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I am a high school senior and will be starting college in the fall with a major in animal science. I have always been into dairy farming and currently work on a dairy, but over the past few months I have considered maybe trying to make my way off of beef cattle and growing the needed feed and forages. I am considering maybe working my way to owning my own feedlot and providing all of the needed labor. What suggestions would you have as to how I could make my way to being able to make a full time living off of a feedlot and growing the needed feed and forages? What road would you take starting the day after I graduate college? I greatly appreciate your time and inputs and I look forward to hearing what you all might think.

Take care, Benjamin
 
Oh thats an easy one. all you have to do is find a rich woman to marry before you graduate.
 
w.b. meyer":3meojmm0 said:
I am a high school senior and will be starting college in the fall with a major in animal science. I have always been into dairy farming and currently work on a dairy, but over the past few months I have considered maybe trying to make my way off of beef cattle and growing the needed feed and forages. I am considering maybe working my way to owning my own feedlot and providing all of the needed labor. What suggestions would you have as to how I could make my way to being able to make a full time living off of a feedlot and growing the needed feed and forages? What road would you take starting the day after I graduate college? I greatly appreciate your time and inputs and I look forward to hearing what you all might think.

Take care, Benjamin

Where will you be going to school? That info could help us to come
up with some ideas for you to consider.
 
Doing all the work on a feedlot is a full time job. Raising the feed for the feedlot is a full time job. Stick with the dairy, better chance of making a living that way and a lot less risk.

dun
 
Be like me, wait until after you graduate, got a city job then start buying acreage pieces by pieces until you got your "dream" ranch. Real Estates are getting pretty ridicious with their land prices. Lots of ranchers are getting out of business and real estate looks for buyers..... No one will buy land at their rates. No wonder the Ag Industry is becoming extinct!
 
Good advice from Oregonian.

I agree, youre going to need another job first. Not only is it extremely hard for young people starting out from scratch these days, but its even hard if you already have something to start with.

I graduated with a BSA Animal Science. if i had to do it over again i would get a degree in something with more and better paying job opportunities, and maybe minor in animal science. I am working on my masters in ag education now, but i havent ruled out real estate yet. i think teaching is a good opportunity as far as being something stable and having good holidays/afternoons off but real estate might be a good thing to get into too especially if you need to buy some land. they arent making any more of it. (renting is probably the way to go in your case, especially if you can find someone old who is tired of or retired from farming/ranching but not ready to sell their land (they can act as mentor also) or a widow who doesnt want to sell. this will help minimize costs for you and buy you some time to save up and impress the owner so hopefully you get first dibs when they do decide to sell it.)
 
>Where will you be going to school? That info could help us to come
>up with some ideas for you to consider.[/quote]

I will be going to Texas A&M - Commerce, I appreciate all of the replys that have been posted so far. Thanks

Take care, Benjamin
 
Beefy,
Go with the teaching route! We need more qualified teachers! Teaching has WAY more values than real estate! Educate the kids the value of Agriculture and its purposes! I am aware the pay is far less than real estate but you will feel good knowing you done something worthwhile. Goodluck!
 
First, thanks for committing to a college education. Secondly, as my dad used to tell me "Son, you've got to crawl before you walk". Find yourself a job that (1) will put groceries on the table and (2)you enjoy and will give you valuable experience in your "dream career". Be patient. Learn the in's and out's of "BUSINESS". Listen to those with experience. Be Flexible. Remember, if you want it bad enough, you can do what you want.

Now that I'm through being serious. Have a hell of a good time. Don't listen to vegetarians. Most of these guys on this site make good sense most of the time.

From an old man getting ready to retire in 71 more days.
 
skip":2az2bazl said:
Now that I'm through being serious. Have a hell of a good time. Don't listen to vegetarians. Most of these guys on this site make good sense most of the time.


one of my professors my freshman year told us "don't let class get in the way of your education". good advice. while a college education is sometimes invaluable in more ways than one, it's not the only place to get your learning. i'm a little biased but a&m is an excellent choice, especially if you're leaning to agriculture. don't know much about commerce campus but college station is great! big town, lots to do, small town atmosphere.
 
Well, for one thing, you should try something a little before you set it up as your life's goal. Spend a little time in a feedlot, especially in the winter. Doesn't matter too much what job - pen rider, doctoring crew, shipping/receiving, feed truck driver, mill hand; you'll get to see all of it up close and personal. I did, long ago. It was one of those things that seemed a lot better from the outside looking in, and I soon moved on to other endeavors. But if you like it, as some folks surely do, well you've made a good start.
 
Bernard":5ffok458 said:
Well, for one thing, you should try something a little before you set it up as your life's goal. Spend a little time in a feedlot, especially in the winter. Doesn't matter too much what job - pen rider, doctoring crew, shipping/receiving, feed truck driver, mill hand; you'll get to see all of it up close and personal. I did, long ago. It was one of those things that seemed a lot better from the outside looking in, and I soon moved on to other endeavors. But if you like it, as some folks surely do, well you've made a good start.

I can't agree more. If you don't like it, you can stop before you get married to it.
 
la4angus":3ld121el said:
Bernard":3ld121el said:
Well, for one thing, you should try something a little before you set it up as your life's goal. Spend a little time in a feedlot, especially in the winter. Doesn't matter too much what job - pen rider, doctoring crew, shipping/receiving, feed truck driver, mill hand; you'll get to see all of it up close and personal. I did, long ago. It was one of those things that seemed a lot better from the outside looking in, and I soon moved on to other endeavors. But if you like it, as some folks surely do, well you've made a good start.

I can't agree more. If you don't like it, you can stop before you get married to it.

Unless you are custom feeding and even then there are huge amounts of capital you would have to invest in the lot and then filling it. If you do it on a custom basis you better know what your doing or people will sue you when their cattle don't perform well in the slaughter house(granted their genetics are up to par).
 
Mr. Meyer,

If you are familiar with the area - I think I remember seeing a sign for a feedlot on Hwy 78 between Leonard and Bailey. You might check with them to see what you can learn. Also talk to the people at TAMC, they run both beef and dairy cattle there.
 
Any school that offers an animal science program should have a feedlot facility on or near campus. get a job there, for convenience and to learn about the feedlot. Keep in mind that what you learn from the books is totally different from what works in the real world. the book way is nice if you have unlimited funds but its not always the best way, most practical, most efficient, or most economical method. there are tons of jobs available in the meat industry, have you considered that?
 
Thanks to all who have replied to my post and I look forward to recieving more great advice. Hope everyone is doing well and I hope the weather is treating you good.

Take care, Benjamin
 
>there are tons of jobs available in the meat industry, have you >considered that?

Beefy,
I have never thought about just looking into the meat industry in general to see what careers are out there. I know that whatever career that I decide to pursue, whether it be as a dairy farmer or owning a feedlot, I want to be around cows on a daily basis. I appreciate your reply. Thanks

Take care, Benjamin
 
txag":cy505gy5 said:
one of my professors my freshman year told us "don't let class get in the way of your education". good advice. while a college education is sometimes invaluable in more ways than one, it's not the only place to get your learning. i'm a little biased but a&m is an excellent choice, especially if you're leaning to agriculture. don't know much about commerce campus but college station is great! big town, lots to do, small town atmosphere.

Sounds like a Dr. Hesby quote to me!

Can't agree with you more, Txag, but I'm a little biased too. :oops:
 
TR":3241hlei said:
Sounds like a Dr. Hesby quote to me!

Can't agree with you more, Txag, but I'm a little biased too. :oops:

yep. good old dr hesby!
 

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