Hello everyone.
First a bit about myself. I am 37 and was born and raised on a dairy/beef farm and worked for several large (1500-4000 head) dairies over the years. I have done everything from milking to caring for calves to field work. I decided to join the Army and moved away from home and farming. Now my contract is up in Jan and I'd like to get back into farming. This time I'd like to stick to beef and stay away from the dairy. I currently live in Pennsylvania and am looking to move to Kentucky.
Once the farm is up and running I will be fine but I find myself a bit lost as how to begin. I know that I am going to have to get a place to live, land, cattle, and some machinery (for hay) but I'm not sure exactly how to go about doing it. I would like to farm full time, with a cow calf operation, and have a grass fed herd. So do I go big right out of the gate or get a job, start small, and work my way up? If I go big how big do I have to go to be profitable enough (to pay for the farm and support my family) to be a full time farmer? Also if I go big how do I get from start up to first check with no funds coming in? Do I do everything with a loan or are there other financial options? I had heard that there were grants to be had but thus far I have had zero luck finding any that I can use. Do I start with calves (which are cheaper to get) and wait the 2 years to start making money or do I get 3-in-1's (which cost more) that will get me started sooner? How do I figure out the head/acre ratio for the area I'm going to be living in? I understand that there are a lot of things that go into figuring that ratio but I haven't had much luck getting specifics for my area. When we had beef while I was growing up we ran Herefords and they were great animals but now I'm seeing a lot of info about cross breading, how big of a difference is there between cross and not cross?
I know that is a lot of questions and I'm sure I have more but it's 0300 and I really need some sleep. Any help would be great. Thank you.
First a bit about myself. I am 37 and was born and raised on a dairy/beef farm and worked for several large (1500-4000 head) dairies over the years. I have done everything from milking to caring for calves to field work. I decided to join the Army and moved away from home and farming. Now my contract is up in Jan and I'd like to get back into farming. This time I'd like to stick to beef and stay away from the dairy. I currently live in Pennsylvania and am looking to move to Kentucky.
Once the farm is up and running I will be fine but I find myself a bit lost as how to begin. I know that I am going to have to get a place to live, land, cattle, and some machinery (for hay) but I'm not sure exactly how to go about doing it. I would like to farm full time, with a cow calf operation, and have a grass fed herd. So do I go big right out of the gate or get a job, start small, and work my way up? If I go big how big do I have to go to be profitable enough (to pay for the farm and support my family) to be a full time farmer? Also if I go big how do I get from start up to first check with no funds coming in? Do I do everything with a loan or are there other financial options? I had heard that there were grants to be had but thus far I have had zero luck finding any that I can use. Do I start with calves (which are cheaper to get) and wait the 2 years to start making money or do I get 3-in-1's (which cost more) that will get me started sooner? How do I figure out the head/acre ratio for the area I'm going to be living in? I understand that there are a lot of things that go into figuring that ratio but I haven't had much luck getting specifics for my area. When we had beef while I was growing up we ran Herefords and they were great animals but now I'm seeing a lot of info about cross breading, how big of a difference is there between cross and not cross?
I know that is a lot of questions and I'm sure I have more but it's 0300 and I really need some sleep. Any help would be great. Thank you.