I need all the help I can get...

[crmorehead]

So my family of 5 wants a self-sustaining farm. I'm 38, hubby's 47, and the boys are 11, 6, and 5. None of us are afraid of work. We have 12 acres... 6 1/2 is pasture (3 acres are occupied by us, the garden, the chickens, and the goats), 5 1/2 is woods. We want to be able to raise enough beef each year for just our family. I need some input as to what y'all think would be the best way to raise our own beef. Ideally, I would like to not have to buy a lot of feed and would be able to rotate stock in a way that every year we'd have a cow to slaughter. :help:

 

[crmorehead]

I forgot to mention that we are in Northwest Louisiana and have spring mix hay growing...

 

[shaz]

:welcome:
Sounds like you have 3 acres left to work with. About all I can come up with is buy a couple of 7wt steers and slaughter them when the pasture runs out.

You may be able to extend grazing by rotating them through your other land using hotwire. Might cut down on mowing too.

 

[Alan]

:welcome:
Sounds like you have 3 acres left to work with. About all I can come up with is buy a couple of 7wt steers and slaughter them when the pasture runs out.

You may be able to extend grazing by rotating them through your other land using hotwire. Might cut down on mowing too.

:nod: :nod: with the small amount of pasture you have this is the same suggestion I would have. You might think about fencing off some of the 3 acres you use for personal or clearing some of the woods for pasture. But you need two head of cattle, they are herd animals and will stress less with two than a single animal. A 800lb to 1000lb butcher steer will feed your family for most, if not all the year. So may want to think about buying 700 to 800lb steer and a just weaned steer 500lb. When you butcher the bigger one buy another just weaned and keep the cycle going. I would say cow calf is not an option with such a small amount of acreage for two head of cattle, means buying a lot more hay than a couple of small steers will take in the winter.

Good luck,
Alan

 

[Arkansas]

I have read about Dexter Cattle being good for that kind of small acreage. There is a Book called The Self Sufficient Life and How to Live it.. Its by John Seymour, I have it and its a great book tells a lot of things that you can do. I would Also recommend Storey's Guide of Chickens, Beef Cattle, Goats etc.. They are all filled with great Information as I have them as well. The John Seymour book though tells about how to turn 5 acres of land into a self sufficient and supporting land with a teetered cow/calf and pigs etc... Very very good book! Top shelf book for sure. That book alone would be worth getting and reading Even has Farm layouts in it etc.. Hope your plans and your farm does well

Thanks,
Arkansas

 

[highgrit]

I like Alan's suggestion, I think he's dead on.

 

[Dave]

Buy two head at the beginning of your grass season and butcher them both when grass runs out. Sell one on the rail as locker beef and keep one for yourself. The one you keep for yourself will be pretty cheap this way. if you only keep a half, the other one and a half will pay for most, if not all, of your beef. Also consider buying heifers. They are cheaper to buy and will fatten up at a lower weight.

 

[backhoeboogie]

Get a nurse cow. Buy beef calves split off of their dams. Raise the calves on the nurse cow. Sell some and butcher one. This is the only way I know to turn profit on small acreage plus get you the beef you want. You are going to have to feed that cow while she is nursing that many calves. It aint much feed. You said none. The above suggestions are good.

 

[chippie]

We raised our beef when our kids (5 of them) were still at home. What worked best for us was raising one steer to about 1100 lbs. Butchering it and selling half. By selling half, we basically got our beef for free (including processing and finishing it.) We have a calf in the pasture now that should be ready in about 10 months. It looks like we are going to raise pig to hold us until Ace is ready.
Since you only have about 3 acres to raise them on, it would be a good idea to give it a rest in between cattle, plus you need to figure your timing as to whether you are going to have to buy hay for the winter months or only raise during the summer. A little feed towards the end helps the final product.
Do you have a tractor? Dragging small pastures on a regular basis with a harrow to break up the manure is a good thing.

 

[Caustic Burno]

Get a nurse cow. Buy beef calves split off of their dams. Raise the calves on the nurse cow. Sell some and butcher one. This is the only way I know to turn profit on small acreage plus get you the beef you want. You are going to have to feed that cow while she is nursing that many calves. It aint much feed. You said none. The above suggestions are good.

My thought's exactly I was thinking Guernsey.

 

[Kingfisher]

Get 3 of em (. A couple of heifers and a steer) or more and start capturing as much hay as you can. If that works get another one and some more hay. . Make sure you have access to alot of water cuz one thing for sure us a few cows can need/use more water than you have or can afford. Learn to grow grass efficiently and it just gets better and better.

 

[Alan]

This is not directed at anyone, but to some. They have 3.5 acres to work with. No room for a cow calf operation and they want it to be self sustaining. Meaning minimum hay purchase ..... Do some of you really have to pay a rate for water? We are on well so no charge other then the power to the pump. City water does charge a low fee but last I was on city it was very small. Tough to make a cattle living on 3.5 acres.

 

[greybeard]

If the woods are fenced, they have an additional 5 acres. Lots of people run cows in the woods especially in summer and early fall.
I think "turning a profit" on 3 acres with current unpredictable weather is going to hard for beginners--everything will have to go just right.
Timing included.
1.5 acres per head? Yes, if the pasture is good.
Remeber, you will likely need to provide some mineral supplement, probably will want some parasite control, and if that 3 acres is poor pasture or you are in bad drought, you will have to supplement the pasture with some feed. It all adds up quick.
No cow/calf--you don't have the acreage for it--you would have to feed momma too much for her to be able to raise the calf as well as carry it thru gestation.

 

[Fire Sweep Ranch]

With three boys, they are going to need a whole beef for a year! We are a family of 5, two girls and a boy, and we eat a whole beef each year along with a pig. But we DO NOT buy meat.

 

[backhoeboogie]

This is not directed at anyone, but to some. They have 3.5 acres to work with. No room for a cow calf operation and they want it to be self sustaining. Meaning minimum hay purchase ..... Do some of you really have to pay a rate for water? We are on well so no charge other then the power to the pump. City water does charge a low fee but last I was on city it was very small. Tough to make a cattle living on 3.5 acres.

I guess you and I are reading it differently. I read that she wants beef with minimum input. Why not get beef with a touch of profit? My answer would be the same. There's only one way I know of to do this.

Edit: 8 calves per year off of one cow. Calf cost in the proximity of $200 each except for the natural calf. Sell the calves shortly after weaning except for the ones you intend to eat. Hold your feed and hay cost to a sustainable level. You can do the math. Free beef. Some work but the beef is free and you should turn a slight profit.