Making money on cattle

[Central Fl Cracker]

Okay go easy on me I am fairly new but looking to get educated. IronPants said I would lose my $ss
So here goes
1.150 acre ranch (Start in Spring Time)
2. 100 bred cattle and lets say Black Baldie
3. 4 bulls and lets say
4. Great pasture land in Fl.
5. Not much equipment

What would the initial cost (average) to buy the above and bulls and bred cattle and how much would your return be if you dropped lets say 80 calves the first year.
first year fall season income
2nd year spring season
2nd year fall season

 

[Rookie]

Here in my neck o the woods, the cows would run ya, assuming ya be wantin at least decent stock, $1000 to 1500 apiece from a reputable ranch. Ya could be payin less but it be caveat emptor at a sale barn. The bulls, $1500 - 2000 apiece from a reputable and proven source or caveat emptor at the sale barn again..............good luck

george

 

[Angus Guy]

100 cows and calves on 150a seems a little much to me. I'm guessing you wont need winter feed?

 

[Central Fl Cracker]

Talking to some of the locals around here they figure 1 cow per acre and keep in my ming they use hay maybe 2 months out of the year but I will leave that question for Flaboy.

 

[TheBullLady]

That sounds a little ambitious to me also, but I'm not familiar with the carrying capacity in Florida either. You may want to consider starting out a little slower, because I can guarantee there will be all kinds of "hidden expenses" or things you haven't taken into consideration that will quickly deplete your capital.

 

[Muratic]

I missed the conversation with Ironpants I guess.

My concern would be the loans you'd have to take out to get this ball rolling.
Ask most of us, especially the good canuks here, paying that note is rough.
Unless of course you are next in line as aire to the Wallmart dollar.

 

[gabby]

What do you mean by "not much equipment?"

 

[Medic24]

Try to get a grant for all those cattle. The goverment is sending billions to Iraq, see if they will send a few bucks your way, then let us know, sowe can get some of our own tax money back...........would rather you get it instead of the little Saddom Insane's running around trying to kill us. :cboy:

 

[Beefy]

i thought it was Sodamn Insane?

anyway, my advice is not to jump into so big so fast unless the market is significantly lower when you go to buy than it is now (likely).

 

[Beefy]

in addition, just because you can run 1 pair per acre doesnt necessarily mean you should.

 

[dj]

8-9 years ago the extension agent told me to make 20k a year
you needed 100 cows,course that was then this is now.
The problem I see is your only figuring an 80% calf crop not good.

 

[Angus Guy]

Medic

Tried to go that route 4 yeard ago. The hassle of the 30-40 pages of paperwork and the long screening process made it more cost effective to do conventional loans. This would have cost me a years production.

 

[Chuck]

A VERY rough addition in my head tells me you could easily get rid of 4- 500,000 dollars here quickly. And that is probably too conservative. Don't have any idea what "great pasture land" in your area of Florida is bringing. Agree with Muratic- If you are borrowing all or most of this it won't work. Cows can pay for themselves but they won't turn enough to pay for the whole tamale. You will also need the cooperation of Ironpants along the way so don't make her too mad. :lol:

 

[SF]

Okay go easy on me I am fairly new but looking to get educated. IronPants said I would lose my $ss

So will many of the others on this board. By listening to some of the people who post on this board, you'd think that one of the pre-requisites for the cattle business is a desire to make very little money.

1.150 acre ranch (Start in Spring Time)

Hard to pay for the land with cattle. Can be done, but you will need to find a niche market. You will probably not achieve this with commercial cattle. Depending on the price of land in your area of course.

2. 100 bred cattle and lets say Black Baldie

$130,000 to $180,000

3. 4 bulls and lets say

$8,000 plus

What would the initial cost (average) to buy the above and bulls and bred cattle and how much would your return be if you dropped lets say 80 calves the first year.

If you only drop 80 calves, you bought the wrong cows and you are in trouble. If I bought 100 bred cows, I'm going to expect 100 calves born. I expect to wean about 95 of them. Too many variables to figure out how much you will make or what your returns will be.

