need some advice

[brierpatch1974]

Hello everyone I am new to the forums and need some advice. I have 15 acres of pasture and 5 acres of woods fenced in. I want to keep some highland cattle for home beef and sell a few.
How many head of cattle would I be able to keep counting calves since they are about 24 to 30 months before butchering size it seems? How many of these can you keep per acre.
Thanks for all the info you can give me or any other advice about other breeds that may be best for me on this land. I live in West Virginia if that helps the selection any.

BP

 

[msscamp]

Check with your local county extension office, they should be able to answer that question.

 

[3MR]

Only two ways to know for sure. Trial and error or forage testing. Like msscamp stated though; your county agent should be able to give you a good estimate. Other producers with similar pastures could probably help as well.

 

[Aero]

how well does the grass grow in your yard if you dont water it?

 

[brierpatch1974]

Well I never water my yard and I fuss all year long about having to mow every week. If wee get a dry spell I am lucky and can go two weeks before I need to mow lol. There is a small creek that cuts through my feild and have never seen it go dry before.

BP

 

[DOC HARRIS]

Hello everyone I am new to the forums and need some advice. I have 15 acres of pasture and 5 acres of woods fenced in. I want to keep some highland cattle for home beef and sell a few.
How many head of cattle would I be able to keep counting calves since they are about 24 to 30 months before butchering size it seems? How many of these can you keep per acre.
Thanks for all the info you can give me or any other advice about other breeds that may be best for me on this land. I live in West Virginia if that helps the selection any.

BP

Welcome to the Forum! Depending, of course, upon what kind and type of forage you have in your 20 acres, your later comment about mowing the grass in your UNWATERED yard ( which is a brilliant observation!) tell us a lot about your natural rainfall and the manner in which your forage responds to it. I also suggest that you rely very heavily on your County Agent's recommendations as he is familiar with all aspects of that area. But just as a rough guess, I think that you would be within bounds to plan on a dozen ( more or less one or two ) brood cows plus their increase. That would give you 30 - 40 animals at the maximum, and your 20 acres could very possibly sustain that load. You might have to supplement some hay in the winter, depending on the severity of your winters. And ALWAYS - 365 DAYS PER YEAR - keep MINERAL SUPPLEMENT before them! But, again, talk to your County Agent and rely on him.

DOC HARRIS

 

[brierpatch1974]

Thanks for all the replies I really appreciate them. I was hoping I could keep 10 cows and a bull. Not sure how it would be to keep bull with cows year round though.
Also I would like the offspring to be sold at about the same time and to try and sell them at the time of year for best prices on average. I know thats affected by lots of things so nothing is a given.
Also not sure if Markets would pay less for a breed like highlanders or another smaller breed when most everything around here is Angus, Herefords, and charolais. A big beef farm around here is maybe 50 to 70 head of cattle with a few bigger.
I would just like to raise a few head for family use and to sell a few to help cover the cost of raising them. Thanks again for all the advice I appreciate it.

BP

 

[redfornow]

Hello everyone I am new to the forums and need some advice. I have 15 acres of pasture and 5 acres of woods fenced in. I want to keep some highland cattle for home beef and sell a few.
How many head of cattle would I be able to keep counting calves since they are about 24 to 30 months before butchering size it seems? How many of these can you keep per acre.
Thanks for all the info you can give me or any other advice about other breeds that may be best for me on this land. I live in West Virginia if that helps the selection any.

BP

Welcome to the Forum! Depending, of course, upon what kind and type of forage you have in your 20 acres, your later comment about mowing the grass in your UNWATERED yard ( which is a brilliant observation!) tell us a lot about your natural rainfall and the manner in which your forage responds to it. I also suggest that you rely very heavily on your County Agent's recommendations as he is familiar with all aspects of that area. But just as a rough guess, I think that you would be within bounds to plan on a dozen ( more or less one or two ) brood cows plus their increase. That would give you 30 - 40 animals at the maximum, and your 20 acres could very possibly sustain that load. You might have to supplement some hay in the winter, depending on the severity of your winters. And ALWAYS - 365 DAYS PER YEAR - keep MINERAL SUPPLEMENT before them! But, again, talk to your County Agent and rely on him.

