Whats the best way to:

[Sniper338]

What do yall reckon is the best cost efficient way to go about starting up a herd?

Buy smaller 400lb range calves and raise em up?

Buy a cow and calf pair, raise up the calf and sell it to recoop cost some and end up with only the cow...

Raise and sell calves and keep rolling the money over fore new calves until i get enough to buy several cows...

i figure i need a age mix how ever i decide to go...

is the ol saying match cows to the enviornment and match the bull to the market a decent way to think?

Please forgive me for dumb questions... but the only dumb question is the one you didnt ask in my book.. just learning where i can before i get poop on my boots! (From cattle i personally own!)

 

[Deepsouth]

Sniper, none of your questions have been dumb. As a matter of fact they're very good questions. Especially this one. I don't know the answer to your question myself but I'm sure someone a lot smarter than me will come along and answer it. I will say this the best way to start seems to be different for different people. It all depends on available finances, how much pasture you have, your experience and on and on. Lots of variables to consider. I bought bred heifers. Heifers is a risk and I did lose one calf out of that crop. But I bought nice cows and I'm building a good herd from that base. I kneq the heifers were a risk but I see older cows as a risk also after all their forsale for some reason and unless it's someone getting out of the cattle business it usually means there is something wrong. Most folks don't sale solid cows they cull for a reason. That reason may be a minor issue and not bother most folks though. I'll probably get hammered for this post but It's my opinion and my philosophy.

Wishing you the best with whatever you decide to do.

 

[boondocks]

What do yall reckon is the best cost efficient way to go about starting up a herd?

Buy smaller 400lb range calves and raise em up?

Buy a cow and calf pair, raise up the calf and sell it to recoop cost some and end up with only the cow...

Raise and sell calves and keep rolling the money over fore new calves until i get enough to buy several cows...

i figure i need a age mix how ever i decide to go...

is the ol saying match cows to the enviornment and match the bull to the market a decent way to think?
Please forgive me for dumb questions... but the only dumb question is the one you didnt ask in my book.. just learning where i can before i get poop on my boots! (From cattle i personally own!)

We are a 3 year old Angus start-up. Our strategy (Ha. That would imply we actually had one) was to start with a few 2 year olds from a somewhat local, well-respected operation that could sell us decent animals. Not fancy things, just good, VERY hardy decent starter animals that you can mate to quality bulls thru AI. (The farmer we bought them from is very old-school/hands-off, so we knew we would not be getting a bunch of cows who have been "bred" to need calving help or other hand-holding we would not yet be equipped/skilled for). We picked up a couple new heifers from the same source for a fair price over the next 2 years, and bred everything as it hit 16 months (give or take). (Had a few detours along the way, but that's been the general plan). We so far have ended up with all heifer calves, so in 3 years we have gone from 2 cows to 10, plus a steer calf purchased last fall. We sold one mama last summer for failure to breed. We are now at the stage where we want to "take stock of the stock": have some more knowledgeable folks help us decide how to get a bit more carcass without sacrificing the good traits that we like, and look over feet, conformation etc to help us get a better eye for which cows are better long-term. We also need to put some more work into our pastures. Fencing in an ongoing battle with the bedrock here, but we plan to try some new things this summer. IF this dang snow ever melts!

So that's our story, in a nutshell. We have enjoyed it, but so far it has been financially non-remunerative, shall we say (although we are trying hard to turn a profit, and, I don't care what anyone says, we-are-NOT-a-hobby-farm-not-that-there's-anything-wrong-with-that!). I honestly don't know how anyone could net any $ the first few years, unless they have been given a "farm in a box" under a very big Christmas tree.

Good luck to you!

 

[wacocowboy]

The cheapest way is Longhorns with a Char bull, but some people don't like Longhorns cause sale barn docks. I don't know if it is the most efficient but I like pairs and bred cows hopefully with a heifer I can raise into a cow to add to the herd. I am like you DS always wondering why the cow is for sale.

 

[Kell-inKY]

What do yall reckon is the best cost efficient way to go about starting up a herd?

