemed the best all around to deal with.

In doing recent research what I have put in the pro column for angus:

Earlier fertility
Calving ease
Marbling
Hardiness
Milk
Disposition
Marketability
High fertility rates
Maternal instinct


I'm thinking of eventually trying to sell some cows directly to consumer and cut out the packers (looks like they're getting the biggest chunk of the profit these days).

Angus beef seems to be well known to consumers. There's been a lot of marketing dollars spent on promoting angus I figure might as well take advantage of that.

I am open to any and all suggestions as I am just getting started and want to make the best decisions I can in this endeavor.
You are on the right track!! Angus does it all better than any other breed, IMO. Later on you can crossbreed if you desire. You can successfully cross about anything on an Angus cow. She's a great factory. I would say to watch the size of the Angus you are considering, but maybe in SC it doesn't matter as much as it does out here in the west. Welcome and GOOD LUCK!
 
You are on the right track!! Angus does it all better than any other breed, IMO. Later on you can crossbreed if you desire. You can successfully cross about anything on an Angus cow. She's a great factory. I would say to watch the size of the Angus you are considering, but maybe in SC it doesn't matter as much as it does out here in the west. Welcome and GOOD LUCK!
Thank you!
 
We're in Anderson County. If you plan to utilize fescue for winter grazing look to find slick haired cattle.
Thanks for the info! Nice to see someone else in SC here. I'll admit I had to look up what "slick haired" means. That makes perfect sense now.
 
Not too far from Fort Mill. We are in Laurens. Just south of Greenville.
I'm about 3 hours from the coast.
You should check in with Phillip Gilstrap. He's one of the guys that runs Laurens Livestock, and is a nice guy. He should have some contacts for you in the area there. He can also give you some good advice on the market there, and let you know if anybody has a herd sellout coming through there
 
Welcome! And I'm partial to Angus/Angus cross. I agree with @A.J. about starting out with breds, other than heifers. Even if you personally know the producer you're purchasing from (as opposed to a sale barn), have they been pelvic measured & bred to a calving ease bull at appx. 15 months? Fully vaccinated? Tame or wild? You don't want to start out with bat shyt crazy. And even with all the aforementioned boxes checked, heifers can be tricky - keep in mind, they're the equivalent of a teenage girl & sometimes don't "mother up" or produce enough milk, can be more flighty, not as diligent, etc.

Best of luck! But sounds like you're set up/fully operational and have done a lot of research.
 
I will be coming through Clinton on I-26 about 4am Monday delivering a new cattle trailer to Lorris SC. New cattle man needs a new Kiefer aluminum trailer. Hahaha Welcome
Hi Kenny, you should be getting to Loris right at breakfast time. If your looking for a good place for breakfast try Ernie's Hometown Diner. It's right on Main Street in Loris.
 
You should check in with Phillip Gilstrap. He's one of the guys that runs Laurens Livestock, and is a nice guy. He should have some contacts for you in the area there. He can also give you some good advice on the market there, and let you know if anybody has a herd sellout coming through there
Thanks A.J. I will do that. Once hay season is over I'm planning on going to several of the sale barns around here. Not necessarily to buy, buts it been years since I've been to a sale barn.
 
Welcome! And I'm partial to Angus/Angus cross. I agree with @A.J. about starting out with breds, other than heifers. Even if you personally know the producer you're purchasing from (as opposed to a sale barn), have they been pelvic measured & bred to a calving ease bull at appx. 15 months? Fully vaccinated? Tame or wild? You don't want to start out with bat shyt crazy. And even with all the aforementioned boxes checked, heifers can be tricky - keep in mind, they're the equivalent of a teenage girl & sometimes don't "mother up" or produce enough milk, can be more flighty, not as diligent, etc.

Best of luck! But sounds like you're set up/fully operational and have done a lot of research.
Thanks for the input @TCRanch. I definitely don't want to deal with "bat shyt crazy" . Sounds like I should, as @A.J. mentioned, look for some 3 N 1's as well bred cows not heifers.
 

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