WAAAY New and need some advice

[Alan]

My 4 current horses are not just holes I feed and care for, I use them for riding and showing, I actually LOVE them and they are part of my family. We rescue approx. 1 horse a month, rehab it, if neccesary, and place it in a good home. My good "friend" is just that,

Try keeping and selling horses for slaughter, I am told one of the few horse packing houses is , (or was) in Taxas , errrr. I mean Texas

Nice Medic, this may be an oops! lol :shock:

Hipy, some of the new mini breeds have a pretty good market, there is someone on this board (his tag is "SF") from Texas with Mini Herefords. Check out his pics on the post, "Pics of my new bull" under the Breeds board, or do a search for post by author SF. Like Caustic said Long Horns may be the way to go, there is a market for the exoctics.

another two cents ,
Alan

 

[Workinonit Farm]

Caustic Burno wrote

Don't buy a bull run an extra cow and AI or haul the cows to a breeder and pay the stud fee

Excellent advice.

Katherine

 

[Wilson_Cattle_Company]

If I were you guys I would be awfully tempted to begin a Steer Milking operation, I would but I am absolutely swamped with daily farming and ranching tasks. If I were you I would consider such an operation such as Steer Milking. It is very time consuming but, it is very profitable.

:shock:

Thanks Guys!


LOL... Just pullin' ur chains boys!

 

[greenwillowherefords]

Texan, does it count if you become good friends with someone AFTER you did business with them? Because that is what I have done in three cases, and I sure don't want to get rid of my friends OR the genetics I purchased from them.

 

[MK]

Go talk to someone at the local NRCS office or a local Ag Extension person. They will be able to help you with the BASICS. That's where you start.

Look at the capacity of your land, how many acres it will take to support your current livestock (horses)-this includes how much time on pasture, can you get hay off the land or are you buying it, what type of rest do you want to give any piece to ensure you are going to have grass next year and years to come, what improvemnts could you put in to increase your mangement flexibility....etc.

I have seen many 40 acres parcels become dirt in a year or two with improper management. If your dream is to own cattle, you may need to look into more land....either buying it or leasing it...and using your 35 acres as p-art of a bigger management scheme. That's where it starts...having the capacity to keep those animals. I encourage you to take care of the land first so that it can sustain what you have...then think about adding critters. MK

 

[mgman]

Hipy,
My suggestion would be to consider buying 2-3 stockers to run on your land rather than going the cow/calf route. Based on your limited acreage that seems like it might be a better approach. You will end up with your own meat...or could buy heifers and raise them for breeding...or could just sell them as bred females if you preferred. Lot's of options-none of which will make you rich, but that would provide you with the enjoyment of working with cattle and keeping your ag exemption.

 

[sidney411]

I was under the impression that you had to have a certain number of cattle per your acreage to qualify for the ag tax exemption. We looked at one place - 27 acres and we had to put 5 units on it to quailify. 1 cow/calf qualified as 1 unit, I think a horse was 1 1/2 units.

 

[TR]

Here in Washington County, its a minimum of 5 head (not unit) of cattle, or 7 broodmares, or 10 miniature horses, or 10 goats, or 10 sheep, and then there are the requirements for trees and crops and hay pasture if you chose to go that route.

How do I know that? It was the reason I started, and just a word of caution to you Hipy, it may start out as a tax break, but quickly grows into much more, especially given your propensity for rescuing and caring for unwanted horses.......I would expect you to start out by thinking you're going into it for the ag exemption, but ending up finding out that each cow has her own personality, her own likes and dislikes, and her own funny way of doing things. It'll break your heart the first time you lose a calf, and you'll end up saying, "Not on MY watch, never again!" and do everything you can to learn about the intricacies of cattle diseases and what to look for, how to care for them, what to feed, when and what to vaccinate, when to worm. You'll spend hours just watching them eat grass, and countless hours worrying over why Bessy didn't come up to eat tonight, or why Elsie is being mean to Belle. You'll wear out your vet's ear with real or imagined cattle problems, until they tell you to just quit worrying and let them be cows, which doesn't work, because they're your cows now and you just don't know what to look for with cattle diseases. You'll watch your pasture and the body conditions of the cows wondering if its ever going to rain again, and if so, will it be in time to get the grass started and ahead of the cows so they have what they were meant to eat in front of them. You'll worry over why they're loosing a little weight over the winter months no mater how much good quality hay they have in front of them, and why they're not eating any minerals that you put out for them, and what affect that's going to have on their health. You'll wonder if they're EVER going to calve or stay pregnant until you're old and grey, whether or not you should put them in the pen to calve or leave them out in the clean pasture, and if they have trouble, how on earth are you going to get them up and in the chute to lend them a hand. You'll stay up till all hours of the night reading everything you can about cattle care, diseases and experiences, AND you'll love every minute of it.

That's my prediction......beware!

 

[~Tomboy~]

TR

Glad to know that I'm not the only one who worries.

 

[Double R Ranch]

Texan, does it count if you become good friends with someone AFTER you did business with them? Because that is what I have done in three cases, and I sure don't want to get rid of my friends OR the genetics I purchased from them.

We had a friend that we met in this business and he has just severed all ties after 6 years of friendship. All because we chose to band our calves this year cause we could never get his help to castrate the old way. Rancher's are becoming few and help is even fewer now. Business is better left business and friend are better left friends.
We have finally figured that out. It is sad that that seems to be the way it is. One way or another it doesn't seem to work out as both business and friend.
Best of luck to you.

 

[Running Arrow Bill]

We raise registered seedstock Longhorns. Also do Peruvian Paso & Tennessee Walking Horses. Have 40 head of cattle, 8 horses + 1 foal due any day. Won't tell you how FEW acres we're running. Have about 12 paddocks & sub-pastures for stock rotation. Irrigate about 8 acres, "mow" the manure piles to do natural fertilizing...we get a lot of manure! Have grass, but livestock eat it up as fast as it grows.

Have a rather extensive business plan, marketing & advertising effort to cover ourselves as a "for profit" operation. Been into this 4 years...expect another year or two before break even. Past year fed 5 semi-loads of coastal bermuda & alfalfa. Plus who knows how many bags of cubes & feed for due mamas & lactating mamas.

Sell our stock interstate, via trade journal ads and internet websites. One quality calf pays for 1/2 semi-load of hay; average longhorn adult pays for semi-load of hay. However, our "average" animals are "above average".

Are we "making money"? Probably not. But, we are trying and it is a great lifestyle!

 

[Kelly]

TR ,
I bet if my husband read your post - he would think that I wrote that. You forgot about all the sleepless nights we spend watching that cow that you just know is going to calve tonight. Or that calf that isn't nursing as much as you think it should be. My eyes get tired of looking out of binoculars. It does help though to pick a nice comfy chair by the window with a good view!

 

[Double R Ranch]

TR ,
I bet if my husband read your post - he would think that I wrote that. You forgot about all the sleepless nights we spend watching that cow that you just know is going to calve tonight. Or that calf that isn't nursing as much as you think it should be. My eyes get tired of looking out of binoculars. It does help though to pick a nice comfy chair by the window with a good view!

Ahhhhhh These are the days!!! If you are anything like us though you would not be able to live if you didn't have it. (or regular sleep :shock: or money for that matter 8) )
Take care :cboy: