I was recently having a casual conversation with a friend about cattle prices and making a profit. He doesn't do it for a living, but has an established 20 cow/calf operation in beef cattle. He cuts and rolls his own hay, but doesn't raise crops or anything else on the farm. He said he recently sold 19 calves, which i assumed were around 500lbs and a mix of steer and heifer, for over $14,000. He said the money was great. He said he had around $500 in hay and around $1000 in all other expenses for the year. So, it appears to me he made $12,500.
We were just talking casually, so I wasn't looking at his books and I wasn't going to drill him for more personal information, but that was what he said. In my mind, I thought even if that was doubled and he had $3000 expenses, he still made $11,000. I can't speak for my own situation because I have heifers and haven't sold any yet. But aside from the cost of buying the heifers and fencing expenses for getting things back in shape, other costs don't seem to amount to much. I've often thought, if i had been going a few years and had the cost of fencing and the heifers out of the way and had about 16 to sell, I'd be sitting pretty.
I know there is always talk about not making much, and I realize there can be unexpected tragedies, but overall, is my neighbor or I missing something? That seems like good profit to me.
We were just talking casually, so I wasn't looking at his books and I wasn't going to drill him for more personal information, but that was what he said. In my mind, I thought even if that was doubled and he had $3000 expenses, he still made $11,000. I can't speak for my own situation because I have heifers and haven't sold any yet. But aside from the cost of buying the heifers and fencing expenses for getting things back in shape, other costs don't seem to amount to much. I've often thought, if i had been going a few years and had the cost of fencing and the heifers out of the way and had about 16 to sell, I'd be sitting pretty.
I know there is always talk about not making much, and I realize there can be unexpected tragedies, but overall, is my neighbor or I missing something? That seems like good profit to me.