Looking For Advice...

[la4angus]

Being well familiar with the area that this property is in, I think it would be easily worth the money. Just a few mi. away there is a major horse track, horse farms, shopping centers, housing developments, one of the fastest growing cities in So. La, fine restaurants, and this property will improve in value just like others in the area has done.
I know of property in the area bringing $10,000.00 and up to $40,000.00 per ac.,

 

[stocky]

I think you will spend less than 1,000 on hay and grain and salt and minerals and supplements. 1 4x6 bale of hay at 20 dollars per month will do. I would either get a used trailer for 2,000 or hire a neighbor when you need something hauled. I would buy a good yearling bull for 800-1000, by the time they need to be bred again, he will be old enough and would cost you 1500. I would not put all that money into misc. equipment. You can buy a couple of panels and set posts and buy a head gate and all that will run about 400 dollars. You can always put a rope around a big bale of hay and drag it into the field. For 7 cows, you wont need to spend alot of money on equipment, or pay a neighbor a few bucks to stop by every 4 days and put out a round bale in a ring that costs 119.99. I hope you dont need to spend nearly 1,000 on a vet. Year in and year out, 200 should be about right on the average for 7 cows and a bull. I think you will need 1200 per pair for good cows with calves and bred back. So, my thoughts are 9400 for cattle and 1,000 feed, 200 vet, 500 for equipment, and 1,000 for fertilize, you are looking at around 12,000 for the setup. I am not a big believer in spending when I dont have to. Good Luck

 

[Jeremy14]

Thanks for all your replies. I think I will start on a business plan real soon. Does anyone know where I can get a sample plan to study?

Also, should I set up a farm account with a tax ID?

Also, would it be wise to ask for a little more money just in case of an emergency?

How long does a good bank normally finance 12,000 for?

Again, much thanks. You guys are super.

 

[Jake]

I'll send you mine if you PM your email address. It's got some quirks but is fairly well put together with the exeptions of a few pages I'd void if it were for real, such as employees and such.

 

[Ryder]

Also, would it be wise to ask for a little more money just in case of an emergency?
Hquote]

Always have extra money or know where you can get it.

 

[Susie David]

Extra money...now there are two words that don't fit together.
Your business plan should provide for all contingencies that you can identify and a allowance for the unforseen. A simple LLC would give you a tax advantage...be sure to take in account all the time lines and the buisness propose...up here we get by pretty easy...selling live cattle we are exempt from some state taxes and only file yearly. DMc

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks for all your replies. I think I will start on a business plan real soon. Does anyone know where I can get a sample plan to study?

Also, should I set up a farm account with a tax ID?

Also, would it be wise to ask for a little more money just in case of an emergency?

How long does a good bank normally finance 12,000 for?

Again, much thanks. You guys are super.

Jeremy - I noticed you did not comment on my initial comments to you - but I will add a few more anyways.

I figure you should stay out of the game until you get that 12,000 saved up. Better if you have more.

Then I figure you need to look at the thread - "Financing the Herd" or whatever it was called.

You finance for a write off on taxes - maybe - but you still gotta' come up with the payment - so make yourself a personal payment for the finance amount. Cut yourself a few cheques for all the added expenses you are planning to make. Put all that into your farm account for a year and see if you can stand the financial strain. Then factor in the thought that you were doing this while watching TV rather than working cows. Now you got the cash on hand to do the job.

Start out small - debt free and remember - you are young - have a family starting and maybe ending up on one income. You figure your job to be secure - trust me nothing is.

Unless your crystal ball is brighter than mine, or you got money backing you that you have not mentioned - I figure you are running when you need to be sitting.

Your comment about asking for more money than you might need makes me nervous. I can tell you that no matter how good you are with a pencil you are going to need more than your plan requires - and a 10% contingency may / may not be good enough.

All this advice is good - but I figure you are steam rolling into something that will cost you initially - and like I say - you did not respond to my initial comments - making me think you are not following an entirely logical process.

Remember the WANTS and remember the NEEDS.

Forget the WANTS until you get the kid on the ground and Mom tells you she is happy - then look at the cost from the baby - then figure if you can still do it.

I got a lot of your T-SHIRTS - trust me on this - things can go good - but they can get real bad - real fast - and if you are in hock - you WILL go down.

Cows will be around for your entire life - you can start anytime.

Just my thoughts,

Bez'

 

[Jeremy14]

Bez,

Thank you for both of your posts. Im sorry that I did not resond to it specifically, but I greatly appreciate your concern and the fact that you seem deeply curious about our situation.

We will both be working after the baby is born. And of course I have not drawn up a plan B should the baby have difficulties. I take for granted that healthy babies are a blessing and not a given. I am the oldest of five children and forget that sometimes things don't go as planned.

Worst case senario:

The family farm has been divided between my mom and my uncle. Both have 10 acres and no plans to farm. In fact, they hire out someone to harvest hay throughout the year.(There is a stockyard next door to my family land where I grew up. They hay the land.) I could buy a bred cow with calf right now using the old infrastructure already in place if I wanted to. But, I was under the impression that a cow and calf to start with would not be able to keep up with 10 acres by themselves. What do you think?

And of course, I will be honest and admit that putting my family at risk so early in our lives does worry me.

But that itch that I have is driving me insane...

