Cattle

[jerrybob]

Difficult to make much money with that small of a herd. Fun hobby but lots of work. Vet bills can get pricey. Ever pull a calf? Lots to learn if just starting.

 

[kcflhrc]

I would suggest watching a few episodes of The Incredible Dr. Poll, that will give you a little insight.

Watch The Incredible Dr. Pol on National Geographic

 

[kenmac]

well, It seems like the majority that is in the cow business,or has been, are suggesting I just forget about the cow/calf business.

I owned an HVAC / Plumbing business. I sold out several yrs ago. I haven't worked in 3-4 yrs so I thought I would get into this, give me a little something to do, and make money at it.

If someone 60 with no experience in the HVAC /plumbing business ask me if they should venture into it, I would say no. But, it wouldn't because you can't make money in that business, it would just be too much to learn at 60 yrs old

I have a few chickens . I had no experience with chickens until I got them. They aren't much trouble to take care of. But from the comments I'm getting, cows would be allot more trouble to take care of than these dozen chickens I have.

Perhaps the old guys up here are shooting me straight. I was beginning to think it was in this big click, making good money, and they were just trying to keep the new guy from getting in on the action . LOL

 

[teejk]

I know a few people in the small herd business, some that raise and sell for the "finishing", some that go the extra step and go all the way to market. I don't think they lose money unless you count their time but they have land and equipment for their primary grain operations. One of the latter has established a loyal cliental that is willing to pay a premium for his beef. He's not rich but he does ok. Now a few posts up somebody talked about taxes...we still have those "hobby loss" rules so you have to demonstrate an intention to make a profit if you intend to write off the costs...no big deal really since at our low rates there is no incentive to lose $1 in order to get 30 cents back via taxes (if you disagree then forget cattle and get in touch with me...I'll gladly rebate 30 cents for every dollar you send).

 

[kenmac]

we still have those "hobby loss" rules so you have to demonstrate an intention to make a profit if you intend to write off the costs...no big deal really since at our low rates there is no incentive to lose $1 in order to get 30 cents back via taxes (if you disagree then forget cattle and get in touch with me...I'll gladly rebate 30 cents for every dollar you send).

I understand the write off thing. That is something they they keep telling me. It's all a tax write off.
Well, you still spend real money, and you don't get back 100% of what you write off .
So, what does a write of really do for you? They look at me like I'm crazy !
I may be, but they seem to think you get back more than they write off

Kind of like the guy up the hill that told me he made money off baling hay.
He has 100k in equipment, pays someone to fertilize and spray his fields, his fuel, his time, his maintenance of equipment, etc,. .
He says he sells his hay for $25.00-$30.00 per bale.
He hasn't been able to explain to me where the money is in this operation. I don't want to do as much work for no real gain

 

[buckeyefarmer]

well, It seems like the majority that is in the cow business,or has been, are suggesting I just forget about the cow/calf business.

I owned an HVAC / Plumbing business. I sold out several yrs ago. I haven't worked in 3-4 yrs so I thought I would get into this, give me a little something to do, and make money at it.

If someone 60 with no experience in the HVAC /plumbing business ask me if they should venture into it, I would say no. But, it wouldn't because you can't make money in that business, it would just be too much to learn at 60 yrs old

I have a few chickens . I had no experience with chickens until I got them. They aren't much trouble to take care of. But from the comments I'm getting, cows would be allot more trouble to take care of than these dozen chickens I have.

Perhaps the old guys up here are shooting me straight. I was beginning to think it was in this big click, making good money, and they were just trying to keep the new guy from getting in on the action . LOL

It's like a hobby, you do it because you like to do it. My dad is almost 95 and still has cattle. It's his life. It's now too much for him, but not having them would kill him.

 

[prof fate]

As a former tax pro and home based business owner..

You sell a steer for $2000 say. That's income. You pay tax on income.

WAIT! - you fed the critter, fixed a fence, placed an ad, drove bessie to the butcher - all expenses.
BUT - you own a farm - 80% of the land is for farming...80% of the elec bill...the tractor...all expenses!

Before you know it, on paper, you're broke and pay no taxes!

Of course as much as possible is a business expenses...and you 'steal 'from the business like everyone steals from their employer - you know, toilet paper, postage, envelopes...