I don't know my butt from a hole in the ground when it comes to cattle, BUT, unless you want to wait years to produce calves, then don't buy calves to start. That's what I did, and it is a long process and then you have to get a bull when it's time or AI them etc. etc. etc. Getting bred cows would build it much quicker, and cheaper if you get a bred cow with calf on it's side already.

About the only advantage to getting calves in my opinion is that it is easier to start, you can get them used to you and learn on them if you don't know anything about them. In all honesty, I probably could not have handled anything more difficult than calves that first year, but I'm always getting in over my head. Just my :2cents:

 

[Bigfoot]

Quickest route is bred cows, or cows with a calf on their side. Might be hard to find good cows like that in this day and age.

 

[M-5]

Best way to start is with a lot of MONEY...... go to a special sale or find a reputable breeder of what you want and buy 2nd or 3rd calvers.

My advice and 50cent will get you a cup of coffee

 

[Texas PaPaw]

I go to 2 sales a week and there are several good young to solid mouth cows that sell most every day. Not all are worthless culls. Think around here the average cow herd is about 30 cows and a lot of older folks own them. Seems like at least 1 or more small herd sellouts every week.

IMO-experienced cows are the best way for an inexperienced person to get in the cow business for several reasons. Thing is you don't get to be an old bred cow if you didn't properly do your job as a younger cow. They know how to do their job better than most of us, so just give them a good home, get out of their way and let them do their job. Just that simple. Also an older cow takes a smaller investment and when bred to a quality bull, can raise good replacements to grow a herd with. A lot cheaper and less painful to get those rookie learning "experiences" on an old $1600-1800 cow that a fancy $3000 cow.

Just another 2 cents worth.

 

[backhoeboogie]

I go to 2 sales a week and there are several good young to solid mouth cows that sell most every day. Not all are worthless culls. Think around here the average cow herd is about 30 cows and a lot of older folks own them. Seems like at least 1 or more small herd sellouts every week.

IMO-experienced cows are the best way for an inexperienced person to get in the cow business for several reasons. Thing is you don't get to be an old bred cow if you didn't properly do your job as a younger cow. They know how to do their job better than most of us, so just give them a good home, get out of their way and let them do their job. Just that simple. Also an older cow takes a smaller investment and when bred to a quality bull, can raise good replacements to grow a herd with. A lot cheaper and less painful to get those rookie learning "experiences" on an old $1600-1800 cow that a fancy $3000 cow.

Just another 2 cents worth.

Wisdom speaking in those 2 cents. Dang near two for the price of one using old cows. Could be from an estate.

 

[ANAZAZI]

Best startup animals are bred cows that are expecting their 4th or 5th or 6th calf. The cow knows what to do even if the new owner do not. Breed them to a terminal bull for the first years to get some cash back. Then later learn slowly how to deal with heifers as your own heifers grow up.
For someone experienced in cattle, that starts up on his own an alternative is to buy a lot of heifer calves and raise them, then sell half of them as bred heifers and practically have the ones kept payed for by those sold.

 

[HDRider]

Boondocks thanks for the posts.

 

[denvermartinfarms]

Depends on what your wanting this operation to be, do you need to make money or do you want to start with the very best? I'm being serious, some people are acctually in this business and have no plans of making money.

If you can afford to do this and making money is not important, you can go buy some nice 4 to 6 year opd black 3200 to 3500$ pairs with 300lb calves, you can have the best, and it will be 4 yours before they pay for there self and start making money, then they are about 10 years old. This plan doesn't make sense to me.

I would probably buy some plain 2nd and 3rd period cows, not the fanciest cows you can find, but buy good calf raisers. Buy them for 1400$ to 2000$, try to get a 1700$ average, 2 years they are paid for and making money.

Buying heifers to raise and breed takes a long time, they will likely not all breed, the first calf will be a little smaller and you'll have to deal with calving heifers. I say all that, but it's the way I started, and something I actually like doing. It's just not something I would reccomend if you can buy cows instead.

