Is now a good time to start raising cattle?
We want to rise cattle to feed our family, that will only take about 2 head a year. We also want to raise them to sell to the slaughter house, and at auctions! We are also considering raising Black Angus, we already own the land to put the cattle on! This is in Arkansas, thanks so much for you time!
Ok, I been a stockman for over 25 years so here it goes:
First off, Black Angus are the hottest beef cow there is now! You have to buy what will bring the best price at the point of sale. Angus are attractive because they yield a high percentage of usable beef per pound of weight They usually produce somewhere in the low 60% range…so if your calf weighs 800lb it would dress out at about 480lbs of beef. Other good breeds are the Herefords, Red Angus, Beefmasters and Charlois. Check the OK State University’s site for a complete list of breeds and their characteristics.
Now, do you want to buy cows, breed them and have the calves to sell?? If you go that way, be forewarned, it takes patience. And, you have to have a bull to breed them…more expense. What I suggest you do is buy calves ( in the 300-450 lbs range) and let them live on the grass. Buy them in the spring and sell them in the fall ( or slaughter when big enough for your taste) This way , you don’t have to worry about freezing water supplies, feeding them a lot of hay to keep body hear up in the winter, or vaccinations if they are preworked. Its a fast turnaround on your money….much faster than raising a calf from birth which can take over a year.
Here’s another tip….buy from a local cattleman not a sale barn. Sale barns are a good concept, but like anything where large numbers are involved ( public housing, school cafeterias, etc) they sacrifice quality to produce the masses. I mean sales barns get cattle from lots of different producers, so they cant know the history of each animal like a local guy can…..well, good luck and enjoy!
Why not? My work friends split 1 a year. Works well for them. Save me a tenderloin.
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In today’s economy, you probably will have a tougher time selling them… unless they’re raised to perfection. Although, because of the way things are looking… Money wise, I’d say go for it. It would be one less thing you wouldn’t have to buy at the grocery store for your family.
Good luck!
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Now is the absolute best time. Especially if you have enough land with plenty of grass. Don’t forget that it is still a little cold out so be sure to get plenty of hay and some salt blocks!
Cattle is selling like crazy! There is a lot of people invested in cattle and want nothing more than to have the largest farm of cattle in the south! There is more than a lot of money in them.
You probably want to start this time of the year as it isn’t to cold and it isn’t to hot. Good luck to ya!
(I know that people will give me a thumbs down, but we live in North Louisiana and my daddy has had cattle all his life and he is in his 60’s…I know a little bit about it, but not a lot)
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Sounds like you know what you want to do and i think it sounds great.
my advice would be to watch local markets and auctions for both buying and selling at all times. this will allow you to buy calves (even if you may not need any at the time) at the absolute best prices (instead of waiting til you need them and the price may be high), and give you a good idea of when to sell your stock (like when there’s not many sellers or holding off when everyone is trying to sell).
all you need then would be a catfish tank and an acre or two to grow the rest of your food.
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If you have the resources, yes. Cattle prices are low, but are projected to be on the rise. Watch the market and purchase wisely, they are low right now, but are seasonal, and will begin to rise in the next few months, and then drop again after labor day. For production, I have found a budget worksheet to be very helpful in some situations, and if you use it correctly, you can get a good idea of what you can do to maximize production, or determine if you can come out in the black! I quickly looked at University of Arkansas extension ag economics budget thing, but I like mine better, you can look more, or look at this one and adjust. Go here, http://www.ces.uga.edu/Agriculture/agecon/budgets/budgetsexcel.htm and scroll down to beef cattle section. It has an instruction page, be sure to enable macros. Use your university’s extension service website, you can find valuable information and resources, if you raise 5 or 500.
I must correct bearcat, who may have just been broad in his answer, but dressing % does not reflect how much beef is there. For ex: 1170 lb live wt DP 67.7% = 792.5 cold shrink to 758 lb gave 516.36 lb of retail product. That means there was 51.9 % cutability, or retail product from the hot carcass wt. – that is only 44% of live wt. This was actual steer in the meat lab with yld grade 1 (very lean) Just thought I’d throw that in there.
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Ok, I been a stockman for over 25 years so here it goes:
First off, Black Angus are the hottest beef cow there is now! You have to buy what will bring the best price at the point of sale. Angus are attractive because they yield a high percentage of usable beef per pound of weight They usually produce somewhere in the low 60% range…so if your calf weighs 800lb it would dress out at about 480lbs of beef. Other good breeds are the Herefords, Red Angus, Beefmasters and Charlois. Check the OK State University’s site for a complete list of breeds and their characteristics.
Now, do you want to buy cows, breed them and have the calves to sell?? If you go that way, be forewarned, it takes patience. And, you have to have a bull to breed them…more expense. What I suggest you do is buy calves ( in the 300-450 lbs range) and let them live on the grass. Buy them in the spring and sell them in the fall ( or slaughter when big enough for your taste) This way , you don’t have to worry about freezing water supplies, feeding them a lot of hay to keep body hear up in the winter, or vaccinations if they are preworked. Its a fast turnaround on your money….much faster than raising a calf from birth which can take over a year.
Here’s another tip….buy from a local cattleman not a sale barn. Sale barns are a good concept, but like anything where large numbers are involved ( public housing, school cafeterias, etc) they sacrifice quality to produce the masses. I mean sales barns get cattle from lots of different producers, so they cant know the history of each animal like a local guy can…..well, good luck and enjoy!
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Just a non-expert thought, but for your own table look into the possibility of raising a small breed, like miniature herefords. From what I hear, they put less stress on pastures and produce more beef per acre (as opposed to per animal) than the big breeds. They’re also less likely to kill/maim an inexperienced cattleman. I understand there’s also a niche commercial market for these breeds, depending on where you live.
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