I understand the write off thing. That is something they they keep telling me. It's all a tax write off.
Well, you still spend real money, and you don't get back 100% of what you write off .
So, what does a write of really do for you? They look at me like I'm crazy !
I may be, but they seem to think you get back more than they write off

Kind of like the guy up the hill that told me he made money off baling hay.
He has 100k in equipment, pays someone to fertilize and spray his fields, his fuel, his time, his maintenance of equipment, etc,. .
He says he sells his hay for $25.00-$30.00 per bale.
He hasn't been able to explain to me where the money is in this operation. I don't want to do as much work for no real gain

 

[goeduck]

If it were me on small acreage the headache and work before your cattle are walking on two legs is A LOT of effort. I would rather have a pasture ornament old cow or two, buy hay and keep them walking on four legs.

 

[STx]

The trick to profitability in small scale agriculture is to find a niche market to serve. With a small beef herd, you need to be serving the grass finished, hormone free, all natural market. The best way to get started there is to raise a cow, process it under inspection and start selling cuts at farmers markets. It'll take time but, if you have good grass and grow good beef, you'll get regulars and build a market. It's helpful to have vegetables to drive traffic to your booth at a market. Gardening is a lot of work so if you don't want to grow them yourself, finding an Amish community or something similar nearby to provide those consistently will help. You can do just meat, it's a lot more profitable than vegetables but, the vegetables do a great job of increasing traffic and giving you an opportunity to upsell the beef.

We started selling pasture raised pork almost a year ago. We bought our first pigs in July 2017. It took us about 5 months to sell the first 2 pigs, we're now selling a little more than 1 pig per month. Rough numbers, our input costs per pig, including pigket, fuel, feed, processing, market fees, etc is around $800. We gross about $1200 from that pig so gross profit is around $400. It's not a lot of money but, a 25% margin isn't bad and volume is still growing. We enjoy the pigs and the markets, they force us to leave the property and interact with other humans. Most of the people we know here, we've met through the markets.

So, I say go for it but, don't try to raise 15 cows under the same model as a guy that's raising 1,500 cows. It's like trying to run a local hardware store as if you're Home Depot, it's not the same model and if you do, you're probably going to fail.

 

[txdon]

Try to get the cows with no horns. Two of the ranchers out here got gorged and lost a lot of blood. calves are especially anxious when loading and separating them. Also be fit enough to be able to quickly jump a fence or hire someone to load and take your cattle to the auction. Some auctions will send someone out to pick up your calves, you just need to enquire.

fences
cross fences
water source in each field
hay in winter
supplemental cubes in winter
fence repair
liability insurance - cows get out on road
cows and calves die, disease or calving, figure losses at about 1 in 20

 

[prof fate]

you trim the horns - some for your safety, but mostly so they don't hurt each other and cost you vet bills

 

[jerrybob]

Best advice....get a dog....go for a walk each day....if the urge still is still overwhelming....go on a nice dude ranch vacation....whatever you decide....enjoy your retirement!

 

[BoylermanCT]

I would start small. Get 1 or 2 cows and raise them, butcher them and sell the meat. If you enjoy it, buy 4. Keep moving up until it is too much work or not enough money to be worth your time.

 

[rgr33]

I raised charlois beef for 12 years when my kids were young. It was a great education for them to learn about life and hard work and responsibility.

Money? Yeah, I lost enough to make it hurt a bit, but it was a great feeling to look out the window and see the new calves playing in the sun.
When the kids moved out, and I lost my free labor, the cattle business didn’t seem like such a good idea anymore.

One time the cows found a weak spot in the fence. My neighbor called me and said my cattle were loose and eating up everyone’s gardens up and down the road.
I was at work, about 250 miles away, ahh, good times!

 

[two_bit_score]

Raising cows is simple. Grass in front. Bull behind.

Before you get the first one make sure your perimeter fence is in good shape. Because the first thing they will do is try the entire fence for a way out. Try to get a couple gentle ones to start with.

In Texas we are lucky. A&M and TSCRA.

Home Page - Beef Cattle Short Course

pasture management | Texas A&M AgriLife Research & Extension Center at Overton

Ranching 1�1 Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers

There are all kinds of resources for the small ‘rancher’ to the real rancher.

Do a little research and start slow. Buy a couple heifer calves and see if you like messing with them until you haul them to the processor. If you do not like it worst is you will have a freezer(s) full of good beef.

More commercial cattle come from small 10-20 head herds than most people realize.

 

[two_bit_score]

Been thinking about getting into the cattle business. It would be small (10-15) cows.
I have no knowledge of the business, or what to do. So it would be a learning process.
Just thought I would try to make a little money, and have some help with the grass.

I just don't know if there is any money to be made in a small operation. d

Here is something cheap. As far as I know the subscription is still free. Some good articles and might be able to point you to someone in your area to buy a couple good calves from to get started if you decide to do it.

