Educate me on having cattle

[EddieWalker]

With the recent passing of my brother, I'm in the process of taking ownership of his cattle. He has a 40 acre farm about 60 miles from my place. I have 68 acres. He has 15 Herford's and one Angus bull. From what I understand, he just bought the bull for $3,500 and he was wanting to cross breed the Herford's with the Angus to create Black Baldies.

Of the Herford's, there are 11 cows, but some might be heifers. I don't know their ages or history. There is one steer, and three intact, young bulls.

He does not have any type of handling system. From what I've been able to figure out, the got them into a fenced area that's probably 100x100 feet, then he used gates to funnel them into his trailer. I don't know how often he loaded them up, but I did find a receipt from the Van Zandt Livestock Exchange from earlier this year for a single cow.

Some of the cows have ear tags, some don't. None of the bulls have ear tags.

Some of the cows might be pregnant. They look like they are getting big around the belly. A lot wider then some of the others.

I do not have any records of any of them, but there might be something in his safe, which I still have to get into.

I'm currently feeding them 3 round bales a week of hay that I had planned on feeding my horses this winter. They are eating a lot of hay, way faster then I expected. I do not have enough hay to feed the cattle and my animals, so I'm going to have to buy a lot more, which is going to be expensive.

I need a plan.

I've started fencing part of my place that will be 24 acres when done. Eventually I'll fence in all of my land, but it's slow going and expensive. I do not have anywhere to put his cattle on my place right now, I'm maxed out with horses and goats.

Option 1 is to leave the cattle there and fence in my place, then bring them here and create a handling system, bigger barn and improve my pastures.

Option 2 is to do the same, but only bring the cows and Angus bull here, and leave the Herford bulls and steer there. I also think that I need to turn the bulls into steers, but I've never done this, and I don't know if it's too late or not. I will have to build a handling system to do this too, but I think I need to build it just to load animals.

Option 3 is to sell some of them right away. I'm planning on going to the Van Zandt Livestock Exchange next week. They have it every Saturday, and I drive right past it getting to my brothers place. The parking lot is full of trucks with trailers. I've never sold cattle, or been to an auction. So I need to figure this out right away. I think that the bulls and steer are too young to sell, but I don't really know for sure. I could get rid of some cows, but I don't know how to tell which ones should go and which should stay? My brother has a few friends that raise Herford's that have offered to help, but have been very slow to respond when I've asked questions. Or they reply that they will get back to me, and haven't. I think that I'm going to have to learn this on my own and help from others isn't gonna happen.

Option 4 is to sell all of them, cash out, focus on getting my land ready for cattle and my pace, and then buy cattle when I'm ready for them. I think this is the easy way out, and maybe the smart thing to do, but it goes against everything I believe in. My wife and I really want to keep the cattle, and build up a program to raise and sell them.

What would you do?

If I sold them at the Livestock Exchange, what should I know? Will they want proof of ownership? Proof of shots or medical records? I'll ask when I go there, but I'm hoping to have a small amount of knowledge before walking in there blind. Livestock Auction | Van Zandt Livestock Exchange | United States

And then there is the ultimate dream for all this as of right now. We buy the 40 acres, develop it into a hay ranch. The grass is really nice there, but its being chocked out with weeds and mesquite. I can clear the mesquite, spray and mow the weeds and end up with some really nice hay. I don't have any hay equipment, so that will be another challenge, but not too significant. Then it will also become our steer pasture, where we bring the steers from our place and let them grow out on his place before selling them at the Livestock Auction, just down the road. The cows and Angus Bull will do their thing at our place and we'll focus on breeding them here.

Doable? bad idea? other then spending lots of money, and there not being enough time to do all of this, what else am I missing?

Thanks

 

[Hay Dude]

I think any of them are doable. I never made much money with it, even selling beef, it was a bit better than break even on a small scale. I may actually be expanding and fencing in more land next year, though.

I’d say look at your finances and decide from that perspective unless the cows have a sentimental value to you and its a passion for you that breaks even or makes money.

Don’t forget vet bills, grains, fencing expenses and add them all up. Be conservative on your potential profits-a lot is lost on small expenses.

If you do keep, I highly suggest getting all tagged. I also think a vet may be a big help.

 

[Hay Dude]

Eddie, deep down I think you are a hay farmer and beef cattle raiser. I always knew I was one, too.

