SANDTRAP":i7gi5hgx said:
for me i will have to increase my stocking rate by atleast 50% in order to make it worth the added time and money spent.
50% seems to me like an unrealistic number, but i hear claims of 300%. (from experts in magazines)
i would still like to hear from the average joe and get some real numbers
I lease one place that continuously grazed 28 yearling heifers the summer before I got it. No fertilizer, no cross fence, no clipping, no spraying... The renter drove by once in a while and threw a white salt block over the fence.
After three years, some single strand hi tensile, 40# of N per year, some clover seed, some spot spraying, and a lot of supplement - - I was up to 142 stockers on the same place. I think that pounds up to well over 300%, but that rate was on the high side of optimal even though corn and N were still cheap that year.
250% is doable for an average midwest Steve if you stick with it for a couple years (and it rains) . Stocking rates all go to zero if it gets dry enough. Sounds like I may be 50% away from being an expert! :banana:
I think the high stocking rate questions for a profit minded person are:
1) try to rent more ground?
2) provide more inputs and management while praying for rain?
3) or put the (some of) the money in the bank, buy the wife a new gun, and go hunting?