numbers

[brierpatch1974]

I was just curious on how many head of cattle everyone has and how many acres of land for each cow. The stocking rate. Also curious on how many acres you get hay from and how many mowings a year for your area. Most places but not all around here mow twice sometimes three.

BP

 

[Bez?]

I was just curious on how many head of cattle everyone has and how many acres of land for each cow. The stocking rate. Also curious on how many acres you get hay from and how many mowings a year for your area. Most places but not all around here mow twice sometimes three.

BP

How much cash do you have in your savings and chequing account?

How much money have you saved for your retirement?

How much is your net worth today?

In some circles your first question "how many head" is considered quite rude and is equated to the questions I asked you.

Depending on the people who respond this could be an interesting topic.

Animals per acre / acres per animal varies incrediby.

Bez?

 

[RAWCJW]

I was just curious on how many head of cattle everyone has and how many acres of land for each cow. The stocking rate. Also curious on how many acres you get hay from and how many mowings a year for your area. Most places but not all around here mow twice sometimes three.

BP

How much cash do you have in your savings and chequing account?

How much money have you saved for your retirement?

How much is your net worth today?

In some circles your first question "how many head" is considered quite rude and is equated to the questions I asked you.

Depending on the people who respond this could be an interesting topic.

Animals per acre / acres per animal varies incrediby.

Bez?

If nobody knows who you are what does it matter? 7 head so far, cow and calf per acre and a half.

 

[backhoeboogie]

I was just curious on how many head of cattle everyone has and how many acres of land for each cow. The stocking rate. Also curious on how many acres you get hay from and how many mowings a year for your area. Most places but not all around here mow twice sometimes three.

BP

Being curious is not a problem with me. There is nothing wrong with being curious. In all due respect, I don't know who reads this board.

If it rains, I get more cows per acre. I can get cows out of the hay field and cut hay. Otherwise, under current conditions, I don't get hay. My cows normally forage in a fields across the road all summer. Right now there is nothing there but cactus, weeds, trees and dry dirt. I would lke to brush hog the weeds out but if I do it will start a fire. If I plow it, the winds will blow away all the top soil, that isn't already blowing away.

Your request was for "everyone has and how many acres" and I can only tell you about me, and I've told you all I care to tell in a public forum.

I am in the worst drought on record for this area. I have cut to the bone on cattle. The winter grasses I planted last year received no rain to grow. I got a little spring grass and planted heavy in the spring but the rains stopped. Right now the weathermen are saying we will get no rain in the next week. The future doesn't look bright and things are bad as it is. Rain is predicted south and east of us. I hope so. That will keep the market up a little. Oklahoma and the panhandle got rain this week also.

 

[ALACOWMAN]

just enough cattle to keep me busy, but not enough to make any money. sounds like a dam hobby don;t it ;-)

 

[mnmtranching]

I wonder how many times I've been asked "How many cattle do you have" I'll bet we've all been asked that question many many times. Sometimes I answer, sometimes I just say to many. I've given numbers on these boards a few times and I don't hink its a big deal. 112 mother cows with calves, 26 yearling heifers, 4 bulls and 3 former bottle calves running around the farmyard eating weeds. About 50 free ranging chickens, 4 geese, 7 ducks. We also have wild turkeys, pheasants, wild geese and ducks, a couple of bear, coyotes, occasional gray wolves, and many many deer on my ranch.

To put things into perspective my friends in MT run more then 1500 mother cows. You ought to see the hay. :shock: :shock: :shock:

We normally run about 1 pair to 5 acres June through Oct.

We normally cut twice, but 3 out of the last 4 yrs 1 cut.and about 2.5 tons per acre. 50 miles to the west of here they cut 4 times and expect 5 to 6 ton per acre alfalfa. Its the soil.

mnmt

 

[mitchwi]

I guess I don't have a problem when someone asks. I kind of think of it on the same terms as.... How many employees you have? Or, how many people work where you work? The other info, well, you can look in any plat book and it tells my acres, probably not too hard to count the animals in the fields either. Maybe its a regional thing too. Usually the area I'm in has been primarily dairy, and it seems when farmers are talking one of the first questions, how many head are you milking now? Or a new dairy facility goes up... "how many can that handle milking?" But it is just me and my opinion....

We have 160 acres and approx 75 acres is tillable. At the moment we have 33 stockers, 1 bull, 3 1st calf cows, 3 heifer calves, and 11 breeding age heifers. The 75 acres is a combination between pasture, alfalfa, and corn. We will keep between 15 to 20 momma's in the future, and the amount of stockers, if any, we feed out depends on the amount of corn and hay we can harvest, and the price of cattle/crops. Normal years we get 3 cuttings of hay, occassionally a 4th. This year we are VERY dry, looks to not be good crops.

 

[backhoeboogie]

To a "Hobby farmer", it sounds like ya'll may be bragging

 

[Herefordcross]

I have removed this post due to it's unintended offensive nature.