 

[TractorTech]

In regards to selling them, are they branded with your brother's brand? You might call your brand inspector (Look up online under Texas state livestock or brand inspector for your area) and tell them the situation to find out how you could sell some of the cattle legally.
I like your option 3 if you can swing it. Sell the young bulls and steer. Look at the cows and determine which are pregnant to keep (which ones look pregnant) and sell the others. Most of the cows in the pictures look pregnant are still young so you don't need replacement heifers to build the herd right now. Their offspring heifers will be two years before you will breed them so it would keep the herd fairly manageable. Keep the new bull for now. Bulls can be a real pain keeping them isolated from the cows though until you need him.
When you have the numbers on yours herd, then figure out what it will take to maintain those in hay.
Lot's of decisions, but you need to do your homework. Sorry for the death of your brother, but there is a lot to sort out just in the cattle I'm sure. Best of luck!

 

[scootr]

Cull the herd and keep the new bull a few of the youngest heffers. Embrace your brothers dream. It should be a rewarding experience.

 

[Streetcar]

If you don’t have any records on the cattle castrate the young bulls. Most people don’t want unknown bulls for their cattle. Steers are easier to handle generally

 

[LouNY]

Well the humorous but useless information would be ;
How much money do you have,
How long do you want it too last,
Divide the first by the second and that's how many cows you want....

On a more serious note, I see that you are somewhat east of central Texas.
I don't know what your normal rain fall is our how your normal rainfall pattern falls for hay making.
Or if you could irrigate for pasture or hay.
Large fenced pastures are the most inefficient ways to grow livestock.
Small pastures with rotational grazing will utilize the ground the best,
it does require considerable fencing which can be double or even single strand electric.

As I recall that area of Texas is fairly flat which could make hay equipment less expensive as a smaller tractor can do the job,
But a mower (preferably a discbine), baler (either small square or round), grapple or hay tine for loader, bale trailer, bale storage (or waste of expensive feed).

Beef can be grass raised and finished, but it will need to be a high protein and easy digestible product for finishing, unless you like dry and chewy beef. I prefer grain supplement fed for finishing the last 3-4 months as a minimum.
High quality digestible hay can be a challenge to grow and harvest,
rough coarse stemmed dry garbage that can keep a brood cow alive is not near as difficult to produce.

Corrals and a squeeze chute are almost a must to handle animals especially with minimal manpower. And for any vet work.
They can be portable panels attached together, a small catch pen in the larger corral with a run going to the squeeze chute is also very beneficial.

But it's all just money and time, good luck.

As far as the requirements for sale and through an auction barn will vary from state to state and upon the age of the animal. But often some vaccines and heath tests are required. As well as some ownership proof or just a statement of ownership.

 

[bcp]

Bruce

 

[mwayne]

If I remember correctly from decades ago, we had about that many momma cows on 100 acres in Ellis county. You shouldn't have to be feeding hay with the recent rains we had until we have had a frost, thinning the herd may be needed. Spending a Saturday at the livestock exchange and chatting with and learning from cattle people there might be well worth your time. Also factor in about 3 round trips a week in your decision making process.

 

[Torvy]

On a more serious note, I see that you are somewhat east of central Texas.
I don't know what your normal rain fall is our how your normal rainfall pattern falls for hay making.
Or if you could irrigate for pasture or hay.
Large fenced pastures are the most inefficient ways to grow livestock.
Small pastures with rotational grazing will utilize the ground the best,
it does require considerable fencing which can be double or even single strand electric.

As I recall that area of Texas is fairly flat which could make hay equipment less expensive as a smaller tractor can do the job,
But a mower (preferably a discbine), baler (either small square or round), grapple or hay tine for loader, bale trailer, bale storage (or waste of expensive feed).

Corrals and a squeeze chute are almost a must to handle animals especially with minimal manpower. And for any vet work.
They can be portable panels attached together, a small catch pen in the larger corral with a run going to the squeeze chute is also very beneficial.

Priefert Is about an hour, maybe 90 minutes, north of Eddie in Mount Pleasant. They have an outlet store, too. They are one of the top manufacturers of cattle panels, chutes and similar equipment.

Rainfall in this part of Texas is around 35" a year.

My advice is to love Excel. Tracking the cattle is a heck of a job. You can get custom software, but that gets expensive. Excel skills can get you the info with less overhead.