Hey! Am a little familiar with Missouri territory... Crop ---> Pasture. Probably recommend you check with your County Extension Agent about good NATIVE grasses (or proven ADAPTED grasses) for your area. Also, with good grazing and supplemental feeding in winter, probably could run 1/2 to 1 animal per acre. Lot depends on forage production, etc.
Also, should you be interested in Texas Longhorns, they are very gentle, intelligent, excellent browsers (will eat forage the "English" breeds will pass up, have 99.7% unassisted calving rates (per university research), naturally lean beef, high disease resistance, high tolerance for all climactic conditions, excellent milkers and mothers, can be bred at 12-16 months of age, produce calves every year (with few exceptions), calve into their late teens and into their 20's (almost twice as long production as the English Breeds which means fewer replacement heifers and more to sell).
When you compare the efficiency of the breed and low maintenance with NO artificial additives or hormones used, etc., vs. the sale barn "docking" in price, you'll find the Longhorns are a wise investment for productivity, longevity, and good lean beef. Look at the numbers....!
Bill
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