Hope this helps.

 

[Bama]

Cows will run you in the neighbor hood of $100,000
net return on 95 calves will be about $12,000

Look at breaking even on the cattle alone in about 9 years. These numbers are figured fairly conservative you could do better and you could do worse. Depends on how much pasture maintentance you have to do.

Now figure in the land and return on investment.

 

[Bez]

CFC wrote:

1.150 acre ranch (Start in Spring Time)
2. 100 bred cattle and lets say Black Baldie
3. 4 bulls and lets say
4. Great pasture land in Fl.
5. Not much equipment

My response - seeing as how you are anonymous give us a few figures please.

How much you paying for land? How big is the mortgage? Where is the payment coming from?

Where you going to get 100 breds and have a handle on them if the infrastructure is not in place? Can you afford the extra expense of a cattle loan - or are you independently wealthy and able to buy all in cash in one fell swoop - even after buying the land?

Have you factored in taxes, insurance, machinery - yes you will need it - cattle handling facilities, housing, vet bills, feed, the fact that interest rates will rise some day, rising energy costs, personal income needs, family time and financial needs, repairs, fence construction and upkeep and the beat goes on.

I personally think you are dreaming in technicolour at this stage and you certainly cannot - at least initially - keep one cow to the acre on a small place like yours until you have spent large sums of money or assumed a large debt.

How much reserve cash you holding for disasters? Trust me - you will need this cash sooner or later. Best to have one year or more in reserve.

North American profit per cow is in the 100 buck range - so your income will not be stellar unless you have a marketing plan and a consumer base. Certainly selling to the buyers at the auction mart will not pay you what you need.

Planning on working out and running these animals - your efficiencies go way down and you will suffer losses. Dream big - spend small and you might make it. Feed from a sack and you definitely will not.

Wish you the best, but in my opinion - despite sounding harsh and negative - this plan - at presented face value is a recipie for disaster.

Bez

 

[Beefy]

BIG hurricane season. save some money and round up some strays.

 

[Caustic Burno]

CFC wrote:

1.150 acre ranch (Start in Spring Time)
2. 100 bred cattle and lets say Black Baldie
3. 4 bulls and lets say
4. Great pasture land in Fl.
5. Not much equipment

My response - seeing as how you are anonymous give us a few figures please.

How much you paying for land? How big is the mortgage? Where is the payment coming from?

Where you going to get 100 breds and have a handle on them if the infrastructure is not in place? Can you afford the extra expense of a cattle loan - or are you independently wealthy and able to buy all in cash in one fell swoop - even after buying the land?

Have you factored in taxes, insurance, machinery - yes you will need it - cattle handling facilities, housing, vet bills, feed, the fact that interest rates will rise some day, rising energy costs, personal income needs, family time and financial needs, repairs, fence construction and upkeep and the beat goes on.

I personally think you are dreaming in technicolour at this stage and you certainly cannot - at least initially - keep one cow to the acre on a small place like yours until you have spent large sums of money or assumed a large debt.

How much reserve cash you holding for disasters? Trust me - you will need this cash sooner or later. Best to have one year or more in reserve.

North American profit per cow is in the 100 buck range - so your income will not be stellar unless you have a marketing plan and a consumer base. Certainly selling to the buyers at the auction mart will not pay you what you need.

Planning on working out and running these animals - your efficiencies go way down and you will suffer losses. Dream big - spend small and you might make it. Feed from a sack and you definitely will not.

Wish you the best, but in my opinion - despite sounding harsh and negative - this plan - at presented face value is a recipie for disaster.

Bez

Bez I hate to bust the boys bubble, the whistle is blowing but the train is gone on this one. There is no way to start as he is wanting to and make money, you know it as well as I.

 

[Bama]

I was trying to break it gently. Its hard to make money on cattle with borrowed money. At least in the shortterm anyway. To make anything is in the extreme longterm.

 

[MikeC]

Caustic - Does one of your legs feel longer than the other? Someone's pulling on it.