How many Cattle per acre?

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THECowGirl

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To start out on we are buying 28 acres. 5 of that will be the house yard garage and what not probably (about thats just a guess ;-) ) That leaves 23 acres.

So What Id like to know is how many cows per acre?

Im looking into being a PBR bull contractor so they will be assorted bulls , and then also we are looking into contracting with Ohio Signature beef. I think they require black angus but Im not going to swear by it.

Any advice would be wonderful! Thanks!
 
Depending on your pasture, 14 head would probably be pushing it. Maybe you can lease or rent something adjoining you, so you can expand your operation. Sounds like you have big plans, but need more acreage. ;-)
 
First I will say feeding bulls of any nature is totally different than feeding other cattle. I am also going to say if you are going to participate in a signiture kind of beef and be a bucking bull raiser your are in two differebt lines of the industry. One has zero to do with the other. A signiture kind of beef will deal with quality of beef for human consumption. PBR producers want athletic bucking bulls for entertainment. I don't want to put your asperations down, but pick one orthe other. Angus bulls are not known for good buckers.


Scotty
 
Scotty":24gksvfl said:
First I will say feeding bulls of any nature is totally different than feeding other cattle. I am also going to say if you are going to participate in a signiture kind of beef and be a bucking bull raiser your are in two differebt lines of the industry. One has zero to do with the other. A signiture kind of beef will deal with quality of beef for human consumption. PBR producers want athletic bucking bulls for entertainment. I don't want to put your asperations down, but pick one orthe other. Angus bulls are not known for good buckers.


Scotty

Yup I know that but I want our operation to make a lil bit of money at least break even or close to it! ;-) Ive done a TON of research but never Does anywhere say how much acreage you need. Ohio signature feeds CORN only. Very specifically corn. PBR bulls need a different diet too. I am aware that they have different diets and "lifestyles" ;-) That being said Im more interested in bull contracting and being part of the PBR, so if it doesnt work out Ive already chose what Id like to do.


Crowder- Thats what I was thinking. Maybe renting some land later on after we get in buisness and feel we are ready. I do have big plans and hope that it turns out. Im anxious to get going already!
 
I would try to shoot more for three or four head. If thats cows. I am not sure about bulls though. We try to have 8-5 acres per cow. 8 is ideally and I realize that you might not be able to acoplish that at this time. But on the other hand. I know that bucking bulls are fed and hayed ever day so you might have a different situation. Thanks KaneRanch
 
THECowGirl":s3th9j4v said:
Scotty":s3th9j4v said:
First I will say feeding bulls of any nature is totally different than feeding other cattle. I am also going to say if you are going to participate in a signiture kind of beef and be a bucking bull raiser your are in two differebt lines of the industry. One has zero to do with the other. A signiture kind of beef will deal with quality of beef for human consumption. PBR producers want athletic bucking bulls for entertainment. I don't want to put your asperations down, but pick one orthe other. Angus bulls are not known for good buckers.


Scotty

Ive done a TON of research but never Does anywhere say how much acreage you need.

That may be because each area has different requirements. Contact your local extension office, they can tell you the acreage needed for your area. In my area the acreage per cow is approximately 33.
 

That may be because each area has different requirements. Contact your local extension office, they can tell you the acreage needed for your area. In my area the acreage per cow is approximately 33.[/quote]

Yeah, depends on the area. I can run a cow and a calf per acre. Some folks not far from me can run 2 cows. Less than 30 miles from me it takes 5 acres per cow. Check with you extension agent.
 
Im looking into being a PBR bull contractor
why have you abandoned the common and proven cow/calf production? It seems like keeping things simple until you have a good handle on it would prevent some unforeseen pitfalls. I would think doing stuff with the PBR would require some highly specialized knowledge.
 
I would put together a good business plan...just the work and research involved will give you a good idea of the direction you would like to go....it will also make you look at your knowledge and capabilities as well as your finances and resources.
Bulls will require some heavy duty facilities and equipment and if it were me a real good medical policy case you get to trusting bulls.
There was a post not long ago that had links to a contract bull producer...could be alot of help. Do alot of homework.
Good luck to you...DMc
 
Aero":1kqrs3pk said:
Im looking into being a PBR bull contractor
why have you abandoned the common and proven cow/calf production? It seems like keeping things simple until you have a good handle on it would prevent some unforeseen pitfalls. I would think doing stuff with the PBR would require some highly specialized knowledge.


