What determines whether a cattleman is serious?

[novatech]

Another thread was going to another direction. It was interesting so I'm starting up a new topic.

Serious cattlemen have a plan with a goal in mind. They manage to attain that goal. The goal does not have to be profit.
Others just have cows.
Numbers make no difference.

 

[TexasBred]

Another thread was going to another direction. It was interesting so I'm starting up a new topic.

Serious cattlemen have a plan with a goal in mind. They manage to attain that goal. The goal does not have to be profit.
Others just have cows.
Numbers make no difference.

Nova....good topic. Will probably get a lot of answers and most much better than mine. Personally for me it's a hobby with a small hope of at least having the cattle pay for themselves. Some folks have bass boats, fishing camps, hunting camps.... I have my cattle. They are my ultimate enjoyment. Instead of buying a motor home or boat and keeping it full of fuel and groceries, I have cattle that I keep full of fuel and groceries. ;-) The only plan I have is to enjoy them and keep them healthy.

 

[birdog]

For me, if the cattle will cashflow out I'm happy; which is getting harder and harder to do. But mainly they are my therapy herd. After a 12 to 14 hour day I can sit and watch them graze and forget about all my troubles.

 

[bandit80]

I just flat out enjoy raising cattle. I like to see the improvement in my herd, and watch a calf born from an AI syringe, and then that heifer having a calf on the farm or selling a bull to the buyer. There is also a sense of accomplishment, pride, and enjoyment that you can never put a dollar value on.

Right now, the plan is to have the cattle pay for themselves and hopefully make a little money so I can reinvest into the farm for expansion.

The ultimate goal and plan is to increase my herd size, and have some of the best genetics and seedstock my breed has to offer. I also want to be able to make a living farming and ranching.

After a 12 to 14 hour day I can sit and watch them graze and forget about all my troubles.

Truer words have never been spoken.

 

[bigbull338]

my goal is to raise an breed the best beefmaster bulls an cows that i can.an in order todo i have to buy the best cows i can afford.as well as raise or buy the best bull i can.i keep an raise only the very best of the bull calves.this year im going to keep all my heifers an raise them.

 

[ALACOWMAN]

I used to say when some local cattleman would ask. " do you think so and so is a good cattleman"......... i would say,,, theres feller's who own cattle,then theres cattlemen

 

[backhoeboogie]

Sitting in the living room watching "I love Lucy" was simply never a pass time I chose.

Last night it was "America has talent", the wife had the remore, and there were "cowboys" wearing felt. This is August and it was a "Live" show. Tradition is you never wear felt until Labor day. You never wear straw until after Easter.

As a kid I was so sick of cows that I vowed to never own. Here I am now. Go figure. I still don't watch I love Lucy. What else are you going to do?

 

[TexasBred]

I used to say when some local cattleman would ask. " do you think so and so is a good cattleman"......... i would say,,, theres feller's who own cattle,then theres cattlemen

Ala... I guess maybe I'm just a very kickbacked, relaxed "cattleman". :lol:

 

[ALACOWMAN]

Sitting in the living room watching "I love Lucy" was simply never a pass time I chose.

Last night it was "America has talent", the wife had the remore, and there were "cowboys" wearing felt. This is August and it was a "Live" show. Tradition is you never wear felt until Labor day. You never wear straw until after Easter.
As a kid I was so sick of cows that I vowed to never own. Here I am now. Go figure. I still don't watch I love Lucy. What else are you going to do?

i remember years ago at a rodeo there was a calfroper looked like pure drugstore head to toe i was thinking.. what a wannabe :nod: until he backed in the box and hurt my feeling's and took my entry fee

 

[xbred]

i saw the same show "America's Got Talent" and the "cowboy" guys made me laugh(by the way i flipped the channel over to RFD and watched Cattleman to Cattleman and The Cattle Show) ....my cattle, even with their problems are soooo relaxing...all i deal with all day are problems....there is very little my cattle can do that upset me...with that being said, i try to make my cattle pay their way...i continually reinvest profits back into the farm, so that some day the major expenses will be taken care of...tractors, equipment, fencing, good foundation stock...i also continually learn from the oldtimers as well as from orginized agriculture edcuation the state has to offer...i have seen my herd grow and get better over the last 10 years...its not where it ought to be , but its not what it used to be either...got to love it...

