Matching cattle to the land

[63DH8]

Pardon my short memory, but someone posted that cattle should be matched to their environment. I have two pictures of the area that I'm interested in buying land. The biggest reason I've decided on this area is because of the isolation. I like my privacy and I enjoy target shooting. I don't want to disturb my neighbors, so I'm going for land out in the middle of no-where.

What I'm trying to do is select cattle to the land so there will be as little problems raising them.

In your honest opinion, what breed of cattle would thrive the best in this environment? There are full time streams in the area. The region gets about three inches of rain a year, and maybe 8 inches to a foot of snow per year. Temps get up to 110 and as low as the 10s.

Believe it or not, these pictures are of the Pacific North-West, in Eastern Washington, not Texas.

 

[auctionboy]

hereford.

 

[ronay0]

Brahman X Hereford

 

[auctionboy]

He said it gets to be 10 degrees. I wouldn't breed any brahman in to my cattle that far north.

 

[dun]

Based on my experience in high desert country, with the sparsness of forage and wanting the cows to utilize the entire range and not stay centered around water sources, I would want some Brahman in the cow herd, not much, but some none the less. Not because of the heat or cold but because Brahman influenced cattle cover more ground while grazing.
I would look at 3/8 Brahman for a maximum in the cow herd. That get's us to Brangus, Gerts, etc. covered by a good bull of whatever breed will provide calves that are in demand for your chosen marketing plan.

dun

 

[mtnman]

You need to look up Doc Hatfield, in Oregon.

Do a search for "Oregon High Country Beef".

Let him hook you up with his Hereford-Angus-Tarentaise composite.

He'll even market the calves for you.

mtnman

 

[Brandonm2]

Hereford x Angus cows

 

[purecountry]

You need to look up Doc Hatfield, in Oregon.

Do a search for "Oregon High Country Beef".

Let him hook you up with his Hereford-Angus-Tarentaise composite.

He'll even market the calves for you.

mtnman

That right there is as complete an answer as you're gonna get. Cattle that'll work, people to talk to that are doing it, and a marketing plan to tie it all together.

As for my 2cents worth - Herf-Angus-Tarentaise is a fine range cow.

 

[Jogeephus]

Couldn't say - out of my region. But was that a prairie dog I saw in the first picture. If so, good choice of land and have fun. ;-)

 

[63DH8]

Couldn't say - out of my region. But was that a prairie dog I saw in the first picture. If so, good choice of land and have fun. ;-)

I wish it was a prairie dog! Unfortunately, they're not native to the state. Other than yote, and I haven't seen signs of them yet, the only varmint that's in the area are rattlesnakes. Pigs will take care of them.

 

[Proverbs 12:10]

Brahman X Hereford

You can always put a blanket on em when it gets down to 10 degrees... :lol:

 

[ALACOWMAN]

don't know much about tarentaise. but the angus, hereford would be one of my choices for sure

 

[Rustler9]

Longhorn X Hereford, Longhorn X Angus, Longhorn X Charolais. The Longhorn will give them the hardiness to withstand the rugged and sometimes severe conditions and the other side of the beef cross will give them the beefiness.

 

[63DH8]

Brahman X Hereford

You can always put a blanket on em when it gets down to 10 degrees... :lol:

And under that, a nice turtleneck sweater with a flower pattern!

All they'll need are pocket protectors, and the other cattle will point and laugh, "Nerd cattle! Nerd cattle!"

 

[andybob]

British breeds would be the basis, marginal land requires marginal breeds. The two British breeds that would do the best would be the Sussex and the North Devon, both minority breeds in the 'States but are available. The extreme weather breed to consider crossing with,which although bred for heat tolerence is a Bos Taurus and does tolerate cold and even snow, is the Tuli, in fact your closest source may be one of the Canadian breeders.

 

[S.R.R.]

Is this a business venture or just for fun, good meat and to pay the taxes?
The reason I ask is that there are a few breeds that would work in your environment. One that would more then likely give you the best return and another that would give you less stress and problems over all.

