ways for profit

[Hick]

Looking to get my own cattle going for a side job......im looking to have 3 to 5 cows to buy young and raise them......what type of cattle should I look at, how many acres, and what type of feed.....like others sometimes I will be alway for couple of days

 

[JSCATTLE]

Most of that depends on your location .

 

[John SD]

Most of that depends on your location .

JSC is correct. Raising cattle depends on location, location, location. Depending on your area, you might be able to raise 3-5 cattle on a few acres where more arid areas would require a quarter section or more of pasture to support 5 cows year round. What are your winters like, will you need to supplement hay, do you have adequate winter protection, reliable all season water supply etc.

:welcome: to CT :tiphat:

 

[AllForage]

Sorry but profit and 3-5 head probably won't go together

 

[greybeard]

Sorry but profit and 3-5 head probably won't go together

Many people do make a profit with a small herd, but making a living with them is definitely out of the question.

 

[Bigfoot]

It might be good,to find a mentor in your area. Somebody with some experience, and knowledge. What size cattle you get, is probably not as important as health and temperament, for your first time out the gate. Be prepared to lose some money, but its the only way to learn. Especially, if you are going to have build fences, and handling facilities. We all started once upon a time, you might as well start today.

 

[skyhightree1]

Sorry but profit and 3-5 head probably won't go together

Many people do make a profit with a small herd, but making a living with them is definitely out of the question.

I agree.

 

[Hick]

The area that I own is 5.5 acres of alfalfa.....the place where I live is bc kamloops area, Im not lookig to make a living just couple hundred or grand

 

[Big Cheese]

Buy some cheap thin heifers and raise them from there and/or buy some older already bred cows and start from there. There's a lot of ways you can go with this. When we got back in the cow business a few years ago my dad and brother and I each bought a thin 350 pound heifer and I began raising them. They are now 3 of the best cows that we have and have already paid for themselves. I'm all for raising my own cattle I feel like its the best way to go but a lot of people don't like starting out with heifers so they get older cows. You have a lot of options. Good luck.

 

[Hick]

I own 5 arces of alfalfa and live in kamloops bc area....Im interested in beef, rasing cows young 400-500lb to 800-900lb....not looking to make a living but to make couple hundred or a grand

 

[Caustic Burno]

I own 5 arces of alfalfa and live in kamloops bc area....Im interested in beef, rasing cows young 400-500lb to 800-900lb....not looking to make a living but to make couple hundred or a grand

You need to get some Canada boys to chime in.
With yall's climate I would think you would have a real long row to hoe
with five acres.

 

[Dave]

The profit will depend on marketing. Just buying 450 pounders and selling at 850 won't make much in the way of profit. If you can finish them on the grass and sell grass fed beef on the rail you can make enough to make it worth your time. It has been years since I was in Kamloops so I don't know if you have enough of the right type of people to develop that market to. Rich greenies work well for the type of market.

 

[AllForage]

Sorry but profit and 3-5 head probably won't go together

Many people do make a profit with a small herd, but making a living with them is definitely out of the question.

I agree.

BS!!!! I have a small herd, that is a micro herd. Come on and quit candy coating. Infrastructure will eat any income for years and years unless he grazes year round with no inputs.

I make a profit, but could never with 3-5 head and I make 2500 per steer.

 

[backhoeboogie]

I make a profit, but could never with 3-5 head and I make 2500 per steer.

5 nurse cows will raise 40 calves per year if they are good cows. 30 calves if they are average. It does not take a lot of infrastructure. Just time and patience. Buy beef calves to graft.

 

[Rafter S]

2500 per steer? Do you mind me asking how you do that? Do you feed them out and sell them on the rail?

 

[Big Cheese]

2500 per steer? Do you mind me asking how you do that? Do you feed them out and sell them on the rail?

I was wondering the same thing.

 

[Dave]

2500 per steer? Do you mind me asking how you do that? Do you feed them out and sell them on the rail?

I was wondering the same thing.

That would be on the rail. Do the math a 600 pound hanging beef brings in $2550 at $4.25 a pound. I see ads on Craigslist Seattle for grass fed beef running from $3.00 to $5.00 and pound hanging weight. The funny thing is to say a critter is grain fed is the kiss of death. A few years ago I sold a dozen steers that way and they went fast. The following year I had a free martin and a PI heifer that I put in a pen and fed out. Ran and ad for a month and a half and never had a single phone call. Ended up eating the PI heifer myself. It was a lot better beef than the grass fed I sold the year before. But those greenie urbanites want grass fed. And they are the ones with the money.