charter capt
Active member
Ok good people I am looking for opinions. New to cattle/200 acre farm/SW TN./1st time to purchase cattle/steers or cow calf or both. Thanks
Steers or Cow/Calf
- Thread starter charter capt
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bigbull338
Well-known member
steers an feeders calves you can lose your butt fast.because if you buy them for $1 a pound.when you sale them in the fall you might get .90 cents a lb.so youd give say 500 for a 500lb calf.sale it at 750lbs at .90 a lb thats 675 a hd.but you could have sick calves.so that equals vet bills.calves thats not weaned or on feed.means you have to get them to eating hay an feed.then you might have to deal with death losses.if you buy 20 calves an lose 2.you prolly lost your profit on the whole bunch at sale time.now bred cows pairs or 3 in 1s are the way to go.you buy the cows for $700 to $1100.then at weaning sale the calves for $500.an the cow is half paid for.buying cows you know they can breed an raise a calf.charter capt":1lz3nq1k said:
charter capt
Active member
Sorry folks I posted this in the wrong place 
Cow / calves are not always a walk in the park either. You lose calves by not carrying to full term or being delivered in the wrong position or in bad weather. You lose the cow and calf from a twisted uterus or a really hard delivery and nobody was there to give help. Sometimes a cow will not take care of the calf for one reason or another and now you have a calf that needs bottle feeding. The cow maybe even doesn't get bred , so now you are without a calf at all until the next calving season. There are lot's of things that can happen with both options so research what the disadvantages and advantages are before making your decision.
Being new to cattle I really recommend reading as much as you can and starting with a docile breed that you can learn with. And of course have the cattle handling facilities all set up before you get anything.
Good luck
Being new to cattle I really recommend reading as much as you can and starting with a docile breed that you can learn with. And of course have the cattle handling facilities all set up before you get anything.
Good luck
Proverbs 12:10
Well-known member
Get facilities in order, start with small herd of cow/calf, find out if this really what you want to do.
Susie David
Well-known member
Business plan first, then knowledge, then facilities...the knowledge part will pay off designing the facilities.
Up here the price of cows is getting ready to start the seasonal upswing so we're planning on buying steers this month and selling some cows in March that we got for a song in Dec and just needed a few months on good groceries.
Anyway...still haven't decided if we want a cow/calf or feeder operation, for years we plan to downsize the o'l gals but always seem to find a real deal on some sweetheart of a cow and end up bringing her home...sooo it looks as though we'll continue to be a mixed operation.
Buy bred cows with a calf on the teat (three fer) and a few steers and you'll be in business.
Tip...have an exit stragedy in your business plan...just in case.
Just my two bits worth...asked for or not...DMc
Up here the price of cows is getting ready to start the seasonal upswing so we're planning on buying steers this month and selling some cows in March that we got for a song in Dec and just needed a few months on good groceries.
Anyway...still haven't decided if we want a cow/calf or feeder operation, for years we plan to downsize the o'l gals but always seem to find a real deal on some sweetheart of a cow and end up bringing her home...sooo it looks as though we'll continue to be a mixed operation.
Buy bred cows with a calf on the teat (three fer) and a few steers and you'll be in business.
Tip...have an exit stragedy in your business plan...just in case.
Just my two bits worth...asked for or not...DMc
denoginnizer
Well-known member
Tip...have an exit stragedy in your business plan...just in case.
Just my two bits worth...asked for or not...DMc[/quote]
I really like this advice. Although I always expect the best to happen it is good to be prepared for the worst.
Everytime I buy cattle / equipment I always think - what if I had to sell this next week ? Could I break even , make a profit or would I lose money?
Just my two bits worth...asked for or not...DMc[/quote]
I really like this advice. Although I always expect the best to happen it is good to be prepared for the worst.
Everytime I buy cattle / equipment I always think - what if I had to sell this next week ? Could I break even , make a profit or would I lose money?
