What Breed?

[PattersonCattle]

I'm from Southern Illinois, I have about 30 acres to raise cattle and grow hay. 10 for cattle and 20 for hay. I'm not sure on what breed to buy. I want something that easily calves, and something thats worth some money. I'm thinking black angus but I'm not sure how hard it is to get the new calves registered, is it a big deal? I know I will still need to buy some hay. Is there a law on how many cows per acer? If the 20 is not fenced off does it still count?? Thanks everyone. Jared

 

[Caustic Burno]

You are a long way from cattle and the road your taking sounds like a money pit. I don't know what the cow to acre ratio is there. Lets say a cow to 2 you would be better off running cows on thirty acres and buying hay.

 

[dcara]

You've come to the right place for questions as a beginer. There are alot of very experianced old hands on this board that can provide informative different perspectives on just about any aspect of the business. But there is a whole lot more to running cattle than just putting them on some land. Fencing, water, nutrition, health maintenance, handeling facilities, general herd management, and local cattle market issues are just a few of the subjects you should probably get a more familair with before buying cattle. If this is your first foray in to the business I would suggest you read a couple of books on cattle ranching in general, then review the archives of these boards to get a better feeling for the realities of the business. After all that you should be able to ask question that are focused enough for the folks on here to answer more directly.

In short, the path is frought with peril but very rewarding (and expensive).

Good Luck

 

[ilfarmer92]

At the moment I would talk to some locals about cattle. They should tell you when exactly they start feeding hay, what sells best in your area, that sort of thing. Someone else mentioned it, but you would be better off having 30 acres and buying hay, or you could rent land somewhere else. Many folks with limited space like the rental deal because at weaning time you can bring the calves to your house, which is usually a mile+ from where they were calved at. This also works great for 4-H/FFA kids with their projects. One warning though.
BEFORE YOU GET ANY CATTLE ON YOUR PLACE- get all of your infrastructure setup.

 

[VanC]

Do some research and find some calm, easy keeping cattle that you like. Breed isn't as important as size. The smaller they are, the less they'll eat. Not trying to be a smart alec, but the few head you'll be able to run on 30 acres aren't going to make you much, if any, money anyway. Good luck.

 

[Susie David]

Do a search of the past posts and you will find alot of great information on getting started and deciding what direction you want to take.
We're still deciding if we're a cow/calf or feeder operation...every time we think that we'll be a feeder operation I take the bride on a date to the sale barn looking for good steer calves and she buys heifer calf or a bred cow when I go to the men's room. We'll be calving 6th generation calves this spring that came from heifers that were supposed to be steers when we went to the sale barn. For the first time in years, we'll be selling some heifer calves this summer.
Good luck to you.
Just my two bits worth....DMc

 

[crossbreed curt]

:idea: Herefords are a good choice . I have had good luck with them . :cboy:

 

[PattersonCattle]

Thank you crossbreed curt finnaly a answer. I know i need to some some resarch. But i do have some help from some neighbors who run a dariy farm of 400 cattle that i worked for, for about a year. So i do have a little experence but not witrh beef cattle. My grandfather has a few cattle and iam constly getting him hay and helping him because he is to old to do it. Some answer would be greatly apprecated and i understand you guys are just trying to look out for my best intrest. But i can only do so much reading and learn so much from a text book but it will never fully prepare you for everything so i will just have to live and learn. But whatever you guys can help with i am all ears.

 

[travlnusa]

Rent out your hay gound to someone with thousands of dollars of equipment, and use the rent check to buy hay.

I have been doing that for 3 yrs now. This way, my hay is exactly what I want, when I want it.

I have been able to devote my time to getting pastures in the shape they need to be.

Over the next few years, the rent will no longer cover my hay cost, and I will have to get into that game.

 

[vs_cattle]

Polled Herefords Are A Great Breed Check Out What Is Selling In Your Area Check With A County Official To See If There Is Rules Abouth The # Of Cattle
Good Luck

 

[Tripple C]

I am new as you are to the cattle business or cattle hobby. I have 30 acres in North Carolina and first had it all twigged in Coastal Burmuda hay. At present, I have 12 Black Angus on about 10 acres and have about 10 acres that I mow and bale each year. Those 10 acres produce about 1500 square bales of hay or 200 large round bales. This is enough to feed during the winter months since the Coastal Burmuda grows during the summer months and allows for grazing. I am able to sell some hay each year to help the cost of other feed and other bills such as equipment and fence mending. Be sure and have good fencing first and be ready to have a lot of questions as you progress. this forum has been a great help to me.

 

[Jim Hull]

Jared:

I too am in southern Illinois (Macedonia). I raised cattle most of my adult life and understand where you are in your questions. Any of the major brreds will do well in our area. The question is what is most popular. In the early to late 1980's I raised Polled Herefords, and there were a lot of other people around here that did too. There were a few Angus herds, but not as many as Polled Herefords. Now the opposite is true. You can hardly find a Polled Hereford herd in southern Illinois. Everyone, including me, has gone black. That has been driven by the market. Sale barn buyers and individuals alike are paying higher dollars for Angus (or anything with a black hide).

I truly enjoy my Angus herd. I have found them to be just as easy to handle as my past Hereford herd was. They are hardy and bring good money at sale time. You will pay a little more on the front end, but the Angus breed seems to avoid some of the problems with the Herefords (Pinkeye, poor udder quality in mature cows, etc.).

There are some good Angus producers in southern and central Illinois as well as west of St. Louis. Talk to some of them and ask their experience. Find someone still running Hereford and do the same. Then talk to those guys raising Simmentals and their crosses. Once you have done that, buy the breed you are most comfortable with and you like the best.

I would also agree that you would be better off just buying your hay. In the long run, you can't afford to own the equipment to bale your own when you compare the cost of buying it.

Good luck.

 

[MoGal]

I would think you'd be able to run 5 or 6 cows on the ten acres. As many have said in other posts on the board, buy red cows (they are cheaper) and put a black bull on them.

You are in an area where black, black with white face, and gold colored calves sell the best. That is, if you are selling at the sale barn.

My husband has five older cows over at his home place (as I call it since it was where he was raised) on about 8-10 acres. There are also 2 or 3 ponds over there so that takes up some pasture, but he has to feed them some hay starting in July and August when its hot and dry. During the winter they are dry lotted around the barn.

You may have to dry lot yours in the winter time, or at least in Jan/Feb/March to allow the grass to grow.

I'm hoping I can get him to move them over with the rest of our cattle this spring so we can reseed the pasture (and so we're not feeding them hay in July).

 

[denoginnizer]

I am new as you are to the cattle business or cattle hobby. I have 30 acres in North Carolina and first had it all twigged in Coastal Burmuda hay. At present, I have 12 Black Angus on about 10 acres and have about 10 acres that I mow and bale each year. Those 10 acres produce about 1500 square bales of hay or 200 large round bales. This is enough to feed during the winter months since the Coastal Burmuda grows during the summer months and allows for grazing. I am able to sell some hay each year to help the cost of other feed and other bills such as equipment and fence mending. Be sure and have good fencing first and be ready to have a lot of questions as you progress. this forum has been a great help to me.

I wish I could find 10 acres around me that would produce 200 round bales. :shock:

 

[Roadapple]

I'd sell the 12 cows and put that 10 acres into hay also and sell the hay, if you're getting that kind of production.