Bred Heifers

[RichZ]

A friend of mine, who owns a dairy farm was talking to me yesterday, about my continuing quest to make money with livestock that you don't have to send to the slaughterhouse. He suggestted that I raise heifers and breed them, either naturally, or with artifiicial insemination, and then sell them as bred heifers. He said that I can pasture them in the parts of my friend's and my joint property where it will be too difficult to harvest hay. He says we can buy young heifers for about $150 - $200 apiece, and raise them. When they are about 18 months they're usually ready for breeding. Once bred, in our area (he says) they go for $1500 - $1700. He says that we can sell them to dairy brokers, directly to farms or at auctions. He says there's a good profit margin if you have a lot of good pasture, which I do. He invited my wife and me to come over some time next week to go over their figures for the bred heifers. He claims to make more money from them than milk or hay. He isn't trying to rope me into anything, because he doesn't sell young hefiers.

I haven't done any research on it yet, but it almost sounds too good to be true, though he has absolutely no reason to tell me something that isn't so. Has anyone had any experience with this?

Thanks!!

Rich

 

[TerryinMD]

RichZ,

One of my neighbors does exactly what you are saying. Except that he breeds beef instead of dairy. The males are typically sold off as calves to other ranchers/farmers. Select bulls and some heifers are sold off to breeders. He generally keeps the heifers to breed more stock.

What has made him successful is his herd rotation. He owns and rents a few hundred acres. What he does is section off the grazing areas into 10 acre lots. Once the lot is grazed down, he moves the cattle to the next lot. He allows at least a month between grazing areas so that the grass recovers. During the winter, he suppliments the grazing with hay and alfalfa of course.

My daughters are 4-Hers and have friends whose family farms have moved from dairy farms to breeder farms. They have found out just as your friend did that it is profitable to just breed instead of running a operational dairy farm.

Hope this helps.

Terry

 

[TWINKLE_TOES]

Rich,

Go to one of your area livestock auctions and check out what they go for there. Talk to the winning bidder and find out what he was looking for when he bid. Also Terry's suggestion to look at beef cattle may be a good one for a small operation.
Al

 

[jdkid]

Hi ya
well i don't know bout the USA but in NZ most dairy farmers keep there own heifers so hard to get the calfs in the frist place ,alot of people graze heifers ie get them after weaning and feed them etc etc and the cow cocky gets them back before the winter paying on per week and or wieght(?) gain ...yes they would be worth big money but i think ya starting price is a bit low and i'm taking it that you have to feed the calf milk powder etc etc ...pasture is a big thing milking cow's, heifers eat like theres not tomorrow feed has to be top if rasing heifers .
catch ya
JD Kid

 

[cowboydoc]

Rich,
Jd is right. It's not too good to be true but it is a little overinflated. First you are going to need a good place to keep those calves. Holsteins are not very hardy and you not having any experience with them are going to play hell keeping them alive. You are a little low on the heifers unless that is straight off the mother. Then you have to bottle feed them two times a day for a couple months. Then you have to feed them two times a day. Then you need to raise them to 12-18 months before you even consider breeding them. Then you are four to five months before they are ready to be sold. All in all after getting a calf you are about 18-24 months before you are ready to sell. Next you are going to have to the heifers. Like JD said most guys keep their heifers and when they do go at the sales they are not cheap. Then you have to buy the right ones, usually registered ones, to get the higher dollars for them. Yes you can do it but there certainly isn't a $1300 profit margin. Remember you have to feed this thing twice a day, so take into account about $30 a month to feed them. You can't feed that old grass hay to them either and make those dairy farmers happy, the ones who will buy them. You need to feed them prime alfalfa or their milk won't be any good. That's why they want them as bred heifers is to milk them. Then you also need to factor in your vet bills, ones dying, etc. Yes you can do it but it's not that high of a profit margin and it's ALOT of work. But if I know you that doesn't matter. Good luck my friend.

 

[RichZ]

Thanks for the kind words, Richard. My friend said he can put me in touch with other dairy farmers who have too many heifers to raise, so obtaining them shouldn't be a problem. The question is, as you said the profit margin, and how difficult it is to raise them. I'm going to go over my friend's records to see how much he spends on each heifer to try to determine if it's worth it.

As Al said, I intend to go to local livestock auctions, to see what prices they get. It's an intriguing idea. It's not something I can do immediately, but it's a thought for the future.

Rich

 

[RichZ]

Thanks, Terry. I never even thought of rotation. That's important. If I do it, I'll stick with dairy cows, because they go for a lot more around here in upstate NY.

Rich

 

[RichZ]

Thanks, Al. Great idea! There are two livestock auction houses right near me, and I'll check them out!

Rich

 

[RichZ]

Thanks, JD. I'm going to check out the cost of fed, vet bills, etc., to see what the profit margin is.

Rich

 

[TerryinMD]

RichZ,

While you doing your research, look into the movable electric fences. My neighbor uses the lightweight cloth/wire braid. He can easily move the fencing.

Uses traditional fencing high-T and cattle fencing around the pasture. Also, he only uses one strand of the braided fencing on the inside grazing blocks. He has no trouble moving his cattle around. Once he drops the movable fence, the cattle drift over to the yummy new pasture on their own. Pretty fool-proof.

Terry