Waldershrek":1ar9zrqw said:
For those selling to a sale barn......you raise them from calves and sell them when they are slaughter weight?
I'm trying to get a herd going as a hobby at first, maybe it will turn into something bigger in time. I'm a little confused as to which way to go. I would like to just raise them and sell to a sale barn but I was under the impression I will lose money that way. Anybody in the Northeast on here to provide some regional insight?
I'd also like to sell some hay. I have some land available around my parents I could use for cheap if not free.
Selling hay requires management and fertilizer - more than a hobby generally gets - or you are just mining your soil.
Why not rotationally graze the ground rather than hay it? Tough to make money selling hay when you consider the true costs of raising and putting up quality hay. When you have hay so does everyone else and prices are low. When prices are high it is usually because you and others don't have any to sell.
If you make hay for your own use you need to have the equipment & time etc necessary to make sure the manure gets spread back out on the gorund the hay came from or your are still mining your soils...
I would graze the ground & learn about the benefits of rotational grazing. There is a learning curve. You could start slowly and build your knowledge. You also need some handling facilites, fences and water.
One of the benefits of starting out as a "hobby" is that it lets you learn and get set up at a reasonable pace. You do not need to have a net positive return the first year. Reinvest and build slowly as you learn. jmho. Good luck, Jim
edit: as in any new business, start out thinking about the sales end rather than the input end of the business: what are you going to sell, to whom, when, what quantity and how much are they willing to pay for it???
Define what is it you like to sell, want to sell and have a market for.
Then back into the beginning part of it once you establish the output side. jmho and experience.