I'm just now getting into the cattle business with my own herd. Brother has been doing it for a couple years now and I guess I've been his unhired hired hand. :lol: We don't come from a family that farms but both of us worked for a few farmers from grade school to college. The cost of getting into it is for sure high. Land, facilities, equipment, etc really start to add up, especially when you don't come from a family that is already established in it. You can't go borrow grandpa's tractor or run a few head on dad's land when your pastures start looking thin.
I started buying a few heifers here and there to run with his. I'd love to buy a piece of ground that joins him but you need three years of tax history to get a loan through FSA. I'm working on buying a small herd (20 head) from a gentleman that is selling out and wants to lease the land. I've run the numbers in a worse case scenario and it is painfully obvious that the profit will be slim at best. I work full time so right now it's a hobby I guess.
I guess we both do it because we love it. I think I enjoy the struggle somewhat. I know that we both want to build it into something that one day our kids can take over and maybe they won't have to struggle like we did to get started. The biggest obstacle where we are at is land. What's for sale is sky high on price and any leasable pasture is already leased. There are quite a few older guys around who are looking at getting out so hopefully if we are patient and bide our time some good opportunities will turn up.
