Raising cattle in Missouri

[vclavin]

All I can say is - make sure the land you plan to buy isn't better suited to a quarry! LOL We lived around Butler for awhile, took 3 hours to dig a post hole! Love it up north!! Not so hot in the summer either.
Valerie

 

[JHH]

I live in the very northeast corner ( I say I am 50 miles from nowhere) I live 50 miles from Quincy Ill and 50 miles from Keokuk Ia. Ground here is very high right now. They just sold some down the road from us at 4950 per acre. Even If I were young I couldnt afford that and make it work.

 

[dun]

At the Red Angus sale this weekend a couple of guys from iowa were talking about some corn ground near them that sold for 6k an acre. Even with corn as high as it is, with the costs of inputs, how can anyone make that pencil out?

 

[JHH]

At the Red Angus sale this weekend a couple of guys from iowa were talking about some corn ground near them that sold for 6k an acre. Even with corn as high as it is, with the costs of inputs, how can anyone make that pencil out?

They dont. Its old money. Better to spend it on ground and get more than your 1.1% interest for a cd at the bank. That is my thought anyway, because it doesnt pencil out.

 

[agmantoo]

I live in a fescue producing area and yes I have been guilty of complaining about the endophyte. No longer! I decided that I cannot get a forage that will feed my herd as many days per year as the endophyte infected fescue. I then set about getting cattle that can adjust to eating the fescue and my learning how to make it productive and profitable. I feed fescue year round. Grazed fresh when it is growing and eaten stockpiled at other times. Yes, my cattle will retain a rougher hair coat than I like and maybe they grow a little slower. I have no staggering or bob tail cows. I do provide shade and water. What I do have is a productive herd that is cheap to keep and produces calves that are profitable. I have no problem marketing the calves and these calves sell in the top 10% when sold. My costs to produce a 550 lb feeder calf is very low. I would not hesitate to buy land that will consistently produce good fescue. Here is a pic of my herd today.
PS....I can carry a cow and her calf, the calf from birth to being sold a ~ 550 lbs, 365 days per year on 1.4 acres without hay.

 

[KMacGinley]

I appreciate all of the replies... any more info would be more than welcome. Thanks.

 

[vclavin]

We found out the hard way - do not put nitrogen on fescue as this makes the endophyte worse. Keep pastures clipped so the grass stays in the vegetative state which helps keep the effects of the edophyte low. Some pastures are high in the endophyte and others are low. Prices here above the River in Carrol County are selling (I hear) $3500 an acre and up depending on location.
Valerie