Anybody raise cattle for profit?

[farmgirl19]

If you can control rainfall, and pasture growth, you can run more head per unit. I have not mastered that part of the equation yet.

I prefer to have some roughage for them to eat on, rather than give them all they need in a smaller amount of food. Cattle are designed to eat, and can even eat some less than ideal grass, and gain weight. I think too much protein, and less actual fiber can lead to stomach conditions that will increase the vet bills.

 

[Axe Man]

I've been a butcher for 35 years and lived on acreages for my whole adult life. When I was younger I thought about getting a small number of cattle, butchering them and selling to neighbours friends and family. But working in a grocery store every day and seeing beef roasts selling on special for $1.99 lb ( current prices....no bone, no fat no waste ) why would anybody buy freezer beef unless if they were concerned about growth hormones etc.
You might be able to make a profit from pigs or chicken.
As mentioned earlier......Cash crop would be a good way to go. A friend of mine started by putting a half acre into pumpkins. He now has 10 acres planted and between selling at local markets and " pick your own " days in October for Hallowe'en he does quite well and he's not tied down 365 days a year.

 

[DFB]

Rutabagas...we sell all we can grow! :licking:

 

[dave1949]

Cow turnips:

Kicking the hay habit by feeding cattle turnips


Where I lived in Germany they fed turnips to their mixed meat/milk cattle.

 

[corl]

The choice of forage for rotational grazing is a topic in itself but you need something that will keep coming back. Planting wheat will limit the longevity of the pasture. I used orchard grass. The cows loved it in the spring but not so much in late summer. It also grew better in the spring. You could bank a pasture for late fall and extend you grazing season but, grazing with any method works best if you have enough pasture acres. In eastern Montana you may need 20+ acres per cow calf unit some seasons.