Thanks again for everything
Jeremy

 

[Anonymous]

Not deeply curious - replace that word with concerned.

Rest of it is not my business - but you asked for opinions and I spoke.

10 acres - well, if I were you I would think about 2-4 heavy bred cows with calves at side as being the most you need to get into. You now have a ready made herd with replacements coming.

I live a long ways from you and our methods are very different - but transporting myself into your place for a moment:

If the fences are strong, there is a pen you can put them in so you can actually lay your hands on them if necessary, and there is water and you can buy for cash - that is the smart start. The less inputs you have into the animals the better. The less feed you buy in a sack the better - feeding bought feed is a losers game in most cases.

Find some nice quiet cows with calves that you can walk up to. If they leave your area at the "high port" - leave them with the owner. Make sure they are vet checked before you purchase. Know your price limit BEFORE you step out to buy.

Do a little cross fencing and hay what you can. If there is extra hay - keep it. Sell some surplus - just be sure it is surplus. It keeps for a couple of years if stored well, and you never know when the rains WILL NOT come.

There are many on this board that know drought as the killer.

Do a good job and sell the beef to your neighbours. Take that money and buy one new bred cow to throw into your herd if you figure you have the room to increase. And the beat goes on.

You can start this way, and in 4-5 years have everything you planned on - and no payments to the bank. Otherwise you go out and let the bank own you for a few years and still end up in the same place at the end.

Best thing about starting slow - if things go bad somewhere you are not scratching for cash to make a payment. Lots of us here have been through that. Plus you get a little income with no strings attached.

Start with QUALITY and raise quality - you cannot go wrong.

Regards,

Bez

 

[eric]

Jeremy, let me see if I have this picture correct. You are 26 yrs old, both you and your wife work, and you want to borrow $12k to buy cattle? And you have a new baby on the way? If you cant afford to buy a few head outright for cash, then maybe this isnt the time for you to be in the cattle business. You've already stated that your living expenses take up most of your income, and that's before the cattle and the new baby! You are one missed paycheck or one dr visit or one good vet bill away from financial disaster. If you dont have $12k saved up by now, then good lord, get your families finances in order before you even think about buying cattle. Whether you know it or not, your wife is gonna be off work for a little while after baby is born. I can tell by your post about expenses that you have done very little research into this, since you have $10,000 for hay and new equipment and this and that and all kinds of other stuff that most of us would never buy new. So the only bright light to be seen from this is that at least no banker will loan you any money after reviewing your numbers.

And by the way, as for the $12k, do you think that bankers are just lined up to give away loans (and extra $$ just in case) to people with no experience with cattle? Unless you are willing to make it worth their while, such as putting up your current home and/or vehicles as collateral, then you can probably rule out the bank as a partner in this endeavor also. Seriously, get some money saved up for the baby and quit living paycheck to paycheck before you get into the cattle business. The last thing you need to do is to have to decide which one to feed, the cattle or the kid because you cant afford to feed both! And everyone who sells cows because they have to, makes alot less money then folks who decide to sell when they want to!
Not beating you down intentionally, because most of us were in your shoes at one time, champaign dreams and beer budgets, but those of us who waited awhile and got our family / finances a little more stabilized probably dont regret waiting a little longer. Living on a farm / raising cattle is a great way of life , but it sure aint a cheap one. Start slow, and stay out of debt. Good luck!

 

[MoGal]

Okay, add onto that a newborn in daycare is $125.00 week (in this area) and there aren't that many that will accept newborns. Formula runs about $4.00 can so thats another $120 month, not to mention diapers ($60), extra dr bills, etc.... so unless your wife has a reasonable income (over $35-40,000) its not going to be feasible for her to work.

Now, if you can use your mother/uncle's land (perhaps your mom will let you use her half and you can rent the other half from uncle) you'd be farther ahead than buying the acreage you originally talked about. Plus that would be more feasible to start out small and then expand as you have more money.

If you have a local sale barn/feed store I'm sure they could tell you of someone that would haul your cattle when needed.

Many of us get confused about what we want and what we actually need. I do agree with some of the others, you should already have a savings account in place with both of you working and if you don't..... then why don't you because there will be unexpected expenses with cattle (and a new baby) and you need a cushion to keep from scrambling to make a house payment. Also, many couples divorce over finances. When your money is funny, then everyone is miserable.

If you decide to go ahead with borrowing money, then at least do like Bez says, buy quality over quantity. "cute" and "color" does not make it a quality cow and there are plenty of heinz57 mutts out there w/o making it part of the bovine industry. Think about where you want to market your calves and proceed accordingly.

 

[Anonymous]

Okay, add onto that a newborn in daycare is $125.00 week (in this area) and there aren't that many that will accept newborns. Formula runs about $4.00 can so thats another $120 month, not to mention diapers ($60), extra dr bills, etc.... so unless your wife has a reasonable income (over $35-40,000) its not going to be feasible for her to work.

Interesting additional expense I had not thought about - mine are well grown now.

Family might be able to help, but I had to laugh last week when a neighbour was asked to raise her grandkid while her son and D-I-L worked. She said "only if the the money is good!"

I often think of minimum wage folks raising my girls - which did not happen fortunately - wife stayed home. I wonder if they would really have done as good a job as Mom/Wife?

Not trying to hijack the thread - just another expense that folks like me forget about.

Good reminder.

Bez'