 

[AngusLimoX]

Well, considering that terrain is as familiar to me as the surface of the moon, I'll give you some generic advice.

Buy what is popular in the area - 3 main reasons are they have worked in that area for years, you will have replacements - bulls, heifers etc.. close by to choose from, and you will not be knocked for having something weird at the sales barn when you go to sell.

And you won't often go wrong following mntnmn's advice either, certainly sounds like it would be worh making contact with Doc Hatfield. For a newbie the marketing and set up assistance you may be able to get there would be invaluable.

And finally, raise something you like. There are breeds that if I were forced to raise them I would get out of cattle. Awful thing to look out the window every morning and say ,"Jeepers those things are ugly"!! :lol:

( I remember you mentioning a divorce so you may see some parrallels there! ). :lol: :lol:

 

[63DH8]

Is this a business venture or just for fun, good meat and to pay the taxes?
The reason I ask is that there are a few breeds that would work in your environment. One that would more then likely give you the best return and another that would give you less stress and problems over all.

It's going to start out for fun, but knowing how I am, it may end up as a business venture. I have a hard time sitting and not doing anything. Also, I have a hard time accepting the status quo with myself. I'm the type of person who has to tweak my truck here and there to suit my needs and wants. I started out designing and building equipment that my disabled daughter needed that wasn't on the market, and ended up starting a business so others can get things they need too. I don't like hearing, "You can't" or "I can't"! This is America! We can do anything we put our minds to and succeed! However, just because I enjoy pushing myself, I don't see there are any reason I need to push others as far as I do myself. Others include the cattle I want to raise.

Well, considering that terrain is as familiar to me as the surface of the moon, I'll give you some generic advice.

Buy what is popular in the area - 3 main reasons are they have worked in that area for years, you will have replacements - bulls, heifers etc.. close by to choose from, and you will not be knocked for having something weird at the sales barn when you go to sell.

And you won't often go wrong following mntnmn's advice either, certainly sounds like it would be worh making contact with Doc Hatfield. For a newbie the marketing and set up assistance you may be able to get there would be invaluable.

And finally, raise something you like. There are breeds that if I were forced to raise them I would get out of cattle. Awful thing to look out the window every morning and say ,"Jeepers those things are ugly"!! :lol:

( I remember you mentioning a divorce so you may see some parrallels there! ). :lol: :lol:

Problem one is, outside that canyon, the environment changes. It's flat farmland just over the south side of the hills in the pictures, and on the north side, there's snow until late May-early June. There are cattle out there, but very few, and they're almost all black and white hybrids. I'm not dismissing hybrids. They've been bred to be tailored to the environment they're in. Buttt.... I'd like something old fashion, unique, traditional... out of the ordinary for the area, yet hardy for the environment.

The 120 acre land that's in the picture has never been farmed or ranched. The owner lives in Hawaii and bought it as investment property decades ago, and either he or his estate is selling off land he owns here.

Further up the canyon, there's 460 acres that belongs to the State's BLM that's for sale. It's been farmed and is stripped bare of native plants. Both the 120 and the 460 acres have water, but no electricity. What I would like to do is divide the land so I can have cattle in one part, and allow the land and plant life to recover while the cattle aren't in that fenced off section.

btw... You owe me a new keyboard and monitor with that divorce crack! I wasted a perfectly good cup of coffee blowing it out my nose all over everything in front of me!

 

[dun]

Frequently in the high desert areas you don;t get much plant growth except for a couple of months each year. Most of the growth is probably early spring and a little after every rain. The first question I would ask of people running cattle in that area on that terraine is how many acres per cow is required.
But I haven;t been in eastern WA in almost 50 years.

dun

 

[purecountry]

If you want something unique, as well as extremely hardy, go with a Highland. :nod: :nod: Like your idea for letting the farmed stuff recover naturally, but do keep in mind that it will come back quicker with an occasional grazing.