large or small cattle

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i have a small place about 25 acres. i tring to decide if it is better to go with some small cows that milk real good or go with some of those real large breeds.
 
go with something moderate. too small can have problems calving and too large is not efficient.
 
> go with something moderate. too
> small can have problems calving
> and too large is not efficient. what would you say is the efficient size cow is.
 
look into murraygrey, i'm just starting out and i'm takeing it slow. i have 3 mg's right now on 20 acres with only 3 acres fenced in for pasture and i still have to bruh hog the pasture they can't keep it down, but the constant rain hear in western pa . is really helping it grow , but not good for the hay. and i don't feed any thing but pasture and hay and they do great.they are also very calm and easy to handle they eat right out of my kids hands .just an opinion from a greenhorn.
 
a 1200 pound cow is a good moderate size. The old rule of thumb is for a cow to wean 50% of her body weight if you have 1600 pound cows this is pretty hard to do. And that 1600 pound cow is gonna eat you out of house and home, i could do the math for you but not many people on this board are able to understand my logic. Good Day.

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> i have a small place about 25
> acres. i tring to decide if it is
> better to go with some small cows
> that milk real good or go with
> some of those real large breeds. td, Just go down to your local sale barn and see what is bringing the best prices. That would be a starting point if you're gong to be in business to make a profit.

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"Just go down to your local sale barn and see what is bringing the best prices. That would be a starting point if you're gong to be in business to make a profit." TSR

In reality which cattle are selling for the best prices in your local sale barn has almost no relationship to whether someone in the cattle business will make a profit or not. There are a lot of factors (such as how much it costs you to raise an animal) that influence profit but what is selling the highest in the sale barn is so far down the list of important factors, that it probably isn't even worthy of consideration.
 
I agree. I have seen as much as 30 cents per pound difference between breeds at the feeder calf sales.

pat
 
I also agree. I too have seen 30 cents difference between breeds. I have also seen 30 cents difference within the same breed. $ per head not cents per lb.

> I agree. I have seen as much as 30
> cents per pound difference between
> breeds at the feeder calf sales.

> pat
 
No use going down to the local sale barn as there hasn't been a sale now for a month. Nothing has moved except cattle out to pastures and a few loads to the plant at a $400 per head loss.

There could be a lot of cheap calves going south after the border reopens as the feedlots up here may not survive.

> "Just go down to your local
> sale barn and see what is bringing
> the best prices. That would be a
> starting point if you're gong to
> be in business to make a
> profit." TSR

> In reality which cattle are
> selling for the best prices in
> your local sale barn has almost no
> relationship to whether someone in
> the cattle business will make a
> profit or not. There are a lot of
> factors (such as how much it costs
> you to raise an animal) that
> influence profit but what is
> selling the highest in the sale
> barn is so far down the list of
> important factors, that it
> probably isn't even worthy of
> consideration.
 
> a 1200 pound cow is a good
> moderate size. The old rule of
> thumb is for a cow to wean 50% of
> her body weight if you have 1600
> pound cows this is pretty hard to
> do. And that 1600 pound cow is
> gonna eat you out of house and
> home, i could do the math for you
> but not many people on this board
> are able to understand my logic.
> Good Day////////////////////////////// i am in to crossbreeding so what would be your match
 
> I also agree. I too have seen 30
> cents difference between breeds. I
> have also seen 30 cents difference
> within the same breed. $ per head
> not cents per lb.

he might not want to start out raising jeseys (no offense to jersey breeders) at least lets get AN IDEA of what is bringing the most money in your area. Also by talking to buyers you might just find out a general consensus among them as what you might want to begin with.

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> i read somewhere that a survey of cattleman showed their "ideal" weight of a cow is between 1,000 and 1,150 lbs. she has enough size to hopefully not have and calving problems and she isn't so big as to eat so much she eats up your profits. the bigger a cow is the more she eats. the bottom line is selling a calf to make a profit.



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if you need cows that milk well and the steers making good money at the sale barn I will choose any of these Simmental, Normande or Tarentaise

td":miv8n3iw said:
i have a small place about 25 acres. i tring to decide if it is better to go with some small cows that milk real good or go with some of those real large breeds.
 
Hello:
I do have some of the large breeds of cattle and I am now looking at adding another breed of cattle to our operation and I do know we are very intersted in the Taretaise, they do have the size that we want, they do milk good, and out of all of the imported breds of cattle that I have seen over the years they do have great uders.
There a red/tan breed of cattle that can deal with the high temps of the desert that I live in. They are noted to be climers of high mountain pastures and there hardy and the calve easy.

The problem with the Murry Grey breed is a few years back other breeds where add in to them so they would show well and that was not in the best interest of the Murry Grey Cattle Breed and the Breeders. That did increase the size of the calves, but now there trying to get the problem fixed! Murry Grey Calves do well and there up and going good! There hardy and Murry Grey cows are great Mom's.

My self I do like the sliver Murry Greys but here in the area that I am they will think there crossbreed cattle of another breed and that will hurt the price that I can sell them for. I do have one Murry Grey crossbred heifer and she does great and she can deal with the high temps. We live about 130 miles west of Death Valley,California. So, that is why when I am looking at a new cattle breed to add to are operation the frist question we ask is can that breed deal with the heat. On Cattle-Today there is a Murry Grey Breeder that lives in Eastern OR and they do say there cattle do great in the high desert area!

