Cattle

M5farms · Jan 23, 2019

To each his own. But your money will come back with strings and a keys to your property freely given the local ascs usda office and you better hope there is not anything there that is out of whack with the EPA and water conservation or improvements not listed on property taxes. NOTHING IS FREE .

prof fate · Jan 23, 2019

Clint S said:
What animal grows to 2k in a year or even 18 months??????

A steer can gain 1.5 to 2lbs a day - and if you start with a 400-600 lb one you'll be around 1600lbs in 18 months or so.

prof fate · Jan 23, 2019

SS was/is a pay as you go system - those working today and paying are paying for those that are collecting today. it's not a savings program, though there were surpluses built in to cover the baby boomers..which got used for other things.

Also, when setup it was assumed you'd live to 75 or so - and if you collect more than 10 years you get back more than you paid in.

It was never meant to be a retirement plan, but to keep folks from being destitute in their old age or if injured or widowed with kids.

I don't know what people did for retirement 100years ago - probably lived with their kids or died. Health care wasn't what it is today - besides medicines you can get transplants, treat diabetes, dialysys, treat cancer, etc. I read recenlty that before WW2 1 in 7 people on earth died of TB. It's pretty unheard of now.

I have SS and the equity in my house..little else. "Retirement Savings" has been earning an avg of 3.1% for the past 25 years..and inflation has averaged 2.6%...so 1/2 of a percent gain...that won't pay for much if I live into my 90s like my grandparents did.

M5farms said:
I would be happy if I could forgo everything I have ever paid and never pay in another dime as the program was designed to be voluntary. I do not plan on there being any money available in 15yrs when I am 65 . At that point I will evaluate where I am and the total I have paid in and make a decision from there.

prof fate · Jan 23, 2019

Or you can work till your 70 - your SS payment will go up about 7% per year for those 5 years.

It's a gamble, like most things in life - how long you plan to live? Since 3 of 4 of my grandparents and my aunt all made their 90s, I'm gonna need all the income I can get!

kenmac said:
You don't have to wait until 65. You can take at 62 if you wish.
Just wondering if you will accept it since it will be a government hand out /charity ?

A SS pay out is no different than any other government pay out.
SS was put there to be paid out, just like the other government pay outs

If you would rather see them give money to all these other countries, illegals, etc, instead of taking your share is fine with me.
If you don't take what you have paid, Some other country, or illegal, etc, sure will

You can bet I'll take my SS in a couple years.

As far as it being charity. They took my money from me without my consent. If they give my money back to me, how is it charity ?

Clint S · Jan 23, 2019

prof fate said:
A steer can gain 1.5 to 2lbs a day - and if you start with a 400-600 lb one you'll be around 1600lbs in 18 months or so.

So start with an animal that is 1 year to 18 months old and grow it to 1600 in another 18 months. Sounds like a 3 year plan to me. 1600 is not 2000 either. OP stated calf to 2k in 18 months and based his math on that weight and time.

two_bit_score · Jan 23, 2019

So what is the best weight to take a steer to the butcher? I was always under the impression 750-1000 lbs would be best range. What do the experts say?

robbyr · Jan 23, 2019

kenmac · Jan 23, 2019

Clint S said:
So start with an animal that is 1 year to 18 months old and grow it to 1600 in another 18 months. Sounds like a 3 year plan to me. 1600 is not 2000 either. OP stated calf to 2k in 18 months and based his math on that weight and time.

I don't think I said take a calf to 2 k in 18 mo. I intend to purchase a 300-400 # calf and hope to get it to 600# in about 7 months

JD15302155870 · Jan 24, 2019

This is exactly why I sold all my livestock and planted pines on my place. It was a lot of work planting and caring for the seedlings the first two years but after that. Just sit back and watch them grow. Another benefit is the pines do not eat and they don’t get out of the fences

robbyr · Jan 24, 2019

JD15302155870 said:
This is exactly why I sold all my livestock and planted pines on my place. It was a lot of work planting and caring for the seedlings the first two years but after that. Just sit back and watch them grow. Another benefit is the pines do not eat and they don’t get out of the fences

Will they be harvested for income or are they just for the tax exemption?

two_bit_score · Jan 24, 2019

JD15302155870 said:
This is exactly why I sold all my livestock and planted pines on my place. It was a lot of work planting and caring for the seedlings the first two years but after that. Just sit back and watch them grow. Another benefit is the pines do not eat and they don’t get out of the fences

Good luck! Hope the pine bark beetle doesn't bite.

Signs of Bark Beetle Infestation - Ready For Wildfire

.

prof fate · Jan 24, 2019

two_bit_score said:
So what is the best weight to take a steer to the butcher? I was always under the impression 750-1000 lbs would be best range. What do the experts say?

When I've bought 1/4 beef locally it's been about 220lbs give or take 10lb. That's from 3 different local beef farms.
The first I bought on the hoof, and maybe 55% is 'waste' - bone, guts, skin, etc. The second I got as hanging weight, the third was wrapped and ready - same price per lb, since hanging weight is what ends up wrapped.

220 is a quarter, times 4, is 880lb, double it to allow for live weight - 1720lb, or a tad more, say 1800lb.

While I've not grilled (no pun intended) the folks that raise them, I can ask about time. the one gent said he buys calves at 400-600 lbs and keeps them about a year to 18 months. Many variables - breed, price of feed, time of year, size of animal, buyer demand, etc.

Google is a great resource...

How to calculate target slaughter weights for your beef cattle finishing program

How much meat?
https://www.oda.state.ok.us/food/fs-cowweight.pdf

3Ts · Jan 24, 2019

Back to the previous comments on welfare for a moment:

I've thought about having a state forester come out to my place for free to give me advice on my trees, but I have to admit, I'm a little leery of what their recommendations would be. As M5farms said, once they get their hooks in you..... I wouldn't say I'm paranoid, but the last thing I need is the govt to come out here and say, oh you can't cut these, or you're going to have to spray that, etc.... once you show up on the radar, you know? I'm still on the fence.

I had a concern about this as well and postponed contacting them. I was sure they'd want money and increase taxes, etc. but after talking with lots of folks who did get the state forester in, I finally called them. I found out they already had information on my property that I did not know, so that turned out to be helpful and they did work up a management plan and discussed forestry and made suggestions, and even though they were "from the government" they were actually helpful and didn't cost anything (directly). Everything they did was covered by the taxes that everyone already pays. Bottom line, you should contact your state forester, they can be helpful.

two_bit_score · Jan 24, 2019

3Ts said:
Back to the previous comments on welfare for a moment:

I had a concern about this as well and postponed contacting them. I was sure they'd want money and increase taxes, etc. but after talking with lots of folks who did get the state forester in, I finally called them. I found out they already had information on my property that I did not know, so that turned out to be helpful and they did work up a management plan and discussed forestry and made suggestions, and even though they were "from the government" they were actually helpful and didn't cost anything (directly). Everything they did was covered by the taxes that everyone already pays. Bottom line, you should contact your state forester, they can be helpful.

Home | NRCS

goeduck · Jan 24, 2019

JD15302155870 said:
This is exactly why I sold all my livestock and planted pines on my place. It was a lot of work planting and caring for the seedlings the first two years but after that. Just sit back and watch them grow. Another benefit is the pines do not eat and they don’t get out of the fences

Around here trees are weeds so all we need to do is stop using the land. We have some land in forest taxation and some in agricultural. Forest is a little better tax rate wise.