 

[mitchwi]

To a "Hobby farmer", it sounds like ya'll may be bragging

Whats to "brag about?" ..to me, that is nothing to brag about...but then again to me, neither would be 10000 acres or 2000 head, or input any # for either... the only thing I have worth bragging about are my kids and family...


In fact, here's a great milestone to brag about... my littlest is trying his darnedest to figure out the whole potty training thing! What a week it has been! :shock:

 

[Diehard40]

just a little suggestion to some of you (Herefordcross) if you don't want anyone to know any details then don't bother replying to someone's question there isn't a law on here that you have blurp out a response to every topic on the board. And what are you worried about, it isn't like everyone in the world knows who in the heck you are, nor do the majority of them care.

for the question at hand
i run about 15 + or - depending on the year of mama cows. mainly a crossbred herd with a few registered simmys.
we can normally go at a rate of cow/calf pair per 2 acres.

 

[dj]

This is kinda amazing. Wasn't long ago a thread ran about how much do you make per cow. Lotsa participation in that thread.
for me
stocking rate= 4.5 acres per pair
haying= 1 for sure(except last year none), hope for 2, will take a third on the clover even if it's just 40-50 squares(small) providing the weather cooperates.

 

[brierpatch1974]

Well I must admit I din't mean to stir up a hornets nest. I was basically wondering how many acres per cattle or pair. How much hay in a years worth of cuttings etc.. I also refer to normal average years and not extreme years like the darn drought people are suffering through. I don't think these answers to the people who VOLUNTEER to answer hurt anything and helps a newbie like me in learning how to judge things. Thanks to everyone who has helped and given me ideas I greatly appreciate them.

If I offended anyone with some simple, honest, no harm question I appologize. You don't have to reply if you don't want to answer and if the only answer you can give sense you feal offended is a smart ass one? Well your all grown ups I am sure you will get over it. If not its your bad not mine.

 

[Diehard40]

brierpatch, don't be apologizing to anyone for your post if they got their shorts in a wad over it then it is their problem. There was nothing wrong with your post or question.

 

[milesvb]

Well I must admit I din't mean to stir up a hornets nest. I was basically wondering how many acres per cattle or pair. How much hay in a years worth of cuttings etc.. I also refer to normal average years and not extreme years like the darn drought people are suffering through.

I wish I could give you a meaningful answer but you'd need to explain to me what an "average" year is. I don't think I've ever experienced one.

 

[CowpokeJ]

Really, the best thing to do is talk to someone in your immediate area. The stocking rate varies greatly. I can run more cows per acre than say someone in hill country. I've heard people talk about 1 to 50 and even 1 to 100. Down in east texas it's not like that. Someone close to you can give you a better idea. I run 60 mommas on 250. As far as hay goes, its cheaper for me to go buy rolls cause I need the acres to run my cattle. Now cypress has a good idea with the rotational deal and I plan to try some of that.
Don't listen to everyone's post on here. The longer you are on here, the more you'll realize what I'm smelling. Top secret shat, if they tell you they'll have to kill you

 

[backhoeboogie]

brierpatch, don't be apologizing to anyone for your post if they got their shorts in a wad over it then it is their problem. There was nothing wrong with your post or question.

You are right. I don't need any apology.

I think some were merely pointing out how very rude it is to ask such things. If he doesn't care, he wouldn't have apologized. So now I am thinking brierpatch is not really that rude of a person, he simply didn't realize. But I still didn't need an apology, even tho it gave me clarification.

 

[C HOLLAND]

just enough cattle to keep me busy, but not enough to make any money. sounds like a dam hobby don;t it ;-)

Hobby ?????????/ Mine qualifies as a hobby too I guess, but as a kid I never had as much fun or worked this hard on my hobbies.

My wife is my best supporter on this venture, she keeps reminding me it takes time to get there with any investment.

ALA I hope you have been getting some rain lately.

 

[C HOLLAND]

And to answer the original question, I currently have on my 100 acres,,,,,,1 cow, 5 heifers, 1 bull, 1 steer for the freezer next spring and 10 heifers at my brothers place. I am currently converting timber land into more pasture (40 acres)

I buy my hay and I rotate the 8 head on my place on (3) 5-6 acre pastures. I am off to a sale tomorrow to buy more ( I hope)

My bank account has lots of 0000000000's in it most of the time, just not very many numbers in front of those ZERO'S )

I am a Purchasing manager by day and a wanna be/try to be cattle farmer at heart.

 

[endebt]

I will agree with some on the numbers. In public i will ask them the balance of thier bank accout. You ough to see their expressions. On here i have no problem telling you for information. In June 2005 last year we had 120 mother cows on 450 ac. With the drought being bad we started culling. By Feb.2006 this year we are down to 50 head of young cows. The oldest is a 1999 model. When i get back from A&M Rancher Short Course next week we cull again. With hay being $100. or more per round bale we will cull even deeper. Usually we run 1 pair per 7 ac. of unimproved land. We have been able to run 1 pair per 4.5 ac. for a long time since we have been putting more costal and native grasses.Hope this helps. Good Luck.