DOC HARRIS

Doc

Great post
way to give a guideline base on the info given.
Solid wonderful helpful advise.

MD

 

[Aero]

how did you decide on highlanders to accomplish your goals?

 

[brierpatch1974]

Well I just want to raise some Beef for home use. I do Raise a few goats and chickens now. My wife and I are both full time teachers so farming is not my job just a hobby that I share with my son. He is 7 years old and works his goats like a pro. Even helped me tain 2 of them to harness and pulls a wagon.
The Highlanders is his idea, After researching cattle on the net and looking at pics its what he wants the most. But he understands he may have to get somthing else. I would really prefer a smaller breed and have event thought about some of the minis. <love those herefords myself, big and small>.
Also going to check with 4-h, he loves to show his goats but I don't think they do mini breeds around here. So now we just need to pick a breed come spring. Purpose will be for home grown beef, 4-H shows, and somthing smaller than the normal beef cattle. I just can't ignore somthing I enjoy doing, especially when a 7 year old loves it more than I do but I don't want him scared to death either so smaller calves for him would be great.
So thats the main things for us so feel free to pass on some breed suggestions.

BP

 

[Brandonm2]

Well I just want to raise some Beef for home use. I do Raise a few goats and chickens now. My wife and I are both full time teachers so farming is not my job just a hobby that I share with my son. He is 7 years old and works his goats like a pro. Even helped me tain 2 of them to harness and pulls a wagon.
The Highlanders is his idea, After researching cattle on the net and looking at pics its what he wants the most. But he understands he may have to get somthing else. I would really prefer a smaller breed and have event thought about some of the minis. <love those herefords myself, big and small>.
Also going to check with 4-h, he loves to show his goats but I don't think they do mini breeds around here. So now we just need to pick a breed come spring. Purpose will be for home grown beef, 4-H shows, and somthing smaller than the normal beef cattle. I just can't ignore somthing I enjoy doing, especially when a 7 year old loves it more than I do but I don't want him scared to death either so smaller calves for him would be great.
So thats the main things for us so feel free to pass on some breed suggestions.

BP

I would concentrate more on disposition than size. Really if you get run over by a crazy 350 pound calf it hurts almost as much as if you got run over by a crazy 700 pound calf....the 700 pound calf just makes for a better story.....and a bigger check at the sale barn. My suggestion is Herefords (horned or polled). You got 15 acres of grass and this is not your main job. I would get 5 cows and a bull. You could run more but why push it? Most years 5 mama cows will give you a calf to butcher, a heifer too keep, and some calves too sell to recover some of your expenses. I would stick to moderate framed (fs 3-6) cows. A seven year old would be thrilled to work with minis; but it might be a little embarassing to a 14 year old if everybody else in his area is showing fullsized Herfs, Angus, and Chars.

 

[MoGal]

I wouldn't buy a bull... with only as many head as you are talking about AI would be the way to go. As for docility, red polls and hereford are about the easiest to be around, however, there are docile cows in all breeds. Disposition is one of my own culling factors. Bez has several posts around telling how he determines what ones he takes home and you'll enjoy reading his posts.

 

[3MR]

I wouldnt buy a bull either, doesnt seem like it would be cost effective with five head. I wont mention inbreeding.

Minis cost as much to raise as a full size cow, but you get the "mini" return, whether it be in beef or cash. I have heard they are worth more as pets than beef though.

