looking for the right breed

[KenB]

Wow, thanks for all the replies. I'm overwhelmed. Some mentioned the sale barns. I really don't want to deal with them either buying or selling. I prefer to deal with a private party one on one. As far as what sells the best around my parts from what my friends tell me black cows are the big money makers. There's a half dozen or more men at my workplace that farm and they all but one raise all or mainly black angus. These guys are all in it for the money and they say that black cows bring around 40 cent a pound than white or mixed and 20 cents a pound more than herfords on average. My vet raises angus too. When I talked to him about what I am wanting to do the first thing he said was I wouldn't make any money with them unless they were black. In fact everyone I've talked to locally has said the same thing. I have some prior experience with angus and I don't really care for them so I'll just have to not make any money. If I can break even in a few years I'll consider it a sucess. Thanks for all the suggestions. The Murray Grey seems to be leading in votes at the moment but I'm still looking at everthing that has been suggested. In the end I'll pick what I feel is the best suited for my situation but I really like having all this info to take into consideration.

;-) Why not go with Herford cows and breed them to a black angus, you will have the docile cows, and the black baldy calves sell for a premium (good eating too).

 

[CSM]

I believe there is a small herd of British White in Pulaski County.
I don't remember his name. That might be an option for you.

CSM

 

[spoon]

My brain is getting overloaded from all this info. :lol: I do indeed intend to visit some of farms in the area and talk first hand to the people raising the cattle. That will also give me a chance to get a good upclose look at the animals themselves. I guess it just comes down to going with what I feel is right for me and my situation.

 

[htrc]

Gelbvieh might be a breed to think about.

 

[Jason W]

I agree with ROB Braunvieh will siut your needs very well. And you can probably get started cheaper than some of the other options. In a few years your neighbors will think you were a genious.

 

[TheBullLady]

SIMMENTALS.. and they come in Black!

Seriously.. take your top five - seven considerations, and call some breeders! Go take a look at what they have... listen to their spiels.. you'll get tons of information, and you'll be able to make an informed decision. You may find big price differences, so that might be a consideration. Also consider what you're going to do with the offspring! Bull calves are great, but won't be marketable for breeding purposes unless you have outstanding bloodlines, and a good reputation, or show, which all takes time to establish. Otherwise they'll end up at the barn.. so that is something to consider.

My first choice was Brahman.. but everyone would "poo poo" that suggestion and I'd have to post my picture again.. :cboy:

 

[S.R.R.]

The Scottish Highland will meet and exceed these four requirements.
Also since you want to raise Reg. cattle and are not looking to take them to the sale barn, you will make a decent return on what you sell each year.

1- Looking for a breed that will finish well on grass alone but I'll probably pick one out to feed a little grain/corn to for our own consumption.

2- I'm interested in raising a registered breed. I'd prefer to raise something out of the ordinary but not exotic.

3- Also I'd like a small to medium breed that is very people friendly, i.e. easy to halter train and not skittish etc.

4- My two most important traits are easy handling and good eating. .

Some links to get you started. http://www.cruachan.com.au/

http://www.longmeadowranch.com/cattle/about.html

http://www.scottishhighlandcattle.com/AHCS/index.html

 

[Aero]

And take a beating at the salebarn

it doesnt sound like profitability is at the top of the list dun.

 

[Jovid]

And take a beating at the salebarn

it doesnt sound like profitability is at the top of the list dun.

You don't have to sell at the sale barn to make a profit. We haven't taken anything to the sale barn in several years. Heifers and bulls are sold private treaty and our steers are sold as locker beef with a waiting list of customers wanting to purchase them.

 

[spoon]

That is exactly what I hope to do on a very small scale.

 

[Jovid]

That is exactly what I hope to do on a very small scale.

And that is exactly why we raise Red Polls!

 

[texast]

On the home page there is a site named Cattlerange.com go there click on cattle and look at the breeds you want and see who's selling in your area.Or on that same site you can also click on your state and do the same thing.
Then call the salers and go from there. I like buying private treaty because as said before you can view the animal in the pasture, and possible the parents and so on. But from that you can determine if this animal will fit what you are looking for.
The breed I would've suggested would have also been Brahman, but Beefmasters are just as great.

 

[ROB]

And take a beating at the salebarn

it doesnt sound like profitability is at the top of the list dun.

