Poll, please respond.

[S.R.R.]

For all the people that have started raising cattle in the last 5 years or so.

Do you plan to make money from your cattle and do you plan to raise more then just a few to do it?

 

[bigbull338]

yes i plan on making money off of cattle.i may not get rich doing it.but itll make money.an money will be put back into it.in the next 2 or 3 months ill be back in the seedstovk side of cattle.getting ready to bring in reg beefmasters.going to go for show heifers an herd bull sales.ill probly be old before the bull an heifer sales come but thats ok.

 

[Mahoney Pursley Ranch]

Sold most of my herd due to drought but I will buy more and I'm not in it for my health.

 

[KenB]

Mine have to more than pay there way, but if it was just for the money I could find other ways to make more money with less work.

 

[Cormac]

I certainly cannot survive on any profit. I unfortunately was not left land in a family will. Nor did I buy it 40 years ago for $100 and acre. I bought all my land in 2005. At the price of land today in most areas, I do not see how anyone can afford to get into this business while owning a farm/ranch. A few on here were fortunate/intelligent enough to sell the lumber off the land and profiting enough to pay for the land. Those days are long gone. I wonder if you, or anyone else on here could start up a large scale operation today from scratch including buying land or finding a lease, and then how long it would then take to show a reasonable profit. If I did not buy my land today, I don't know if I could afford it in 5 years with price increases. I originally started out to grow coastal on the land, then bought some additional acreage next door and put 9 cows on it. A combination of disappointment as a result of the drought (poor coastal production) and thinking that cows might be a better alternative, I decided to expand the herd. Between buying fertilizer twice per year, cubes, hay (in drought times), trailers, feeders, digging additional tanks, tightening up the fencing, building corrals, and a tractor, I am "bleeding" $100 or $1,000 bills. Once I get past this initial onslaught, I wonder if I can make $200 to $400 profit per cow after expenses.

 

[backhoeboogie]

With the terrible drought last year that was so bad it killed most of the cactus, and then the moderate drought this year, hay is where the money is. Irrigate and selling hay is where profit is to be made. I plan to keep my cows on 47 of the 207 acres I am farming and keep the other 160 acres of coastal in hay production.

I will keep building the herd and feed them surplus hay, if it comes to that. Right now I only have 20 to 30 acres in winter wheat, rye and clover. I did over seed rye and clover on one coastal bermuda flood plain that I irrigate but may not even need it.

 

[Texan]

Once I get past this initial onslaught, I wonder if I can make $200 to $400 profit per cow after expenses.

If you ever figure out how to make $400 profit out of a cow, be sure to let the rest of us know, please.

 

[rkm]

S.R.R., what do you consider a few cows? I had a extension agent tell me you need at least 100 momma cows to make a living. And that was with no debt.

 

[CowCop]

~

With the price of land up here and the price of cattle, I had to think of creative ways to get into the cattle biz and STAY in it.

I started with one PB heifer that I purchased, plus a very affordable 2nd hand semen tank and some decent semen.
I now have very productive purebred and commercial cows.
Next year I will have more.

Out of the last 5 years of building the herd, the last 2 have made a decent profit and this year will be much better than last, IF I can sell all my steers shortly after weaning next week.

 

[Susie David]

Our cows hold their own in the financial arena and allow for some expansion. Good thing too...keeps me from having to get a town job. DMc

 

[Proverbs 12:10]

I certainly cannot survive on any profit. I unfortunately was not left land in a family will. Nor did I buy it 40 years ago for $100 and acre. I bought all my land in 2005. At the price of land today in most areas, I do not see how anyone can afford to get into this business while owning a farm/ranch. A few on here were fortunate/intelligent enough to sell the lumber off the land and profiting enough to pay for the land. Those days are long gone. I wonder if you, or anyone else on here could start up a large scale operation today from scratch including buying land or finding a lease, and then how long it would then take to show a reasonable profit. If I did not buy my land today, I don't know if I could afford it in 5 years with price increases. I originally started out to grow coastal on the land, then bought some additional acreage next door and put 9 cows on it. A combination of disappointment as a result of the drought (poor coastal production) and thinking that cows might be a better alternative, I decided to expand the herd. Between buying fertilizer twice per year, cubes, hay (in drought times), trailers, feeders, digging additional tanks, tightening up the fencing, building corrals, and a tractor, I am "bleeding" $100 or $1,000 bills. Once I get past this initial onslaught, I wonder if I can make $200 to $400 profit per cow after expenses.

Cormac, Are you north or south of DFW. If north, you'll make your money off the land no sweat. You can't loose if you can just hang on to it...you don't have to make a lot off cattle. If south, it may take a little longer but your ship will still come in.

