Spring Fed
New member
Good morning,
For some background I am a 1.5st generation farmer, easiest way to describe it, My father and I are partners. My father bought the farm, and we started with no equipment or cattle. Traded land rent for heifers. We have been running well on the home farm and now have the opportunity for expansion on one of our hayfields. The landowner has expressed a desire in adding livestock to his land and was looking for someone to do so. Not wanting to lose ground I volunteered to put some animals on it. He has about 16 acres of hayfield and only wants a couple animals for scenery. My plan is to fence in about 8 acres in two or three paddocks and rotate the cattle around. I have the hayfield capacity to convert the 8 acres and be fine. I was already thinking about adding animals to this acreage since it was a cattle farm in a past life. The corral is still standing, and many fences are still serviceable.
My question is for advice on expansion as I have never had cattle in two different places. I few thoughts I have could be my replacement heifer pen to prevent inbreeding, or a backgrounding lot to condition ungraded feeder calves from the sale barn to sell later that hopefully grade. I may just start a second herd with the heifers. Finances on the farm are healthy, and my job supplements the venture. All the neighbors farm family land and have not expanded in decades. Any advice?
Also to top everything off we are building two hay barns, new corral, and an equipment barn on the main farm in the next 8 months. I have to wait for vacation accrual at work to start construction. The hay barns will hold over two years' worth of hay. We have also limed and fertilized the fields this year to soil tests. I cut hay as a hobby, we only have 20 brood cows and should buy our hay according to our extension office. If you have any comment on the other projects I would appreciate the advice.
Thanks
For some background I am a 1.5st generation farmer, easiest way to describe it, My father and I are partners. My father bought the farm, and we started with no equipment or cattle. Traded land rent for heifers. We have been running well on the home farm and now have the opportunity for expansion on one of our hayfields. The landowner has expressed a desire in adding livestock to his land and was looking for someone to do so. Not wanting to lose ground I volunteered to put some animals on it. He has about 16 acres of hayfield and only wants a couple animals for scenery. My plan is to fence in about 8 acres in two or three paddocks and rotate the cattle around. I have the hayfield capacity to convert the 8 acres and be fine. I was already thinking about adding animals to this acreage since it was a cattle farm in a past life. The corral is still standing, and many fences are still serviceable.
My question is for advice on expansion as I have never had cattle in two different places. I few thoughts I have could be my replacement heifer pen to prevent inbreeding, or a backgrounding lot to condition ungraded feeder calves from the sale barn to sell later that hopefully grade. I may just start a second herd with the heifers. Finances on the farm are healthy, and my job supplements the venture. All the neighbors farm family land and have not expanded in decades. Any advice?
Also to top everything off we are building two hay barns, new corral, and an equipment barn on the main farm in the next 8 months. I have to wait for vacation accrual at work to start construction. The hay barns will hold over two years' worth of hay. We have also limed and fertilized the fields this year to soil tests. I cut hay as a hobby, we only have 20 brood cows and should buy our hay according to our extension office. If you have any comment on the other projects I would appreciate the advice.
Thanks