Aero- do you know many people who regularily sell registered calves at a typical salebarn sale? i'd say 99.9% of the calves sold at the barn are commercial, with the exception of cull calves that could have been registered but were not for one reason or the other. special auctions are held occasionally for registered calves at the salebarn, but are advertised for - which brings in people interested in the particular breed of cattle selling.

spoon- profitability with your calves will be dependant upon your management/marketing ability. there are breeds out there who won't sell good at the salebarn, but the same animals will bring a better premium marketed in a different manner. you might even find that top market price at the salebarn would be a discount to an alternative marketing plan. what will your operating costs be to purchase cows, semen, bulls, feed, fertilizer, ... if these costs are to high - top market calves (as mentioned in the previous posts) might not pay the bills.

just because you might be able to sell top market calves at the salebarn - that doesn't mean your going to be profitable in the cattle business.

with the original post in mind, registered or not...you basically will be running a pretty small scale operation. this is a stumbling block when marketing at the local salebarn. even if you decide to go with the predominate breed in your area, you still won't be able to put together a good sized run of calves to sell. you end up with steers and heifers of various sizes that will be sorted into lots of 1's, 2's, and 3's. typically these calves are purchased late in a sale, the calves have had ample time to shrink, and are bought to fill out a load. not going to be top market calves.

no matter what breed you choose to go with, think seriously about an alternative marketing plan. good luck.

ROB

 

[dun]

do you know many people who regularily sell registered calves at a typical salebarn sale? i'd say 99.9% of the calves sold at the barn are commercial, with the exception of cull calves that could have been registered but were not for one reason or the other.

The majority of the registerd breeders I know don;t register every calf. They only register the ones that are good enough to market as breeders or retain as breeders. So a lot of the calves going through the salebarn are purebred calves just not registered purebred calves.
One breeder near here sells a hundred -200 bulls a year and a like number of registered heifers. He still hauls several pot loads a year to the salebarn and sells them for feeders.

 

[ROB]

do you know many people who regularily sell registered calves at a typical salebarn sale? i'd say 99.9% of the calves sold at the barn are commercial, with the exception of cull calves that could have been registered but were not for one reason or the other.

The majority of the registerd breeders I know don;t register every calf. They only register the ones that are good enough to market as breeders or retain as breeders. So a lot of the calves going through the salebarn are purebred calves just not registered purebred calves.
One breeder near here sells a hundred -200 bulls a year and a like number of registered heifers. He still hauls several pot loads a year to the salebarn and sells them for feeders.

that's what i see around my area as well, but like you said they can put together pot loads of non-registered calves to sell at auction. that gets them a better premium. small time cow/calf operations like mine don't have that option.

 

[Aero]

Aero- do you know many people who regularily sell registered calves at a typical salebarn sale?

not many. ;-) there is no reason you shouldnt be able to and still make a profit though, no matter what kind of operaton you run.

 

[Shorthornguy]

8) :lol: Even Dun's first choice would be SHORTHORNS ;-)

 

[OhioRiver]

Which is best to do in this instance?

Hereford AI to Black Angus dam
Black Angus AI to Polled Hereford dam

Buy some 1000-1200 hereford or red crosses (in ky you will pay less upfront) find a good AI guy and timed breed em to a angus bull like 878, if they are alittle small framed and beyond their second calf go with some Black Simmie.
You will make a killing with those baldies at the barn, they will eat and finish great. An those herf cows will be easy to handle.
For the most part.... :roll:

Good luck whatever you do.

 

[OhioRiver]

Is what you are saying that larger groups get better premiums on weaned calf sales

do you know many people who regularily sell registered calves at a typical salebarn sale? i'd say 99.9% of the calves sold at the barn are commercial, with the exception of cull calves that could have been registered but were not for one reason or the other.

The majority of the registerd breeders I know don;t register every calf. They only register the ones that are good enough to market as breeders or retain as breeders. So a lot of the calves going through the salebarn are purebred calves just not registered purebred calves.
One breeder near here sells a hundred -200 bulls a year and a like number of registered heifers. He still hauls several pot loads a year to the salebarn and sells them for feeders.

that's what i see around my area as well, but like you said they can put together pot loads of non-registered calves to sell at auction. that gets them a better premium. small time cow/calf operations like mine don't have that option.

 

[ROB]

Is what you are saying that larger groups get better premiums on weaned calf sales

do you know many people who regularily sell registered calves at a typical salebarn sale? i'd say 99.9% of the calves sold at the barn are commercial, with the exception of cull calves that could have been registered but were not for one reason or the other.

The majority of the registerd breeders I know don;t register every calf. They only register the ones that are good enough to market as breeders or retain as breeders. So a lot of the calves going through the salebarn are purebred calves just not registered purebred calves.
One breeder near here sells a hundred -200 bulls a year and a like number of registered heifers. He still hauls several pot loads a year to the salebarn and sells them for feeders.

that's what i see around my area as well, but like you said they can put together pot loads of non-registered calves to sell at auction. that gets them a better premium. small time cow/calf operations like mine don't have that option.

yep. buyers looking for larger runs of calves will pay premiums for the convenience of getting a larger group of calves that are uniform in frame, weight, age, color, condition, health, etc. from one seller at one time. also saves buyer time and money not having to go to more sales to make up his/her group of calves.
the buyer will also know that when they sell the calves later on - they will have opportunity to gain their premium for the larger pot load(s) of calves that are still uniform in frame, weight, age, color, etc.
ROB