 

[Hasbeen]

I don't expect to ever be able to make a living from my cattle but I'm hoping they will be a piece of supplemental income that when added to the other pieces will add up to an early retirement and allow me to work the farm full time.

 

[Alan]

I have been in this for only 6yrs or so. With 70 acres, 50 in current pasture, and a max of 30 cow calf pairs, I still don't know if I'll ever make a profit. Haven't yet, do to all the improvments I've been making to the land. I've change my cattle plan to go to more of a market niche, or several niches, then an overall producer of calves as feeders.

Alan

 

[Mahoney Pursley Ranch]

With the terrible drought last year that was so bad it killed most of the cactus, and then the moderate drought this year, hay is where the money is. Irrigate and selling hay is where profit is to be made. I plan to keep my cows on 47 of the 207 acres I am farming and keep the other 160 acres of coastal in hay production.

I will keep building the herd and feed them surplus hay, if it comes to that. Right now I only have 20 to 30 acres in winter wheat, rye and clover. I did over seed rye and clover on one coastal bermuda flood plain that I irrigate but may not even need it.

When the drought is over and the hay prices bottom out I would sure rather be raising cattle.

 

[Carlos D.]

We bought 320 acres here 14 years ago.we had a down payment and a 1000 dollars we both worked off the farm made some mistakes -leased 10 cows to start with I never considered the morgage payment as a cost to the farm. If i had lived in the city I would still have to pay for a house to live in -Anyway now we dont owe anybody have 45 cows 35 sheep --to many horses (6) 2 sows, raise a 100 chickens every year. raised 2 kids who know how to work(and say they would not want to have grown up any place else) My wife eventually ended up with a pretty good job and now I get to stay home and farm.One piece of advice I can give to anyone starting out is if you want shiny equipment you wont make it. My first tractor cost 900 dollars and slowly we gathered up equipment, Stay away from tractors with auto shifts and such --too costly to repair Most times when I bought an older tractor I watched for another cheap junker for parts when I started there were 4 new farmers who started that year close to us 3 were from europe there all gone now.It takes a pile of dedication

carl

 

[Earl Thigpen]

Yes, I plan to make money on my cattle operation - not much, but more as a supplement to any retirement I might end up with. Did pretty good this year even though the drought was really bad. I'm not in it for the Ag exemption on the property.

My operation just isn't big enough to really make a living out of it. I run about 75 cows, two bulls and a whole bunch of calves (oh yea, one donkey). All are butterball fat and anything that doesn't already have a calf at the side is pregnant so if all holds together through the Winter I'll have another pretty good year next year - that is if the price holds.

I will probably retire from my day job next year so maybe I can lease a few acres and expand a little bit.

 

[Caustic Burno]

I certainly cannot survive on any profit. I unfortunately was not left land in a family will. Nor did I buy it 40 years ago for $100 and acre. I bought all my land in 2005. At the price of land today in most areas, I do not see how anyone can afford to get into this business while owning a farm/ranch. A few on here were fortunate/intelligent enough to sell the lumber off the land and profiting enough to pay for the land. Those days are long gone. I wonder if you, or anyone else on here could start up a large scale operation today from scratch including buying land or finding a lease, and then how long it would then take to show a reasonable profit. If I did not buy my land today, I don't know if I could afford it in 5 years with price increases. I originally started out to grow coastal on the land, then bought some additional acreage next door and put 9 cows on it. A combination of disappointment as a result of the drought (poor coastal production) and thinking that cows might be a better alternative, I decided to expand the herd. Between buying fertilizer twice per year, cubes, hay (in drought times), trailers, feeders, digging additional tanks, tightening up the fencing, building corrals, and a tractor, I am "bleeding" $100 or $1,000 bills. Once I get past this initial onslaught, I wonder if I can make $200 to $400 profit per cow after expenses.

What is the difference in buying land today than years ago.
It is all the same. the price of land is the price the market will bear.

I remember 200 dollar an acre land wages were 1.80

 

[Bullbuyer]

Wellllll - I sure ain't doin' this for the fame and the wonderful hours!
I do it for the faint smell of diesel fuel combined with cow manure as it drifts through the barn on cool, crisp autumn mornings. (Sort of paints a picture don't it?)

 

[Cormac]

Good point, but that is in a perfectly linear world. If I bought my land 5 years ago, I could have bought it for 1/2 the price (maybe less) that I paid. I can can safely say my income has not doubled in that timeframe! I do not think years ago it was easy money by no means. But I do think it is becoming more of a challenge. Finally, thanks for your "abrupt" encouragement and educating you do here. One of these days I'd like to come out for a visit.

 

[oakcreekfarms]

I am a business and marketing student, with some economics. I can tell you that real wages 30 years ago where higher then they are now.

I only own a few cows, working the registered side, and want a few recips. And yes I plan on making money at it.