New to cattle

[gjl2791]

Hi I'm in the very beginning stages of starting a cattle farm. I have a few questions which I can't seem to find out anywhere. First of all, I live in south florida (Not your typical farm country!!) But it does have good weather and it is very green. COnsidering that it never snows here and there is plenty of grass and moisture how many cattle can I have per acre?? I'll tell you thi much, the biggest piece of farm land you can get down here is 3 acres...is that enough for a cattle farm? I know there are a lot of horse farms on that much land down here but I wnat to start a cattle farm. how many cattle can 3 acres of south florida land sustain and if so, I want y'all to tell me you r opinions on whether you think it is enough cattle for a small family farm?? Is it just right, or just too small? Thanx y'all and I look foward to seeing replies!!

 

[gjl2791]

Of course not I appreciate honest opinions! thank you for telling me! I'd much rather someone tell me the truth than lie to me! thnk you

 

[gjl2791]

Is this any different for dairy farms with jersey cows anyone? Just wondering

 

[dun]

Dairys feed hay or grain heavily. Most are strictly drylot situations. But dairys get a milk check reularly too, they don;t have only one or 2 pay checks a year from the business. With many head in a drylot you also start running into a lot more of the eco-freaks and the polution regulations.

 

[dieselbeef]

seriously??

yer that green...and you wanna start a farm....fer real :shock:

 

[MikeC]

Aw.....go ahead and get you a Jersey and milk her everyday.

When you tired of milking you can always make hamburger from her.

Chances are in South Florida you can have more grass than Tennessee with all the rain and warm weather.

Try it! All you can lose is one cow. ;-)

 

[dieselbeef]

yeah..i bet you can get a trained one to stand right there in yer garage and let you milk her....taste just like out of the jug..specially warm....
you can easily have one cow on 3 acres here but then when you eat her you wont have any milk to drink with your burgers...unless you dont eat your pets...i mean cows...
are you sure you just dont want a puppy

 

[gjl2791]

Ok yeah...I would appreciate it if y'all wouldn't be so critical I mean I'm just interested in starting a farm...No need to make fun. I asked a serious question and it would have been nice to get some serious mature answers such as the ones masterproducer or Dun gave. I mean everyone has to start somewhere when they're gonna get a farm don't they? Instead of making fun, it would be nice if you helped... And no, I don't want a puppy. I have two DOGS and seven parrots which I happen to breed and sell; so I know a little something or two about raising and taking care of animals. Just because you guys may have farms doesn't give you the right to make fun of people who want to get into it. You should be proud when someone wants to move into the business.

 

[backhoeboogie]

Ok yeah...I would appreciate it if y'all wouldn't be so critical I mean I'm just interested in starting a farm...No need to make fun. I asked a serious question and it would have been nice to get some serious mature answers such as the ones masterproducer or Dun gave. I mean everyone has to start somewhere when they're gonna get a farm don't they? Instead of making fun, it would be nice if you helped... And no, I don't want a puppy. I have two DOGS and seven parrots which I happen to breed and sell; so I know a little something or two about raising and taking care of animals. Just because you guys may have farms doesn't give you the right to make fun of people who want to get into it. You should be proud when someone wants to move into the business.

If you're serious, you need much more acreage. Look in to leasing. If you consistently earn $200 a year off of one adult cow, you'd be doing better than "average" in the cattle business. Ten cows would net you $2,000.

Most of us have more than 3 acres just for working pens, chutes, hay storage and the like.

You could indeed get a couple of nurse cows. You could buy young beef calves that are split off of cutters or canners intended to be sold as pairs, and make a few nickels. Two jersey nurse cows could raise a dozen calves each per year with the right management. Hence, I'm not saying there is no way. I'm just saying that it won't be easy. Plus the neighbors will get ticked about flies, stinch, and their dogs barking at your cows.

 

[gjl2791]

Hey! I see what you mean! I never thought of that backhoeboogie! You're a genius. THat's a really good idea! Even though, like you said, it still wouldn't be much with two nurse cows raising calves, but it's still really awesome and it comes out way better than only being able to have a few adult cows. This is more like a hobby for me because I make my income through other ways, so it doesn't have to be some big beef or dairy production or anything. Great job! thanx a lot!

 

[Frankie]

Hi I'm in the very beginning stages of starting a cattle farm. I have a few questions which I can't seem to find out anywhere. First of all, I live in south florida (Not your typical farm country!!) But it does have good weather and it is very green. COnsidering that it never snows here and there is plenty of grass and moisture how many cattle can I have per acre?? I'll tell you thi much, the biggest piece of farm land you can get down here is 3 acres...is that enough for a cattle farm? I know there are a lot of horse farms on that much land down here but I wnat to start a cattle farm. how many cattle can 3 acres of south florida land sustain and if so, I want y'all to tell me you r opinions on whether you think it is enough cattle for a small family farm?? Is it just right, or just too small? Thanx y'all and I look foward to seeing replies!!

Look in your telephone book and find your local Extension Office. They are chock full of information about raising cattle in your area. See if there's a local cattlemen's group that has regular meetings in your area and attend one. Stocking rates (cows per acre) vary across the country, depending on forage, climate (rain, temp), etc. Truthfully, there's not a lot of money to be made on a cow or two. (They are herd animals and are less likely to run through your fences if you have more than one.) But the fun of watching a new calf grow is priceless, IMO. Good luck....