Gulf Coast Cattleman

 

[Gary Fowler]

As far as hay. I would have to buy. I have the grass but no haying equipment. Around here, large round bales go for $25.00-$30.00/ It would most likely cheaper to buy the hay than to invest in the equipment

I have 50 acres here that is fenced. Would just have to make a few repairs to some of the wire.

As far as the vet stuff. I would have to learn to perform the basic shots, worming, etc,.

Travel ? I really don't travel that much. At the most I would be gone would be two weeks. Most people I have talked to say that you could leave them for that long without any problems. I have no idea if this is true,or not as those around me have sons, Brothers, brothers in laws, etc, that can see after their cows when they are gone

I would do the cow /cave operation. Sell off the caves when they get to around the 600# mark is what I'm being told.

I have the means to get the cows to market, so that wouldn't be an issue



A guy I know that has about 150 head of cattle stated he has several cows slaughtered a year and all is good except the steaks. He said no matter what the does, or how he feeds, the steaks always come out tough.
He said he has tried different processors and the steaks are always tough. He said he thinks it's because processors aren't allowing the beef to hang in the cooler and age very long. He said the processors get them in , cut up and processed as fast as they can and won't let the beef hang and age.


I have contacted my insurance company, and they tell me I would have to get a farm /business insurance policy instead of the regular H O policy I now have. This other /different policy would increase my insurance cost

I'm just wondering at 60 yrs old and having no knowledge of cows, or the cow business, if I should jump in with both feet,or stay away from it.
I really don't care to put in hard work for no profit.


On another note. There is an older guy up the road from me that cuts hay, I asked him what he does with the hay ? He says, I sell it and make money.
So I ask, how much do you sell your round bales for ? ''He says $25.00-$30.00 per roll''
I say you pay the co-op to spray your hay fields, you have approx 100 K in hay equipment, your time, your fuel,etc.
I ask him, where is the money ? ''He looks at me puzzled and says, I guess you could say I do it for something to do''

You say you have 50 acres for grass which could support up to 50 cows in a normally wet year if you cross fence it and rotate the cows from pasture to pasture to give the pastures a rest. To have good grass requires fertilizing and plenty of water. I would never buy haying equipment, just buy enough hay to feed thru the winter if you can get it for $25 per round bale of 800# or more. I dont think you would loose money, but you may not make a lot either. First thing is to have bull tight fences before getting your first cow, nothing worse than cattle tearing thru a fence and having to go all over looking for them. 10 heifers and a good bull would start you out. Cull out any heifer that doesn't calf yearly and sell all bull calves. Use the money to buy another young heifer till you get your herd to the right number that the pasture will support them easily. Dont overload your pasture because in a wet year you have more grass than you need because if you have a dry summer, there wont be enough grass to carry them thru and there is nothing more costly in the cattle business than having to feed thru the summer. Most likely if it is a dry year then hay will go up to double the normal cost or more, so avoid that pitfall if possible. Always buy a bit more hay than you need and store it under a shed. Nothing waste more hay that storing it in the weather flat out on the ground. If you have a good hay shed, last years hay can be feed out the following winter, it may not have as much nutrition as fresh hay, but it will get your cows thru. Feed it first while the cows still have some grazing left in the pastures.

My brother in law started out this way and in just a few years was selling off a dozen head of cattle each year. He had to keep his herd down to less than 35 so he didn't overgraze. I think he made money at it, but not much. If you loose a cow, it is a write off on taxes along with all expenses for feed, vet, tractor and equipment depreciation and anything else associated with raising them. Just keep good records that may also include photos as necessary to claim death of animals.

NOTE: I let my BIL use my 6 acres of pasture when we bought because I grew up on a farm and my job was to feed those suckers all winter long so I wanted nothing to do with cattle raising.

 

[Gary Fowler]

I would say that if you have 50 acres of good grass, you might make more money selling the hay off it if you could get it cut and baled cheap. Around here, baling cost you as much as buying, $25 per bale to cut and bale, and you can buy bales for that price. They may or may not be as good a quality hay as you can raise though. My BIL always kept out enough pasture to get about 120 bales of hay for his winter use (35 head of cattle) and it was excellent horse quality hay that came from fertilized pasture.

Since there is not much money in cattle, But there is a lot of work tending them, there are dozens of retired ranchers around me that just give their pasture grass to a hay baler just so they dont have to pay to have it mowed. Of course the hay is not that great in some areas but the baler has to cut it anyway whether he bales it or not but he sells it all every year.

 

[MacLawn]

I'll sell you mine.

:laughing::laughing: Heehheehee, the best answer here.

A local feed and seed store boy says if you want to get rich, buy horses and give them away. Might be same with cattle.