Seeking advice for small farm

[Brian F]

Good morning all. I'm a novice in cattle, having raised primarily angus or Hereford steers and a few cow/calf pairs.

I currently only have four acres of pasture/cross fenced. I have access to my neighbors pasture which is 15 acres but not cross fenced.

I am thinking about expanding my "operation" somewhat by purchasing bred heifers to put on the 15 acres. Keep the steer calves to raise up and sell for butcher. And then breed the heifer calves once they mature. I have access to a friends ranch/bulls to bring the heifers to breed.

Looking for input on if this is a logical plan or if there is a better use of those 15 acres. Located in Northern California

 

[Dsth]

sounds like you have given this project some serious thought already. since I am from Iowa, I do not know much about pasture capabilities in California. I would just suggest starting out slow to make sure you don't overstock your pasture capabilities.

 

[A.J.]

I agree with Dsth that I would start slow. Do you have facilities there to work them? I would make sure to get at least a headgate in place if you don’t have one already. Is there a reason you are looking to start with bred heifers instead of cows? If it was me, I would probably go with bred cows over bred heifers to potentially avoid some headaches that can come with heifers, but many heifers do just fine.

 

[Hpacres440p]

Remember to count the 2 years of existence (give or take) for those steers to occupy your property as part of your stocking rate. When they’re young, they don’t eat as much, but if you’re going for a pasture-raised product, you need enough forage to keep the fat yellow.

 

[Katpau]

I live just off the I-5 corridor in Southern Oregon and can run about 1 pair per 10-15 acres. Depending on where in Northern California you are located, your conditions could be similar. If you are further east I would estimated you will need more acres per cow. If you have good irrigation or you plan to feed year around, you might be able to run more. I can't imagine feeding more than a couple pairs or maybe 3-4 yearlings on 19 acres for more than a few months per year, but if you are close to the coast and get more rain, perhaps it might be possible.

 

[Warren Allison]

You need to go back into your profile and add your location, and you will get a lot more and a lot more accurate responses.

 

[circlebllc]

Do not plan the pasture on a good year, plan on the dry year, the excessive snow/rain year. The latter will give you a lot grey hair.

 

[SmokinM]

So my Uforce 1000 has rolled past 18000 km's now with the only issues being some clutch work at 16,000 km's and a CV axle is out of it currently. It it's getting to an age where we thought we should have something fresher.
So this came home with me the other day. U10 Highland Pro. Should keep my feeding partner warm this winter.
View attachment 59996View attachment 59997

Fancier than my truck, probably cost more too. A nice machine by the looks of it. Hope it serves you well.

 

[Rafter S]

I am thinking about expanding my "operation" somewhat by purchasing bred heifers to put on the 15 acres. Keep the steer calves to raise up and sell for butcher. And then breed the heifer calves once they mature. I have access to a friends ranch/bulls to bring the heifers to breed.

Looking for input on if this is a logical plan or if there is a better use of those 15 acres. Located in Northern California

I wouldn't say it's not logical, but I don't think it's ideal. For a small operation like yours will be, I would recommend buying cows to increase your herd instead of raising your own heifers. It's going to be more hassle than it's worth.

 

[Mrcopier]

I agree with every suggestion that has been posted

 

[BC]

I don't know about your location, but here in East Texas 15 acres will support 3 to 5 head of cows depending on weather and IF you are willing to spend money on fertilizer. Have you considered merchandising your grass by grazing calves ?

 

[Brian F]

I agree with Dsth that I would start slow. Do you have facilities there to work them? I would make sure to get at least a headgate in place if you don't have one already. Is there a reason you are looking to start with bred heifers instead of cows? If it was me, I would probably go with bred cows over bred heifers to potentially avoid some headaches that can come with heifers, but many heifers do just fine.

Thank you for the input. In regards to the headgate/facilities, we will be getting a headgate/calf table/chute/squeeze set up before

I agree with Dsth that I would start slow. Do you have facilities there to work them? I would make sure to get at least a headgate in place if you don't have one already. Is there a reason you are looking to start with bred heifers instead of cows? If it was me, I would probably go with bred cows over bred heifers to potentially avoid some headaches that can come with heifers, but many heifers do just fine.

Thank you for your input. In regards to the facilities, we would be getting a chute/squeeze/calf table etc before expanding in regards to more head. And the reason for bred heifers is they are significantly cheaper in our area than bred cows. Thank you

 

[ClinchValley86]

Its amazing what you can do with poly wire loaded reels and pigtail posts.

I have caught and loaded cows and calves with that setup more than a few times. I also use it to sort on occasion. It does require hot wire friendly cattle and that you, yourself, must remain calm. Obviously, the fence needs to be VERY hot.

It would be much more affordable than permanent fence on someone else's property.

Just a thought.