Need advice

[spurplantation]

I want to get into farming. As a child my grandfather ran 500 head of cattle on approximately 8000 acres. He passed away in 1976 when I was just a child. Our family had no interest in cattle farming so the land was split up amoungst his 5 children (one being my dad). I now have approximately 1100 acres most of which is pine plantations. There is approximately 30-35 acres of open pasture. I want to get into the cattle and/or hay business. I don't even know where to start. Could someone give me some start up advice. I am a single father with full custody of my 8 year old son. I want him to grow up with an appreciation for the land and the lifestyle as I did. Can anyone empathize? There are a few old fences in varying states of dis-repair but for the most part I would be starting from scratch. I have a 2007 Kubota M7040 that is paid for and a bush hog. Where do I start? Thanks in advance.

 

[A.J.]

Welcome to the boards. I can't think of a better way to raise up a youngun and teach them some important lessons about life than growing up on a farm. It sounds like you're well on your way and have a great tractor to work with. I would recommend meeting up with your local Ag Extension agent and let them know what ideas you have for your land, and they can give some good guidance and suggestions for the property you have. A good extension agent is a great asset to have to help you along the way. If you can find a neighbor or someone else around you with farming experience that can serve as a mentor, that's great too. Based off of what you said in your post about how much open pasture you have, I would lean towards running cattle on your pasture and buying your hay. Before I bought any cattle, I would get my fencing infrastructure and cattle handling facilities in order. That will save you some headaches down the road. Your agent or mentor can also help you come up with some good plans and layouts for your fencing and facilities that will fit in your budget. I'm not sure which area of the country you live in, but I would go by the local cattle auction and see what type of cattle bring the best in your area before you decide which breed to go with. If you want breeding stock, I would start off with 5 or 10 cows before jumping in too deep just to see how things work out while you're first getting started. I would try to find some bred cows or 3 in 1s as opposed to starting out with heifers or bred heifers. Some of the farmers at the auction or your extension agent can point you to some reputable breeders to get your cattle from off the farm. You can find some good buys at the auction sometimes, but it's a crap shoot and you can really get burned too. You've come to a good place for advice, and there are some really great, knowledgeable people on here who know a lot more than I do. Hopefully they will chime in with their :2cents: .

 

[JSCATTLE]

About 4 years ago I bought some more land...200 acres that was pasture until about 20 years ago .. the man that owned it planted it in pines... I had a timber crew cut it ..70 acres had 10 year old pines on it. I found a guy that had a tub grinder . He sheared the trees as close to the ground as possible and ground the whole thing for fuel wood ... that was in 2008 last year I was able to disc and plant the 70 acres the stumps had rotted out .. now I'm working on the clear cut ... I bought a international 15 c dozer .. and work when I can I should have it de stumped in about a year .... I wouldn't cut all the timber at one time maybe a hundred acres at a time until u need more for the cows .. if you can put new fences around the place you can run them in the woods ..

 

[BC]

Welcome to the boards. AJ had some good advice for you. If you put you location in your profile, it will help others provide you some of their experiences based on locations similar to yours.

I agree whole heartedly about getting your fences and facilities in order. Are your pine trees in a plantation or a natural planting? Is it a possibility to lease some of your aunt or uncles adjoining land that might be more open and conductive to grazing? My asking this is because 35 acres will not carry enough cows to justify getting a bull. From the information you provided on what your grandfather did (500 cows on 8000 acres), I assume he ran cattle in the woods. If that is the case, you may want to check out LSU AgCenter as they have done some work on silvopastures.

Again, welcome to CattleToday.

 

[GMN]

Its hard to start from scratch, best way to do it though is with as little debt as possible-and go from there. Come up with a farm plan, what you want to do, what you want to accomplish and start small, could take alot of time this way, but farming isn't an easy adventure and it isn't cheap-

 

[TennesseeTuxedo]

Every time somebody on here mentions the local ag agent I can't help but flash back to Hank Kimble from Green Acres.

On a serious note, you came to right place for solid advice on how to work cattle and be a good steward to the land.

Best of luck and of course :welcome: to the boards.

TT

 

[pdfangus]

don't know where you are.....

but check with NRCS....they have outreach programs for new and beginning farmers.....

also your soil and water conservation district....

both those have a lot of varialbility in the talents and skills of the people but it is worth a try. you might hit a good one or even one who is good enough to bring in knowledable people to advise you.

think long term....too many folks I run across have a one or two year plan but fail to think ten years out. envision the goal and what you want the place to look like before you start. If you don't have a goal you will never reach it. several have told me that was the best advice anyone gave them....

find folks who are doing what you want to do and go visit them....I have found that if you are plesant and open most folks are perfectly willing to share information and tips. all you have to do is filter it through your set of constraints and biases.

 

[spurplantation]

My place is in Southwest Alabama and more specifically in North Monroe County. The pines are a planted plantation. They were planted in what used to be open pasture land. They are approximately 10 years old and we are doing a first thinning on them right now.

 

[Caustic Burno]

Cut and sell the timber come in with a D-9 and shear blade. Disc and plant what ever grass you want and your through.
Overhere a D-9 runs 150 an hour and will clear 10-15 acres a day. After he goes through with the shear blade there is nothing left and tractor ready. Get your pasture ready before you put the first cow on it. Get a soil test before you plant your grass and don't be surprised if it call's for a ton of lime per acre being it is pine plantation soil will be very acidic. Very common practice over here as most of this country is pine plantation.