Here in are area if you have cattle that have any ear it does hurt them at sale time and we did sale all of are cattle with ear, in Dec 2003 when the cattle price was high.

So for us we are looking for a breed that is midle sized,has milk but is not a heavy milk producer, a cow that can cover lots of ground, trying to find the perfect breed of cattle can at times be hard and with the changing markets and with the changing goverment problems things are sort of unsettled right now.

Good Luck in looking for the right cattle breed for you and your operation!
Regards
Lee
 
I have some friends who farmed all their lives and then retired to a small acreage. They missed having a herd of cattle and also the home raised beef. They bought a few Dexter cows and are having a lot of fun with them. They milk real well especially for their small size. ....maybe being waist high. I think they finish at about 600 pounds? He sells the meat to friends and neighbours who want small cuts of meat.
 
If you start running cattle up around the pass and over the otherside you may want to rethink the lack of Brahman influence. It isn't that they need the ear, but they need the ability to cover large expanses of ground to do well. With water as scattered as it is you want something that will move from water to water instead of hanging around one locality. Brahman animals graze differently then other breeds and can take advantage of the sparse vegetation and scattered water supplys.
Further north around the river that isn't as important.

dun



Lee":1oaq138w said:
Hello:
I do have some of the large breeds of cattle and I am now looking at adding another breed of cattle to our operation and I do know we are very intersted in the Taretaise, they do have the size that we want, they do milk good, and out of all of the imported breds of cattle that I have seen over the years they do have great uders.
There a red/tan breed of cattle that can deal with the high temps of the desert that I live in. They are noted to be climers of high mountain pastures and there hardy and the calve easy.

The problem with the Murry Grey breed is a few years back other breeds where add in to them so they would show well and that was not in the best interest of the Murry Grey Cattle Breed and the Breeders. That did increase the size of the calves, but now there trying to get the problem fixed! Murry Grey Calves do well and there up and going good! There hardy and Murry Grey cows are great Mom's.

My self I do like the sliver Murry Greys but here in the area that I am they will think there crossbreed cattle of another breed and that will hurt the price that I can sell them for. I do have one Murry Grey crossbred heifer and she does great and she can deal with the high temps. We live about 130 miles west of Death Valley,California. So, that is why when I am looking at a new cattle breed to add to are operation the frist question we ask is can that breed deal with the heat. On Cattle-Today there is a Murry Grey Breeder that lives in Eastern OR and they do say there cattle do great in the high desert area!

Here in are area if you have cattle that have any ear it does hurt them at sale time and we did sale all of are cattle with ear, in Dec 2003 when the cattle price was high.

So for us we are looking for a breed that is midle sized,has milk but is not a heavy milk producer, a cow that can cover lots of ground, trying to find the perfect breed of cattle can at times be hard and with the changing markets and with the changing goverment problems things are sort of unsettled right now.

Good Luck in looking for the right cattle breed for you and your operation!
Regards
Lee
 
I like Tarentaise cattle even I own some percentage cows but you could try to raise Romagnola even they don't milk to much their milk in one of the richest in protein. Romagnola have almost the same adaptabilities of Brahman and are easy calvers.

Lee":35d8amra said:
Hello:
I do have some of the large breeds of cattle and I am now looking at adding another breed of cattle to our operation and I do know we are very intersted in the Taretaise, they do have the size that we want, they do milk good, and out of all of the imported breds of cattle that I have seen over the years they do have great uders.
There a red/tan breed of cattle that can deal with the high temps of the desert that I live in. They are noted to be climers of high mountain pastures and there hardy and the calve easy.

The problem with the Murry Grey breed is a few years back other breeds where add in to them so they would show well and that was not in the best interest of the Murry Grey Cattle Breed and the Breeders. That did increase the size of the calves, but now there trying to get the problem fixed! Murry Grey Calves do well and there up and going good! There hardy and Murry Grey cows are great Mom's.

My self I do like the sliver Murry Greys but here in the area that I am they will think there crossbreed cattle of another breed and that will hurt the price that I can sell them for. I do have one Murry Grey crossbred heifer and she does great and she can deal with the high temps. We live about 130 miles west of Death Valley,California. So, that is why when I am looking at a new cattle breed to add to are operation the frist question we ask is can that breed deal with the heat. On Cattle-Today there is a Murry Grey Breeder that lives in Eastern OR and they do say there cattle do great in the high desert area!

Here in are area if you have cattle that have any ear it does hurt them at sale time and we did sale all of are cattle with ear, in Dec 2003 when the cattle price was high.

So for us we are looking for a breed that is midle sized,has milk but is not a heavy milk producer, a cow that can cover lots of ground, trying to find the perfect breed of cattle can at times be hard and with the changing markets and with the changing goverment problems things are sort of unsettled right now.

Good Luck in looking for the right cattle breed for you and your operation!
Regards
Lee
 
Consider what Dun wrote to you --- he usually offers good advise and, as I recall, definitely has experience raising cattle in the western desert country. That said, if you still want to avoid the Brahman "ear" issue, may I suggest that you do a little investigating on the Senepol breed, for heat tolerance, lack of ear, relatively high grading carcass. Don't know how they stack up against Brahman for "rustling" and traveling long distances to eat & drink.

Another Zebu breed that comes to mind is Nelore --- picture a light grey Brahman but without the big ears (still has the hump)
 

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