Aero, with all due respect, cows and calves require some pretty highly specialized knowledge as well if you want to keep those calves alive. Just my thoughts.
 
flbullrider is on here somewhere. Maybe he will give you some insight into raising performance bulls. I would think it would take a lot to break into that business. Most suppliers are well known and have an inside track to the business. They raise bulls from known bucking stock. I also think making money on 28 acres is going to be pretty tough unless everything is done by hand. I would think hay, minerals, drugs, and other consumables would eat up just about all the profit but then that is JMHO.
 
I went to a PBR event a few weeks ago down here, and the announcer was really trying to push folks into the bull breeding business. Made it sound real easy to buy some stock, breed some bulls, and make some money. The bull owners have a competition each night just as the riders do, scored by the judges. The owners make somewhere along the lines of 20-25K if their bull is the top scoring bull of the event. It cost each owner 10K to enter their bulls, and several owners had more than one bull entered. As the event went on and this fella was talking more and more about the bucking bull business, he mentioned a sale the previous day where the average price for the bulls was in the 50K dollar range! Most bulls sold on shares, and some sold semen interest only.

So yes, it appears you need very deep pockets to get into this line of the business, as you have some stiff competition already in there. Kinda reminded me of the alpaca / ostrich business, the first ones in there made all the money off of the newcomers.
 
msscamp
i did not mean to insult anyone or make profitable cow/calf operations seem pedestrian or easy. I only meant that there are thousands of cow/calf producers, thousands of research studies about cow/calf production, and thousands of sale barns that sell the product. How many PBR outlets can there be? how much can the Extension Agent help an upstart as in this case? How many people can she get advice from on this sight?

I could be wrong, but with the abundance of information available to common production types, a cow/calf production has to be simpler than jumping into a large hole not knowing whats in it.
 
Aero":39vinkmm said:
Im looking into being a PBR bull contractor
why have you abandoned the common and proven cow/calf production? It seems like keeping things simple until you have a good handle on it would prevent some unforeseen pitfalls. I would think doing stuff with the PBR would require some highly specialized knowledge.

Just something ive been interested in all my life.

Things may not work out, I mean I didnt ask ya`ll to analyze what Id like to do- I asked how many acres each cow needed to graze.
They wouldnt be living off the land so I think it would be a little different?? Wouldnt need quite as much space. It seems like I read some where an acre per horse(but that was horses!) To have sufficent room for them to roam.

PBR bulls have special diets. As do the OSbeef. So they wouldnt be having to live off of the grass.

I appreciate hearing everyones knowledge of everyone!
 
It really depends on the type of land and your style.
I run better than a pair an acre in central Ky
But its pretty intensive pasture care and paddocks, you could do the same.
Start small and see what the land will do. Thats how I did it, now I have feed some hay this summer also, as its been DRY.
Thats the price you pay to overstock, I understood the game before I got in. :eek:

MD
 
Aero":1aslpvqr said:
msscamp
i did not mean to insult anyone or make profitable cow/calf operations seem pedestrian or easy. I only meant that there are thousands of cow/calf producers, thousands of research studies about cow/calf production, and thousands of sale barns that sell the product. How many PBR outlets can there be? how much can the Extension Agent help an upstart as in this case? How many people can she get advice from on this sight?

I could be wrong, but with the abundance of information available to common production types, a cow/calf production has to be simpler than jumping into a large hole not knowing whats in it.

Aero, you have some very valid points about raising PBR stock. I am by no means insulted, offended or even ruffled. You're fine. :)
 
Hi, I have 2 1/2 acres in tall fescue, blue grass, and white clover. The land is irrigated and the soil is mostly clay but it is fertile. I have three pads I rotate.

Next year I will need to run at LEAST five or six head just to keep up with the grass growth! That fescue with clover really puts out some feed. They may not like as well, but it is green and it can take a pounding from the animals.
 
The general rule of thumb is 1 cow per acre on fescue orchard grass rye grass etc. If you run bermuda grass like I do. You can get 3-6 cows per acre. I run them like this all summer then in the winter rotational graze 48 acres of fescue. I have seen people put 10 cows per acre on bermuda and it worked nicely but I personally wouldn't try it.
 
CommercialCattleManTN":12dn834k said:
The general rule of thumb is 1 cow per acre on fescue orchard grass rye grass etc. If you run bermuda grass like I do. You can get 3-6 cows per acre. I run them like this all summer then in the winter rotational graze 48 acres of fescue. I have seen people put 10 cows per acre on bermuda and it worked nicely but I personally wouldn't try it.

That's a generality that doesn;t work. In your environemnt you may be able to run 1 per acre, other growing conditions dictate differing stocking rates.

dun
 

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