First off i would like to say a warm "Hello" to everyone here on the forums. This has been a very imformative tool indeed, and it would appear that im going to be buying "Storeys Guide to Cattle Farming" in the next few days .
I have actually come on here to ask a few quick questions to the people who have done this for a decent length of time. I will start by saying that myself and my better half grew up on farms and were taken to the big city when we were both kids. Her family packed up and left the farm life. My Grandparents carried on with Grain farming and have only recently "retired"... if you can call it that . We have a beautiful daughter who is 14months and if we decide to make this move i would like to do it when she is very young so it wont be a horrible transition for her and any future children in the works ;-) .
I guess a few of my questions are as follows:
I am extremely new to anything involving cattle ranching...what size of land is a decent amount to sustain a ranch??
I looked around at stockyard websites and pricing of cattle...the only thing im not familiar with is how feasible is the cattle ranching profession?? I have heard alot lately about environmental concerns coming from cattle ranches and beef going on the down slope from all the estrogen and such injected into cattle.
What size of operation would i need to have in order for it to be somewhat profitable for a good sized family?? I should mention here that from the stockyard websites 500lbs was averaging $100-115.
I actually have about a bazillion questions hahaha...but ill get the book first and then if i have more ill come to you guys.
I understand the whole "do it for the love of the land and open air" theme...and trust me i wouldnt want to be leaving the city for this type of lifestyle if i didnt miss the country and being outdoors alot.
I should mention the farm is on 6 quarters of land (grain farmed land), and as far as water is concerned i know there are a few wells drilled around the main living area. Pretty much all the machinery is gone and most of the barns and such are crumpling and would need to be replaced. There are still a hand full of steel grain bins around and a few odds and ends here and there. I would need to erect the fences and stalls and all the jazz of course. With the selling of my assests here in the city i would be able to go out there with a decent sum of capital to get me started. The closest stockyard is about a 2-3 hour drive and as for other cattle ranchers...well there isnt very many at all...maybe 2-3 serious ones around the area.
I guess im trying to find out if this is a smart thing to do at the age of 32 hahaha because im basically not getting any younger. I also apologize for the long story...i just wanted to make sure you guys had as much info as i could muster up.
I have actually come on here to ask a few quick questions to the people who have done this for a decent length of time. I will start by saying that myself and my better half grew up on farms and were taken to the big city when we were both kids. Her family packed up and left the farm life. My Grandparents carried on with Grain farming and have only recently "retired"... if you can call it that . We have a beautiful daughter who is 14months and if we decide to make this move i would like to do it when she is very young so it wont be a horrible transition for her and any future children in the works ;-) .
I guess a few of my questions are as follows:
I am extremely new to anything involving cattle ranching...what size of land is a decent amount to sustain a ranch??
I looked around at stockyard websites and pricing of cattle...the only thing im not familiar with is how feasible is the cattle ranching profession?? I have heard alot lately about environmental concerns coming from cattle ranches and beef going on the down slope from all the estrogen and such injected into cattle.
What size of operation would i need to have in order for it to be somewhat profitable for a good sized family?? I should mention here that from the stockyard websites 500lbs was averaging $100-115.
I actually have about a bazillion questions hahaha...but ill get the book first and then if i have more ill come to you guys.
I understand the whole "do it for the love of the land and open air" theme...and trust me i wouldnt want to be leaving the city for this type of lifestyle if i didnt miss the country and being outdoors alot.
I should mention the farm is on 6 quarters of land (grain farmed land), and as far as water is concerned i know there are a few wells drilled around the main living area. Pretty much all the machinery is gone and most of the barns and such are crumpling and would need to be replaced. There are still a hand full of steel grain bins around and a few odds and ends here and there. I would need to erect the fences and stalls and all the jazz of course. With the selling of my assests here in the city i would be able to go out there with a decent sum of capital to get me started. The closest stockyard is about a 2-3 hour drive and as for other cattle ranchers...well there isnt very many at all...maybe 2-3 serious ones around the area.
I guess im trying to find out if this is a smart thing to do at the age of 32 hahaha because im basically not getting any younger. I also apologize for the long story...i just wanted to make sure you guys had as much info as i could muster up.