 

[jvicars]

1 cow per 3 acres? at my place i have more grasss than 1 per acres can eat. no hay during the winter and a little feed so they remember me. cow per acre depends on how good your pasture is. sandy soil, etc. have fun.

 

[dieselbeef]

I suppose you are the highest ranking profit per unit producer of beef in all the southeast right slick. Nothing ventured nothing gained right. I would rather fail at what I wanted to do rather than listen to a washed up edited like Dieselbeef. Everybody is green at some point pinhead. Even the all mighty dieselbeef. You have to criticize others to make yourself feel good that you are not the only pathetic loser in your mind. True wisdom works through problems. Insanity would be if I kept trying the same edited and failing each time. Dieselbeef, you need to grow up you spineless know it all.

The Thunder
"And I can bring it to beeotch"

woohoo...whatsa matter internet tuff guy...baby git yer feeling hurt...waaahahahaha!
dont be such an a-hole....relax a little.MR THUNDER bwaahahah

 

[backhoeboogie]

This is more like a hobby for me because I make my income through other ways,

Many of us do. In my youth I swore to never run cattle. Here I am. Never say never.

The nurse cow thing is not my idea. It is old school. A twice a day commitment, wet or dry, cold or hot, those babies have to eat.

There is a lady here who runs nurse cows. She's done it for years. She's a sweetheart of an old gal. Occasionally someone will have a really nice registered calf and have something go amiss. They'll pay her to raise that calf for them, rather than put it on a bottle. She has a bit of acreage but not all that much. She maintains it very well. All in all, she produces many more steers than some of the medium size ranches around. Her heifers have been let in and out of pens, twice a day, for about three months. Most turn out to be extremely gentle critters, easy handling. Lots of folks recommend those heifers to newbies. All the vets around know her well. She is a true guru on bottle calves and such.

 

[novatech]

There is an elderly gentlemen here that has a couple hundred cows. He also has 4 semi-retired milk cows with 12 calves on them. The cows are penned on less than 3 acres and fed daily.
He tells me that he will make more off the nurse calves than his cows on a per head basis. He gets a premium for the heifers as they are so gentle and that is what all the newbe week-enders around here want.

 

[ROCK-N-W]

Hi I'm in the very beginning stages of starting a cattle farm.

It is kinda hard to take this question seriously.
About all you could do with three acres is raise one to beef out fer yourself which is not a bad thing. But it will never be a cattle operation. Since I am in the sometimes sunny south Florida a good standing rule is 1.5 acres per cow if it is good pasture. If it has woods mixed with pasture you need three acres per cow. The only way you could ever make any money on only three acres as a ranch is to go the Show cattle way and buy yerself a 30 grand hieffer artificial breed her to a grand champion hope like seven big dogs she don't get sick and die and gives you a calve every year. But ya in fer a real education if you try. Sorry man I don't mean to be cruel, but stick to raising the birds I understand that can be profitable. You can fergit about finding land to lease here its all gone...

 

[dieselbeef]

ooooooooooo...yer a bad boy r-w..
you didnt tell em what they wanted to hear....yer gonna get it........you must be an old washed up loser like me.....if you want i can bring my spineless wonder over to help you grow up too...in case mr thunder is too busy to BRING IT!!!!

BWAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHA! SOMETIME THIS BOARD KILLS ME. I MEAN REALLY. 3 ACRES AINT NO CATTLE FARM(RANCH) FARM(RANCH) FARM(WHATEVER......AVIARY..... :banana:

 

[ROCK-N-W]

you must be an old washed up loser like me.....if you want i can bring my spineless wonder over to help you grow up too...in case mr thunder is too busy to BRING IT!!!!

You know where I'm at.
I ain't never been whooped by nair a pair of lips before!
If I were you I would think real hard before I had any bright :idea: Time to grow up I just mixed a little humor with fact.

 

[novatech]

ooooooooooo...yer a bad boy r-w..
you didnt tell em what they wanted to hear....yer gonna get it........you must be an old washed up loser like me.....if you want i can bring my spineless wonder over to help you grow up too...in case mr thunder is too busy to BRING IT!!!!

BWAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHA! SOMETIME THIS BOARD KILLS ME. I MEAN REALLY. 3 ACRES AINT NO CATTLE FARM(RANCH) FARM(RANCH) FARM(WHATEVER......AVIARY..... :banana:

I,m am sure there are a lot more people other than me that do not appreciate these type of comments.

 

[backhoeboogie]

BWAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHA! SOMETIME THIS BOARD KILLS ME. I MEAN REALLY. 3 ACRES AINT NO CATTLE FARM(RANCH) FARM(RANCH) FARM(WHATEVER......AVIARY..... :banana:

Diesel, I wasn't meaning to offend you "by telling what they wanted to hear". Hopefully I didn't.

With 3 acres, I wouldn't consider anything personally other than Freezer beef - maybe a chicken house. But still, there are people who do well on small acreage with hobby farming.

There are some who get more production out of 50 acres than others do with 200. It is simply a management thing. Plus it is cheaper to put optimum fencing up when it only takes a little bit. Less mowing, less weed control effort etc. Think about it. You wouldn't be working hundreds of cows or putting out huge loads of hay in the winter. You have more time to do other things.

If someone is intent on doing something with cattle, they could get good freezer beef, save a few nickels, and get meat much better than what they can buy at shops. Top quality steak for a quarter of the cost.

If bent on production on just 3 acres, I would go the nurse cow route. I can't think of anything else that would be lucrative.