 

[Frankie]

IMO, if a producer is taking care of the animals and working to improve their genetics, he's a "serious" cattleman. It doesn't matter how many head he has or whether he makes his living from them or not. If he's out there checking them on a regular basis, has a good herd health program, and improving the genetics of his herd, he's "serious" enough for me. Plus if someone is doing that, he probably doesn't care what you and I think about him. :lol:

 

[hrbelgians]

....my cattle, even with their problems are soooo relaxing...all i deal with all day are problems....there is very little my cattle can do that upset me...with that being said, i try to make my cattle pay their way...i continually reinvest profits back into the farm, so that some day the major expenses will be taken care of...tractors, equipment, fencing, good foundation stock...i also continually learn from the oldtimers as well as from orginized agriculture edcuation the state has to offer...i have seen my herd grow and get better over the last 10 years...its not where it ought to be , but its not what it used to be either...got to love it...

Exactly!!! I figure I'm making close to a million dollars a year just for the education I get!! :nod:
Now comes the tricky part.........how and where do I spend this million?? :lol: I'm Serious!!

 

[TexasBred]

....my cattle, even with their problems are soooo relaxing...all i deal with all day are problems....there is very little my cattle can do that upset me...with that being said, i try to make my cattle pay their way...i continually reinvest profits back into the farm, so that some day the major expenses will be taken care of...tractors, equipment, fencing, good foundation stock...i also continually learn from the oldtimers as well as from orginized agriculture edcuation the state has to offer...i have seen my herd grow and get better over the last 10 years...its not where it ought to be , but its not what it used to be either...got to love it...

Exactly!!! I figure I'm making close to a million dollars a year just for the education I get!! :nod:
Now comes the tricky part.........how and where do I spend this million?? :lol: I'm Serious!!

Don't worry about the million....adopt me and I'll take care of it for you. ;-)

 

[ANAZAZI]

IMO, if a producer is taking care of the animals and working to improve their genetics, he's a "serious" cattleman. It doesn't matter how many head he has or whether he makes his living from them or not. If he's out there checking them on a regular basis, has a good herd health program, and improving the genetics of his herd, he's "serious" enough for me. Plus if someone is doing that, he probably doesn't care what you and I think about him. :lol:

That is about all there is to it.

 

[ollie?]

Serious about what?


Main Entry:
se·ri·ous Listen to the pronunciation of serious
Pronunciation:
\ˈsir-ē-əs\
Function:
adjective

 

[DavisBeefmasters]

"What determines whether a cattleman is serious?"...

...lots of things come to mind...

- decibel level
- tone of voice
- throwing of the hat down in the dirt

...example all of these can be observed in a simple exchange between cattleman and cow (or bull)

...though I think you meant something else by the question..

 

[SF]

The inital question from the previous thread was to define what is a "serious cattlemen". This is close enough. Excellent thoughts on this subject.

 

[ollie?]

The inital question from the previous thread was to define what is a "serious cattlemen". This is close enough. Excellent thoughts on this subject.

I have a friend that is serious about making money in the cattle business. He buys almost all his stock. Never tries to do much herd improvement. Has very little help at all. Runs ranches in 3 counties in 2 different states and spends very little time or money doing what most "serious cattlemen" would consider necessary. He has somewhere around a thousand head of brood cows. Is he serious? I have a neighbor who has 40 or 50 head of seedstock cattle who invests considerable dollars , effort and research in improving his seedstock and has some of the finest animals of his breed in my opinion. Profit isn't a serious consideration in his operation. Is he serious? Some kids that only own one or two show steers spend considerable time and money studying conformation. Are they serious? I think they are all serious or they wouldn't be doing it. I'm not arguing, I just personally think the word serious is pretty loose and not a very good adjective buy itself. It's kind of like the word pretty. It's very subjective.

 

[grannysoo]

Serious is a state of mind, not the quantity of cows.

 

[Limomike]

I would say that if your in the cattle business... you better be serious about it. It has its "fun" times, and good times.. but over the long haul.. its a serious business when your dealing with human and animal's lives.