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<blockquote data-quote="farmerjan" data-source="post: 1394699" data-attributes="member: 25884"><p>I have to agree that there is little or no way you will make a "living" off it. But there are a couple of other questions....and comments....No they aren't making any more land. If this is near/next to a good friend of yours, do they farm? Would they be helping to take care of the animals or are they close to you? Where are you located and what is the average cow per acreacres per cow in that area? Texas dryland is alot different from here in Va.... Is this the place you want to retire to and build a house, or at least in the area you want to settle in? </p><p>Farming is a great way to raise kids, but the outside job and the kids and the farm are all EACH their own full-time job....</p><p>Is it in use as part of a farm? Are there necessary things like fences, water, any holding/catch pens barns anything else in place? You can get by with hiring someone to haul the calves to market once a year rather than invest in a trailer and truck to pull it right off...portable catch pen panels for only handling a few animals...but you will need more permanent facilities to handle cattle down the road. </p><p></p><p>Not knowing where you are is a big thing...but let me give you a few numbers from here in Va. We have a cow/calf operation, 75% rented land. Run 1 cow/cf pair per 1-3 acres and we rotational graze most every place we can. We feed hay in the winter where we cannot stockpile for late grazing, and when there isn't too much snow on the ground. </p><p>Figure it costs roughly $350-400 per year to keep one cow/cf pair, here. Right now a 450-500 lb steer calf is worth 1.25 to 1.40 lb; heifers are worth 1.00-1.25 lb same size. So roughly on average say you are getting $500. for the calf. That's 100 over the cost of keeping the cow. NOT COUNTING cost of repairing fences ( if there are some on the place) time and effort to feed in the winter, working them through the chute to band/castrate the calf, needing a bull to breed them back so cost of rent or purchase of a decent bull, minimum of once a year worming and vaccinations; then what if one gets sick, needs a vet trip @ $100 or so, medicine, time for shots or pinkeye treatments.....or one dies, or like we had a disaster last year and lost 12 cows to one of 3 possible things and then lost 4 of those calves because they were at a bad age to be without their mommas and got sick...over 1200 in vet bills ... what if one has trouble calving and you lose her, or the calf, or both.</p><p></p><p>I am not trying to discourage you...but everyone else has been there done that too. We have to love what we do, be a little crazy, mostly BOTH; my son and I both work off the farm too. A couple of years ago feeder prices had gone WAY UP. $2.00-3.00 a lb for heifers and steers respectively. We made money, and you could weather some problems. Last year prices fell way back off and there has been a very slight uptick right now and the buyers are saying they don't look for it to last. Prices are a little better southwest of here and some in the mid-west, that said, like a couple of guys said, they don't have as much trucking costs as we do here in the east to get our cattle to grazing or to feed out operations.</p><p></p><p>We just bought 75+/- acres, to be able to expand/spread out a bit and have the house rented to help make the payments. It's an investment that we feel we will sell in the future, but the price was good for this area. If we didn't have off farm jobs we couldn't pay for it, he already has a house and mortgage. I rent, and neither has car payments, but we do have equipment payments for several things we bought from our friend that was dying of cancer when we took over his farm...and pay a very high rent for the farm to the widow. Cattle are all paid for now.</p><p></p><p>If you could get it logged off put some of that money into getting the land into grass/hay, and pay down on the mortgage, and get it rented or make it pay for itself for a little bit before you get into the cattle unless you are sure you are going to be right there to take care of stuff. And don't plan on making much/any money any time soon even if nothing goes wrong.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="farmerjan, post: 1394699, member: 25884"] I have to agree that there is little or no way you will make a "living" off it. But there are a couple of other questions....and comments....No they aren't making any more land. If this is near/next to a good friend of yours, do they farm? Would they be helping to take care of the animals or are they close to you? Where are you located and what is the average cow per acreacres per cow in that area? Texas dryland is alot different from here in Va.... Is this the place you want to retire to and build a house, or at least in the area you want to settle in? Farming is a great way to raise kids, but the outside job and the kids and the farm are all EACH their own full-time job.... Is it in use as part of a farm? Are there necessary things like fences, water, any holding/catch pens barns anything else in place? You can get by with hiring someone to haul the calves to market once a year rather than invest in a trailer and truck to pull it right off...portable catch pen panels for only handling a few animals...but you will need more permanent facilities to handle cattle down the road. Not knowing where you are is a big thing...but let me give you a few numbers from here in Va. We have a cow/calf operation, 75% rented land. Run 1 cow/cf pair per 1-3 acres and we rotational graze most every place we can. We feed hay in the winter where we cannot stockpile for late grazing, and when there isn't too much snow on the ground. Figure it costs roughly $350-400 per year to keep one cow/cf pair, here. Right now a 450-500 lb steer calf is worth 1.25 to 1.40 lb; heifers are worth 1.00-1.25 lb same size. So roughly on average say you are getting $500. for the calf. That's 100 over the cost of keeping the cow. NOT COUNTING cost of repairing fences ( if there are some on the place) time and effort to feed in the winter, working them through the chute to band/castrate the calf, needing a bull to breed them back so cost of rent or purchase of a decent bull, minimum of once a year worming and vaccinations; then what if one gets sick, needs a vet trip @ $100 or so, medicine, time for shots or pinkeye treatments.....or one dies, or like we had a disaster last year and lost 12 cows to one of 3 possible things and then lost 4 of those calves because they were at a bad age to be without their mommas and got sick...over 1200 in vet bills ... what if one has trouble calving and you lose her, or the calf, or both. I am not trying to discourage you...but everyone else has been there done that too. We have to love what we do, be a little crazy, mostly BOTH; my son and I both work off the farm too. A couple of years ago feeder prices had gone WAY UP. $2.00-3.00 a lb for heifers and steers respectively. We made money, and you could weather some problems. Last year prices fell way back off and there has been a very slight uptick right now and the buyers are saying they don't look for it to last. Prices are a little better southwest of here and some in the mid-west, that said, like a couple of guys said, they don't have as much trucking costs as we do here in the east to get our cattle to grazing or to feed out operations. We just bought 75+/- acres, to be able to expand/spread out a bit and have the house rented to help make the payments. It's an investment that we feel we will sell in the future, but the price was good for this area. If we didn't have off farm jobs we couldn't pay for it, he already has a house and mortgage. I rent, and neither has car payments, but we do have equipment payments for several things we bought from our friend that was dying of cancer when we took over his farm...and pay a very high rent for the farm to the widow. Cattle are all paid for now. If you could get it logged off put some of that money into getting the land into grass/hay, and pay down on the mortgage, and get it rented or make it pay for itself for a little bit before you get into the cattle unless you are sure you are going to be right there to take care of stuff. And don't plan on making much/any money any time soon even if nothing goes wrong. [/QUOTE]
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