New Farmer

[Ghostikailo]

I am trying to start up a profitable farm as my profession. I have 100 acres in upstate new york climate zone 5. I have around 50 grand to start. I was considering to do beef cattle, and researched it alot, and talked to the farmers around here. I was thinking of switching to growing lavander, flowers, woodies or like dog wood ect used for flowers, and bamboo. My question is for a novice, I have never taken care of cattle before, I have grown a bit, not much, so new to that. Which would you guys say would be the surest way to make a living, cows, or plants? Thanks for any help.

 

[Toad]

$50,000 isn't going to touch a complete cattle operation if you need equipment.
If you are thinking of doing cattle I would recommend starting slowly. I started running steers on grass 4 years ago and then 2 years ago started buying cows. I started slow and have learned many lessons the hard way. As an old timer said those are the lessons you learn better than anything you could read in a book. My point is that it is easier to learn from a small mistake then to loose everything because you invested everything right away.

 

[boondocks]

I am trying to start up a profitable farm as my profession. I have 100 acres in upstate new york climate zone 5. I have around 50 grand to start. I was considering to do beef cattle, and researched it alot, and talked to the farmers around here. I was thinking of switching to growing lavander, flowers, woodies or like dog wood ect used for flowers, and bamboo. My question is for a novice, I have never taken care of cattle before, I have grown a bit, not much, so new to that. Which would you guys say would be the surest way to make a living, cows, or plants? Thanks for any help.

Welcome, Ghost! :welcome:
Fellow upstater here, and there are a few others as well, including some (ok, ALL) with more experience than me.
We started about 3 years ago, with Angus. With our acreage there's no way to make a living at Angus, but hope to make enough to pay the property taxes over time. We've gone from a couple of cows to 20 (but only own half the herd ourselves).Talk to your extension agent and have them take a look at your place, do soil tests, etc and see what the land and facilities you have are best suited for. We have about 175 acres but a good bit of it is rented to a local farmer for corn, etc. We get some cash back and a bunch of hay. So, it doesn't necessarily have to be "all cows" versus "all plants."

Do you have a barn or other way to work the cows? Good stand of trees or something for shelter? If you get cows, make sure they are built/bred for the cold.

My :2cents: . Others will have more, I'm sure. Good luck!

 

[Nesikep]

I agree with Toad in everything he said, but here are some other points you might want to consider

Do you ever want to have a holiday again? If you have animals, they need CONSTANT attention, or at least surveillance. You can be sure that if you turn your back on them, they'll break a fence, the water trough will plug or flood, or *something*. We have done veggies as well, and the seasons of hard work are probably harder, but at least when there are no crops in the ground, you can take a break.

Welcome

 

[gonzo]

:welcome: I have been raising beef as a hobby for ten years or better ,my wife says don't quit your day job. where in NY are you. :cowboy:

 

[Ghostikailo]

Thank you guys very much for all the information. I live by oneonta ny. I think I will stay away from animals, they dont sound very profitable, and from the sounds 100 acres is not going to be any where near enough for a beef farm to live off of. So i guess then the only way to do it would be a dairy farm, but that is even more difficult I hear. I will hope the Lavender works out then. Thank you guys again.

 

[slick4591]

:welcome: