Well, Hoss, I have 60 years experience with cattle. This whole thing came about out of jealousy, and some stupidity, because of my posts about a specific operation I have been involved with for a few decades. I have a friend and partner, since college, and he and I, 40 something years ago, bought 220 something acres of cut-over pulp wood land in south GA where he lives. . This was and still is, our rabbit and quail hunting land. It is entirely fenced with 5 stands of barb wire. Over 10 acres is grown up in pure Kidzu. WHat grass is there is Johnson grass, broom sage, and in a spot or two volunteer wheat, millet and sorghum from past dove fields, last one was probably 10 years ago. Honey suckle, black berry, hedge bushes, etc, are abundant in it. Good stand of hardwoods along our creek bottom. . Quail and rabbit hunting is what we got this for. In the 80's til the early 90's , we both raised Corrientes to sell for team roping, and we also would supply the steers for ropings, rodeos etc. In the mid 90's,when team penning was al the rage here, and replaced team roping somewhat, there was a need for uniform colored cattle to use in the pennings. He and I..separately, because we live 3 hours apart, began breeding the Corrs to angus bulls, we got uniform corled, black and polled calves to sell to and supply to, people and places that held pennings. Well, teampenning has been replaced in the last 10 years, with team sorting, and the Obama depression put a big damper on that. So, we took our Corr cows and heifers we had, and turned them out on the Kudzu place. 120, never fewer than 105. Each year we bred them to b;ack bulls..angus at first, then Brangus and the last 2 times, Ultrablacks. We wanted them to calve in February, and around Easter each year, we'd out enough bulls - 6-8, in with them, and take them out memorial day, and put a cleanup Corriente bull in with them until July 4th weekend usually. In case the black bulls missed some cows, and these calves would be born in March. The most corr calves we ever got was 10, and last go round we had none. When we did have a few, we'd keep the 2-4 heifers, and sell the steer calves or take them to our respective places, because we both keep a few to rope.
Scott has 450 acres of row crop land, al fence in, across the road and won the road a little bit. We plant a 40 acre dove field on it every year, and the rest he usually pouts in cotton, peanut, beand and corn. IN November after each cropis in and we are done dove hunting, because quail and rabbit seson opnes Nov 15th, we'd trail drive over to this land, so we dint have to foll with them while hunting. End of January. we'd drive them back over to the Kudzu field where they'd calve. Toward the end of March, when the few that had Corr calves had come in,we'd round themup in our corral, cut the bull calves and turn them out. Right before dove sean, the last weekend or so in August, we'd round them up and take the calves to the sale, sometimes 2 sales. Those 2 times, well 3 counting driving the herd back across the road, was the only time we ever have contact with these cows. Corriente DO NOT have calving problems, never have to pull a calf even forma heifer. We do not feed them..hay or anaything else, We do not worm, do not vaccinate, The ONLY inputs we have, is a few bags of mineral salts, Period. We figured one time we had maybe $25k in those 120 cows. They are weaned in August at about 6 mos, Smallest heifers wil be 400-425 lbs, steers usually 450-500, Last batch we had one at 534. Last batch the steers sold from $1.40 something ( in 2021) to the highest at $1;58. The exact same as any other black steer or bull calves that day. 6 mos old just weaned Angus X Corr calves, are no different looking than a 6 mos , just weaned angus, or angus other beef cross, calf. Heifers brought probably 15 cents less. A 500 lb calf at $1.50 is $750.00. 450 lb heifer at $1.40 would be about $630. No other breed of cow , with ZERO inputs, is gonna wean a calf that brings 2 to 3 times her purchase price NONE!
People on here started popping off their mouths, mostly some Canadians and far western "cattle experts", that ''buyers can tell the difference and tried to tell ME that the calves didn;t bring that. etc. I don;t know how they look after they are weaned, and older, and on a feedlot, and don't give a damn, really. I told one of the blowhards to hop his ass on a plane the next time we wean, and bring $5k with him, and I'd pick him up in the Atlanta airport, and we'd go to the sale the day we took 50 or so of those weanling steers . I said they will be in a pen with al the other 450-600 lb steer and bull calves( down here most people don't steer, and a bull calf brings the same as steer. Most sale barns down here show a heifer category and a bull/steer category on their market reports. I said " Scooter, we will go to the sale and I want you to pick out my half-Corr calves. For everyone you get wrong you pay me $100,and I wil pay you $100 for everyone you get right. Ever how many we had carried, ususally 50 something, that's how many guesses you get. Of course that shut him up.
I even put up 5 pics of a reg Angus calf, a commercial angus, a Chi-angus, a Corr x Angus, and something else, I think a black sim or simmangus calf, and asked the group on here to pick it out. None of the "experts" got it right, the only one that did was Murray. Still the blowhard experts, the keyboard cowboys , kept poo-pooing, some coming dangerously close to calling me a liar. I have been telling Scott about how ignorant some " cattle experts "Non here are. So, we decided to offer somethin to anyone who doubts it. We will give you a year lease on the place. YOu take $30k to try to buy 100 head of your superior" cows. To start with, you can't. Or buy however many you can for $30k. YU turn them loose here, and can only see them once to castrate and once when you wean them on the trailer to the sale barn at 6 mos. No working allowed, no vaccinations, no being anywhere hear the place at calving, no feed o hay or supplements other than the salt. No bush hogging or fertilizing the pasture. You bring another $30k with you, and we will take $30k, and put the $60k in escrow. If you sell those calves at 6 mos, fresh weaned for 2 and 1/2 times what you gave for the cows..$75k... then you take the $60k escrow. If not, we keep it. You want to take us op on it, there, Hoss?!!!
There is nothing you can do, with the same amount of any other breed, for the same money that the same amount of Corr cows would cost, and with no inputs, ad only seeing them twice in a year, and no labor( bushogging, etc) and make that kind of profit. Not even close. And I don't won't to hear rebuttals, insults, etc., from the usual " experts" Put the $60k up and prove me wrong, or ****.
I am not saying do this on lush, fertilized good pasture and hay, feed and supplements and properly worming, vaccinating etc a herd of Corrs. Truth be told, it wouldn't make any difference, the calves would be no better or worse than our Kudzu herd. I am saying if you have unimproved pasture, and not much money to spend, or time and labor, there is NOTHING you can do in raising cattle that will make you more net profit.
My back is killing me and I can't sleep.
