Cow calf farm

[goat]

I have rented 300 acres of pasture land here in Alabama. My intentions are to start a cow- calf operation. I am wondering if anyone has any advice. I have never owned cattle before so most any advice will be helpful. The only information I have is from listening and watching local cattlemen ,reading college information on cattle farming.
I have a lot of spare time . Although I dont have to make a profit I certainly wouldnt mind making a little extra money. Thank you in advance for your time

[mysticokra]

What part of Alabama? There is a "Grazefest" in Montgomery on September 11-12th. Some of the people you should be reading will speak there including Joel Salation and Teddy Gentry.

The Sustainable Ag site at http://www.asanonline.org/2004_GrazefestAlabama.html

says "Full day of farmer and farm-industry education workshops followed by a chef-prepared dinner featuring pasture-raised foods. Speakers including Jo Robinson, Teddy Gentry, Joel Salatin, Gearld Fry, Kit Pharo, Allen R. Williams, and Bill Casey

Cost: Free, preregistration required
Registration forms can be downloaded at http://www.eatingfresh.com/

Grazefest Banquet Featuring Pasture-Raised Meats (Saturday night)
Guest Speaker: James Horne of the Kerr Center for Sustainable Agriculture
Cost: $20; Children 12 and under free"

My quickest source of valuable learning has been via AcresUSA at http://www.acresusa.com/magazines/magazine.htm

Read anything by Charles Walters. Eco-Farm is great.

I also liked Bill Murphy's "Greener Pastures on your side of the Fence" for a good how-to on rotational grazing.

Also get a subscription to the Stockman Grass Farmer.
See http://www.stockmangrassfarmer.com/sgf/

I also have a friend who is breeding Dexters, if you haven't settled on your type of cow yet.

My best advice would be to wait. Cattle are at an all-time high right now and you are going to pay alot to get going. It's very easy to lose alot of money when cattle are this high.

[goat]

Cowboy doc --- I hear what your are saying about waiting but If I dont rent the land now there may not be another chance to rent land this close to my location. Do you think it would be wise to rent the land,3500 per year, and wait on cattle prices to go down?
If I dont take any profit from a 50 cow operation am I going to loose money if the price goes down 20 or 30 %?
Thanks for your input I really appreciate it.

[egon]

It would sound like you had best draw up an action plan detailing the economics of your situation.

Egon

If I wanted to do it I would buy feeders. If the price goes down you may not make any money but if you've got the grass to feed them you should come out even on the cattle as they will gain. If you've got good pasture that should be all they need besides mineral supplement and a little protein supplementation. Also if you decide that you don't want to do this and the cattle are too much work then you don't have cows to sell which you will lose your shirt on if prices come down.

[goat]

Thats not a bad idea. I think they call them stockers. I will look into it.

[Pat]

If you opt for stockers vice cow-calf you want to be sure you have GOOD FENCES. Cows that are kept for years LEARN the routine. Their calves usually don't want to stray too far from the moveable feast (mom) but stockers are burgers on the hoof and don't mellow.

The other GOOD ADVICE is to find someone who knows a heck of a lot more about animal husbandry in general and cattle in particular than you do and get them to help you "handle" your stock. Reading is one thing and a demo at a dinner meeting of the local cattlemens association is nice too but until you have put stock through a squeeze chute and used a head gate, innoculated IM and sub-Q, know when to aspirate the syringe, "install" ear tags, castrate, dehorn (cauterize the spurting arterial flow) etc. your "petting zoo" is likely to get out of hand and not be fun or profitable for you nor healty for the animals.

Gone are the days of Texas Longhorns, range cattle who were hardy and smart and could fend for themselves most of the time. Most of todays breeds NEED proper intervention to "make it."

Just remember the guickest way to wind up with $20,000 dollars raising beef is to start with about $40,000. Still, if you don't mind the hard work and can keep your feet out from under theirs you could give it a whirl. I sugest that if you don't have access to a good working consultant (not the extension agent but someone who can spend a workday with you every so often) the smartest thing you might be able to do is to start smaller. Try 10 head for a year, learn something, and then decide if you want to scale up or quit. Since you say you don't have to make a profit, starting smaller should insure against the downside losses. You might be glad you had some extra time to get pastures in shape as well.

Yeah cattle prices are pretty high and lots of folks are afraid of being caught on the downswing which could really put you in the red if it was a large "correction." There are also smart folks who think prices will stay up for a couple years or so longer. You pays your money and you takes your chances.

Best of luck to you,


[img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img] Pat [img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img]

Feeders will settle down as well as any cattle. We really have no more problems with cattle we've had for 10 years opposed to feeders we get when we have extra feed. Your older cows will find a hole in the fence just as quick as the new ones. It's just as hard or easy, depending on your fences, to keep fresh or older cattle in.

All cattle will settle in if they are exposed and trained the right way. Whether you work them on horseback or on foot. Daily graining or just going out and being with the cattle will get most any herd settled in a week or two.

Our cattle are all registered either hereford or angus and they are on their own 11 months of the year. We have over 50 sections of land that they roam on and except for the occassional calf loss to coyotes we rarely lose a cow or a calf. Cattle don't need any special treatment. They should be watched when they are calving and given the right supplement when needed for the forage they are getting. Other than that vaccinations once a year and doing all of your branding, castrating, and dehorning at one time in the spring or fall. If you buy polled cattle you won't have to worry about the dehorning part of just get a vet to come out and do it.

If you are raising feeders then you don't even have to worry about any of the castrating, branding, dehorning, vaccinations, etc. If you bought cattle from us they are 100% ready to go. All you need to do is turn them out of pasture and watch them grow. If you buy from the sale yards they have vets at every sale that will take care of dehorning, castrating, vaccinations, or any other vet work that needs to be done. There are also special cattle "select" cattle sales. At the select sales the cattle are 100% guaranteed healthy and guaranteed to have been pre-conditioned. Pre-conditioning includes everything that is needed for the next year of that calves life. Only when you have a cow/calf operation will you have to worry about all the other headaches.

Their certainly is alot of little things that a knowledgeable person could help with but for the most part raising a small herd of cattle isn't that difficult.

[Pat]

goat, Be sure to check in with us and give us a report on how easy and trouble free your 50 head were for a newbie. If you elect cow-calf maybe you'll share tales of "pulling" calves at 3AM. These ttales are often interesting.

Some of my pasture was getting out of hand so I borrowed about 50 head of "well socialized" stock to graze it down. First time I ever saw a full grown cow walk out through a catle guard. But then I am not very experienced and I still am getting to experience many things for the first time. Some fun, some interesting, and some neither.

[img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img] Pat [img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img]