increasing stocking rate

[Central Fl Cracker]

I cut back to 38 cow/calves this year on 135 ac. due to a poor pasture during the dormant/winter season. Last year the pasture did great during the summer. I rotate graze on 5 paddocks and never ran out of grass. To offset my hard cost I am thinking about buying 10 to 15 cow/calf pairs to lower my hard cost and when I sell the calves this fall sell the newly bought cows as bred cows. Any thoughts on the down side of this equation?

 

[bigbull338]

your asking good questions an that shows your doing alot of thinking.as for buying cows/pairs an grazing them till fall.an selling them as bred cows when you sell calves might not work.an heres why.most people sell cows in the fall to cut their hay useage.an then buy cows in spring.that way they can turn them out on grass for 6 to 8 months.wean the calves an sell everything in the fall.you be better off buying cows in the fall an trying to sell some in spring.

 

[1982vett]

If you are going to buy and sell, why not buy 300# calves and sell them in the fall. Seems to me pairs are kind of expensive in the spring and cows are cheaper in the fall.

 

[Jogeephus]

I agree with the other two posts. A lot of folks are looking to buy cows in the spring when they have plenty of feed then sell them during the fall. Prices here tend to go as they say. There might be some money to be made by buying calves and putting some weight on them. Seems some people are predicting the feedlots will be looking for larger calves so as not to feed them as much. Tough question. If you just did the opposite of whatever I do you'll make a fortune.

I do have a friend who is very successful buying thin bred cows during the fall or early winter and dumping them in the spring. He does very well.