 

[Sniper338]

Thank you all for the post so far... I'm just getting into it to make a little pocket change here and there, its by no means for a source of income I would depend on. That makes things A LOT EASIER!! My grandfather was the biggest cattle man in the county for a long time, he knew his stuff, but I was too young to learn it all from him before he passed away. He was the ol timer that everyone ran to to ask questions. He ran a spotter bull to let him know when cows were in heat, then AI-ed the cows all the time. I'm not looking to run a pure breed fancy top notch show cattle like he did though. I'm thinking more along the lines of just getting 600-1000 lbs calve crop then selling em... I know bred heifers take a lot more watching em than I can do just yet, I don;t want to be having to pull calves, that why the more experienced cow thats already had a few calves is more appealing.

What I have in mind is starting out with a hand full of weened calves, and slowing getting a handfull of cow and calf pairs, or bred cow and calf pairs... Where am lined to to get calves dropping for the next year or so while I save up for a good bull. grow out the calves I got for cheaper, then sell em... take that money and buy a few more bred cow calf pairs or such... That way I always have a bred cow lined out, and always have a few calves to feed out to sale... Then once I have a hand full of cows and a bull, well they can just keep the cycle going... I figure the best way to make the quickest dollar to put back into cattle is growing out calves and selling em...

I like angus cattle, but some brahmen in em would help with weight, that gives me brangus cows... black brangus cows on a hereford bull would give me the black calf with a white face for the most part I would think, and the auction barn says thats what they want to see.

I keep my eyes open driving out to my ranch and around this area and most people tend to have black cows and a brangus bull, I dont know if they are just doing brangus cows and brangus bulls, or if they are angus cows and a brangus bull. Either way that kind of mix seems to be the most popular around here, then you always have some small places that all their cows are different colors and they look like crap... I tend to like to be a little more uniform with things.

I figure a bull aint necessarily a big hurry as its cheaper to AI cattle most of the time if they need bred.

My biggest problem I see is cuttin balls on bull calves. I know how to do it with a knife, but it aint something I can do by myself... This is the only thing that really makes me hesitant. BUT a bull calf here and bull calf there, I'll kill hit and cut it up for meat in the freezer... problem is when I get more than one bull calf at a time! Haha!

 

[nobull82]

I started with 6 heifer calves that I was gonna background and everyone told me to keep them and have some calves from them and so I did. I didn't have any previous experience and with some help from friends and neighbors I've learned alot! Even being heifers I had a good experience but this year the heifers I bought have been a pain In the rear but still very enjoyable. If it were me I would see if I could help someone to gain a little experience before spending thousands of dollars and I would also tell you to do what interests you the most in the cattle business. This is a great place to learn and ask questions. Good luck in what you decide to do,it's all very rewarding!

 

[Big Cheese]

The cheapest way is Longhorns with a Char bull, but some people don't like Longhorns cause sale barn docks. I don't know if it is the most efficient but I like pairs and bred cows hopefully with a heifer I can raise into a cow to add to the herd. I am like you DS always wondering why the cow is for sale.

I agree with Waco on this one. Longhorns are the way to go. This is what we did and we got in pretty cheap and are loving the way they are turning out. I bought 15 mommas and averaged $685 spread out over 2 years. You can't hardly do that now but it's still possible. Longhorns are easy to take care of and are great momma cows. Put the Charolais bull on them and their calves will grow great. Some will be marked up but most of the ones we have had so far haven't been....2 out of 7 have been and that's not counting the few Angus and Balancer cross calves we have.....about 28% there but I figure once most of them calve it will be down closer to 20% or less but you never know with Longhorns. They will come out a yellow cream color and be beautiful calves. Then you start keeping the half breed heifers for mommas and replacements and that's where it all starts kicking in. You want the half breeds as momma cows. They are the best of both worlds and will raise amazing calves. Me got one on our place and we are about to sell her first calf at 8 months old and I guarentee he weighs 650 pounds....his daddy was an Angus though so there is no telling what a Charolais will look like out of her. Longhorns are the best to start out with. This would be a great way to get started.

 

[Lazy M]

My opinion is to buy the best cattle you can afford. You can define "best" for yourself but to me it is a cow that utilizes her environment in the most efficient way to produce the heaviest and most correct calf that she can while also getting bred back on time. Don't buy junk unless you're happy to produce junk.