Raising a beef cow/steer - looking for advice and tips

[General Lee]

I know I probably look at it different than most here, but I think I would get in a fence 1st, (330' rolls of field fence go along way) and give you so many more options and last for years, not counting helping protect your investment (s) from now on.

Excellent advice Western, as is everyone's elses. Field fencing was recommended to me as well from a buddy of mine. I would rather give the cow some room than just a pen.

There is a lot to consider here, I'm not to keen on the start up cost for fencing, shelter, etc. I don't mind paying for feed because ultimately I know what the end result will be.

I really appreciate everyone's input.

 

[Gary Fowler]

I've worked in the grocery industry since the mid 1970s when I was learning to cut meat, and meat on sale at the store has always been cheaper than beef I could raise myself. In the last year, the place I work has had outside round roasts on for $1.99 a pound.....extra lean ground beef for $2.49 a pound, boneless blade roasts for $2.49 and sirloin steak and roasts for $2.49 ( a few examples ) As for pork, this week pork chops were 99 cents a pound and pork picnic roasts were 99 cents a pound ( for comparison ). Like I said a small producer can't compete with those prices.

I also haven't seen prices like that in 4-5 years. 80/20 hamburger is over $3 per pound and ribeye almost $10 with on sale never below $7 per pound and the on sale is usually low quality and a bit tough.
My brother in law raises cows and I let him graze my 11 acres for free. I don't want to mess with raising a cow, buying and storing and feeding hay all winter, fertilizing the pastures etc. I could get a cow from him cheap, but like everyone says, a 1000 pound yearling would bring $1.60 a pound or more. Even if I raised cows, I would sell the cow and take the money and buy only the cuts that I want to eat like ribeye, T-bone, sirloin strip and some 90/10 hamburger (I like a little fat in the hamburger). I don't care a lot for the tougher cuts like ribs, rump roast, round steak, shoulder, brisket (I don't BBQ them) so most of that would be hamburger. It just makes economic sense to me to sell the cows and buy the steak that I like OR forget the expense of raising a cow and just pay the price for the meat I want. We have plenty of pasture to graze in the summer but it requires cross fencing and moving the cows around to allow the grass to grow. All that fencing and gates are costly items to put up initially. All is in place now so just fertilize, lime and winter grass seeding is the most expense, other than the tractor to handle the round bales. Even using your own pasture for haying is not cheap as it is $15-20 per bale to have it cut and baled or about 75% of the cost of buying it outright so growing your own hay isn't cheap either (buying haying equipment is not an option as it is way too expensive)
Grocery store cost fluctuate with the cost of on the hoof beef so if you get less for your cow when selling, you would pay less at the grocery also. It all works out to you not paying a lot more for the store bought beef than raising your own. IF you are concerned about what the beef is feed out on, then that might be justification to raise your own and have it processed, but don't think you will be saving a lot of money.

 

[Larro Darro]

Can you explain? Is dried leaves a decent grazing diet? What would the cow be eating? I've never heard of this.

Here in NW Florida, there is always some trees and bushes with green leaves even in winter. And the cows help keep the woods clear of brush, so there is more grass growing under the trees. Not sure what kind of woods you have, or if there is any grass or green bushes. Our land was about half pasture and half woods though, and we still fed hay and protein blocks in winter. But like Western said, not all breeds do well with roughage. But with your place being 8 1/2 acres, the cost of fencing won't be that much. It will give the cows a chance to stretch their legs if nothing else. And with only one or two cows, a small clearing would grow enough grass to be a big help. If you will cut a few trees, the grass will grow. Cows do better on grass. Hay will work, but it's not the same.

And half the fun is killing, skinning and quartering the beef. You can save that hundred bucks, and cook the liver and likes the day you butcher. We would take the quartered beef to the processor, and Mamma would have the liver and onions cooking when we got back home.

Larro

 

[joshuabardwell]

If you want to try a less risky approach, have you considered a pair of meat sheep. You would have less invested and still have several hundred lbs of meat.

Yes, but it'll be mutton, not beef.

 

[paulharvey]

It is, but I thought it might be a good way to get one foot in. If it's not for you, would be better to only have a few hundred in it than $2500... another way; not beef; would be get a caught wild hog ($50) and feed it clean feed for a month to fatten and flavor it.

 

[joshuabardwell]

It is, but I thought it might be a good way to get one foot in.

I didn't mean to jump down your throat. It came out sounding shorter than I meant it.

 

[Bird]

I've certainly got nothing against mutton, but I'd rather get goats and like that meat a little better than mutton, and better than any beef. And goat are browsers, so they'll eat leaves and such.

 

[creekbend]

There are places where digging post holes gets interesting.

You are 100% correct.

 

[MotorSeven]

I've worked in the grocery industry since the mid 1970s when I was learning to cut meat, and meat on sale at the store has always been cheaper than beef I could raise myself. In the last year, the place I work has had outside round roasts on for $1.99 a pound.....extra lean ground beef for $2.49 a pound, boneless blade roasts for $2.49 and sirloin steak and roasts for $2.49 ( a few examples ) As for pork, this week pork chops were 99 cents a pound and pork picnic roasts were 99 cents a pound ( for comparison ). Like I said a small producer can't compete with those prices.

Man...I have not seen those prices in 15 years...are you sure you are not in a parallel universe or something....step away from the black hole.......:laughing:

 

[General Lee]

If you want to try a less risky approach, have you considered a pair of meat sheep. You would have less invested and still have several hundred lbs of meat.

I'm open for options. Thought about goats for milk, but don't know if I would like the milk. Also I don't think I'd have time to milk it daily or twice daily. Not sure if sheep meat would be worth it. I don't mind the taste of lamb never had adult sheep meat.

Care to elaborate on less risky side of things ? Do they require less space and I would imagine less feed.