How many cows you got?

[djinwa]

Have a heifer that weighed 876 when we weaned her calf and the calf weigh 576, it weighed 45 lbs at birth.

Well, that is impressive, but not the wealth-creator that is my cow.

I'm not sure her weight, but she's 46" at the hip, Jersey/lowline - maybe 800 pounds? Along with giving me a nice beef calf, I milk about 350 gallons a year from her, of which 100 gallons sell for $5 per gallon. On top of that, she takes the top off my lawn, reducing fuel and equipment expense.
Of course, all this requires a few thousand dollars of labor each year.....

I've had more cows, but when hay went over $200 per ton, I didn't see the point of more. As I hear of others losing money on cows, makes you wonder if fewer is better.

 

[TSR]

Too many when it comes time to feed/cut hay and not enough when it comes time to sell! :nod:

 

[Willow Springs]

It seems the American ranchers are a lot more touchy about this subject than we are up here. We ask the question almost like we ask how the weather is or the crops are. I guess we don't ever ask complete strangers, but it always comes up in conversation when talking to another cattleman. Now maybe we are just too nice up here to take offence so we just tell a little white lie instead?

 

[blackcowz]

It seems the American ranchers are a lot more touchy about this subject than we are up here. We ask the question almost like we ask how the weather is or the crops are. I guess we don't ever ask complete strangers, but it always comes up in conversation when talking to another cattleman. Now maybe we are just too nice up here to take offence so we just tell a little white lie instead?

:lol2: That sounds like a good idea.

 

[mnmtranching]

Is this a Minnesota thing? Nobody asks me how much land I have. But, I get asked all the time the number of cows I have. Most don't know the difference between calves, steers, heifers or cows. Depending on my mood I have different answers.