New to Cattle and need help!

[kilroy60]

A lot of good post here. My advice is to start small like someone mentioned. Who is going to help you? If you have no experience, then you have a lot to learn. Does the farm have good grass for the cattle to graze? How about working facilities in case they become sick and when you have to vaccinate? Barns, good water, fencing are other areas to be concerned with.

As for making money, calves in my area are now at $0.90 per pound. Sales start back this week and will be interesting to see where they head from there. May be a good time to buy but it will take some time before you make a profit.

Good Luck.

 

[nathan arizona]

I inherited land and knew nothing (not nearly 800 acres) but even if I would have extrapolated it out, I can't see how I could have made it just diving in. I'm older that you, have kids it college, etc., but I can't see how I could have made it work. The blessing is that if your parents are willing to cut you a deal, then you've got that much less risk on the cost of the land. What you may not be thinking about is all the things that you'll need that will cost you money and the amount of time it's going to be before you actually see a paycheck. Like someone earlier said, do you have water? Also, do you have facilities to work them? I have 17 cows right now, a definite small timer, but in the first couple of years, I found myself writing checks I just didn't expect to write. And I buried a couple of cows I had put time and money into. That was a bummer. If you look at my tax statements and if you count what I've sold with the current value of the cows I have, I may be approaching break-even three years in, but if you count my time, it's not close. Again, remember, I inherited the land and it was fenced, (along with equipment.)
But, I know it can be done. The guy I bought my first some of my first heifers from started with 1 cow and now has over 1000, but he worked a factory job for years, his family lived in a very humble house he bought with the farm he bought. He's built trust around the community, and folks are willing to lease him their pastures/hay fields. And in the summer, he works sunup to sunset (maybe more, I'm sure he has lights on his tractor). He's done what he loves, but he's sure worked for it.

 

[jcarkie]

Let me give you some advice you will have to get job in town and work to support yourself. There are low interest loans for beginning farmers but you need someone to help you make business plan. My 2 youngest son's did this10 years ago one was in the army, he became a helicopter mechanic, one was a nurse. You will not get rich or even make much money, but they payed the mortgage and cattle payment as everything you get goes back into the business. Start small and go slow both of my sons are farming full time now to have my built chicken houses to generate income. We are now running over 150 pair from 20 ten years ago. It takes a lot of planning and work but don't give up I started with a family farm I used for free for a few years it was 70 acres then they sold it. I rented land as I could, we farm over 1200 acres over half rented. Sorry such a long post but it is not easy

 

[Muddy]

My advice to you is don't listen to LCCattle as he has no cattle sense at all. Listen to the other posters they had good advice.

Fixed it for you, Indicus.

Fixed it for ya, Imbecill.

Grow up and act like your age. You're no better than LCCattle either and you should know better than stir up in a newcomer thread.

 

[backhoeboogie]

Is this new poster another one hit wonder?

 

[Son of Butch]

Well I don't think we are ever going to hear from Brownstone again.

 

[cow pollinater]

Well I don't think we are ever going to hear from Brownstone again.

Well that sucks... We didn't even get a chance to tell him our thoughts about France.

 

[cow pollinater]

Brownstone, if you're still out there, don't give up! You can absolutely get into ranching and it can be profitable. You will need a job while you get up and running but there is no reason in the world it can't be done. Don't listen to the people that say it can't be done, instead focus on how you're going to do it. It IS very easy to be unprofitable with cattle but if you keep your pencil sharp there is plenty of money to be made.
Go to the guys that are whining and griping about there not being any money in cattle and make them an offer on their place. Most of them won't sell because they're full of it when they tell you there's no money in it but you might get lucky and find someone who means it and wants out.

 

[LCCattle]

Brownstone, if you're still out there, don't give up! You can absolutely get into ranching and it can be profitable. You will need a job while you get up and running but there is no reason in the world it can't be done. Don't listen to the people that say it can't be done, instead focus on how you're going to do it. It IS very easy to be unprofitable with cattle but if you keep your pencil sharp there is plenty of money to be made.
Go to the guys that are whining and griping about there not being any money in cattle and make them an offer on their place. Most of them won't sell because they're full of it when they tell you there's no money in it but you might get lucky and find someone who means it and wants out.

so you want to be a farmer? click here

 

[LCCattle]

Here you go Brownstone,
The perfect answer to your problem. If you're white male and don't qualify, just marry a black women and your in like flin!

Gene Davidson, executive director of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Tennessee Farm Service Agency, wants to remind producers that FSA offers targeted farm ownership and farm operating loans to assist underserved applicants, a written statement from USDA says.
Snip.
USDA defines underserved applicants as a group whose members have been subjected to racial, ethnic, or gender prejudice because of their identity as members of the group without regard to their individual qualities, the statement says. For farm loan program purposes, targeted underserved groups are women, African Americans, American Indians, Alaskan Natives, Hispanics, Asians and Pacific Islanders.
Snip
"During fiscal year 2015, Tennessee FSA obligated 597 loans totaling $59 million targeted for underserved and beginning producers," according to Davidson."

http://www.heraldcourier.com/news/usda- ... d8a66.html

 

[LCCattle]

And as a farmer, if you move to Iowa, you can also go into the energy business at no cost..

DES MOINES (AP) — The U.S. Department of Agriculture said 33 small Iowa businesses and farms have been awarded grants to reduce energy costs by improving lighting and installing solar energy systems.
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said more than $670,000 is approved for the projects including funding a wind energy project and improvements to grain dryer systems on two farms.

Details of Iowa grants were released Monday as Vilsack rolled out the 2016 funding under the USDA's Rural Energy for America Program. He said 821 businesses across the country received $43 million in loan guarantees and nearly $12 million in grants.

http://www.omaha.com/money/usda-release ... 45a20.html