 

[brierpatch1974]

Well here are a few more questions. If I get 4 or 5 hereford cows how many years are they productive before needing to sell them off and replace them? Also what is the sucess rate of AI ing? whats the chances it doesn't take? I would like to be able to sell offspring at same time and not once calf each month lol.
Also I am taking my son this week to a 4-H members farm who raises polled herefords. I think my son will like them, especially since mini's are for kids now in his mind lol. He wants to be grown up to fast.
Last question for now is what is a good breed to cross with hereford cows? I would like him to learn about that part of the industry as well. I have never seen a 7 year old take somthing so seriously and it makes me happy to help him out all I can.

BP

 

[Chris H]

Wish we were closer, I've got the perfect thing for a young fellow to get started with cattle; older, halter broken brood cows..
I'd suggest looking for an older cow with a proven track record of calving, with a calf by her side and bred back.
If a Hereford is 10, sound feet, sound udder, good flesh, good calf & bred back, I'd reasonably expect another 2-3 calves from her. You can expect to have fewer calving problems with these older cows, providing they don't have any hidden problems. Buy from a breeder and they shouldn't stick you with problems they know about. For example about 'hidden' problems, we have 2 cows we'll be culling, one has oversize teats at calving but after a week will shrink to normal, this will just get worse. The other 'hidden' problem is a cow with a vaginal prolapse that is probably due to an injury. It shows up 1 week before calving and she returns to normal 2-3 days after calving. This is a problem that could also get worse.

About success rate for AI...I've seen that the average is 65%. Some of the breeders on this board are 100% AI. Success starts with accurate heat detection, you can have the best AI technician available and he'll fail 100% of the time if you are not accurate with the time of heat.

Best advice I could give is develop a relationship to a breeder of your kids breed of choice. Buy the cows from him. He'll have an interest in helping you succeed and that is invaluable.

Btw, your son is old enough to join the Junior Hereford Association and show in the Junior shows. The junior associations in all the breeds are great for kids.

 

[Ryder]

I wouldn't buy a bull... with only as many head as you are talking about AI would be the way to go.

She makes good sense. If you get 5 or 6 cows to start, a bull could be a lot more trouble thatn he is worth.

If you get hereford cows and wanted to breed to another breed, angus would work well. Or, just breed hereford. I think straight bred hereford may be a little easier for your boy to work with.

 

[DOC HARRIS]

The above five or six posts are GOOD advice. I didn't realize that your 7 year old son was the impetus of your enthusiasm for a herd. FORGET KEEPING A BULL! He would be more trouble than you might be able to handle. AI, and live with the inconvenience which may or may not ensue. And your 7 year old will not REMAIN a 7 year old. He will be 16 before you know it, and he may say, "Dad, the cows are yours, I have basketball practice and a date afterwards! Can I have the car keys? Bye!"

DOC HARRIS

 

[alabama]

I keep reading on this board that people are 100% AI. I just don’t see how and I don’t know anyone that can do it. Even the top seed stock ranches in the nation run cleanup bulls. No matter what type of cattle operation you run, the most important thing you have to do to stay in business is get a live calf from every cow every year. You may not get 100% every year but with a clean up bull, you can get close.
I would recommend that with you running 6 or 7 cows that you try to AI as many as you can up to 60 days post calving and then run the cleanup bull in for another 60 days. When some of your cows start calving late, I would sell them and replace with some calving when you want to calve.
As for a clean up bull, rent him for 60 days from a good breeder near you. If you can show that, you take good care of him you may get him just for the price of the feed you give him while on your place. A lot of breeders will loan you a good yearling for a few monthes just to keep from having to feed the cridder.
Buy “good” young cows. Buy full size and a bread that you can sell when you need to replace them. If you can afford it, buy two and a half year old cows with their first calf weaned off and AI bred back. This will give you a good start with some cows that you know can have a calf and can be AI bred.
You can also call the area rep for the breed you decide on and tell him what want. He can tell you what they will cost and he can buy them for you. This will get you good cattle fro a good start that will be backed up by breeders that stand behind their product. Don’t buy at the sale barn especially with no experience.

http://www.angus.org <<<< A good place to start.