Beef Cattle Questions

[garymason]

Greetings, Unfortunatley, I am an electrical engineer by trade and therefore know very little about farming/ranching. However, my father has asked my to move to the farm (because his health is rapidly failing) and to take over the farming operations. One of the things he would like for me to do is to start a small herd of beef cattle. He has suggested BLACK ANGUS as the beef he would like me to raise. My question is, is BLACK ANGUS the most profitable type of cattle to begin raising? Or is there another (more profitable) type for my location (Illinois)? Any suggestions at all, about anything?

 

[Anonymous]

You're going to get 40 differing answers by the backers of 40 different breeds--but a good herd of angus cows- red or black- bred for their maternal qualities will do you plumb fine- and leave you with many options of how to breed them (cross breed, breed to angus "bigger better faster" beef bulls that are considered terminal bulls to me, continue the bloodlines you have- which is easier, etc.)...

If I was starting a herd over (which I kind of am for my son) I would go out and look for some good cows/heifers of Wye, Emulous, Shoshone, Diamond D, Ohlde, Cole Creek or a few of the other herds known for their maternal qualities breeding- and never look back..

Functionality without a lot of input....

 

[Sandhusker]

I'd say that it depends on where you're going to sell your animals. Are you going to sell weaned calves, yearlings or fat cattle? I'd ask around and see whatever market that you're going to be serving is paying for.

 

[Broke Cowboy]

My friend - you are in a world of opinion.

Might I ask you to do two things:

1. Go around to the locals in your area to see what they do and how they do it

2. Talk to your Dad - he does not need to START into this business with you in his condition - taking over the operation is a lot different than STARTING a new one.

Otherwise i would suggest you buy some solid bred cows with calves at side - and NOT until you have a way to pen them and restrain them - infrastructure is far more important than cows - especially when you start out as a newbie.

If you are a hobby operation buy 5 bred pairs and stay there until you know what you are doing.

If you are thinking of buying a couple hundred - well, you have enough money to hire a consultant - did that once myself - they nearly broke me!

Now this should start the 27 questions rolling and the the thirty thousand suggestions - all of which will probably be valid for the area the writer comes from and in turn might do nothing but hurt you in your area.

So think long and hard on this - it is NOT a money maker for a long time - do you really want to spend a pile of cash in your situation?

Might not make a penny after a lot of years and still spend more than you want.

For heavens sake - do not borrow unless you are quite happy to make a payment for a long time - or you need some serious tax deductions - and if you are that well off I sure wouldn't be looking to put my money into cows.

That old bastard down the road that drives the rusted out pick up, lives in a house that needs some repair and wears the coveralls that should have been replaced three years ago is probably me - so you might want to talk to him - because he is still in the biz.

The guy living with flash, the fancy bely buckle and silver hat band is probably talking a good story and wondering if he can hang on until next year.

Personally I would advise you to go real - REAL - slow.

My best

BC

 

[Clarencen]

If I was in the business of giving advise to start up ranchers, there is a lot of other questions I would ask before considering a breed of cattle. What is your real intentions? Do you just want to keep control of your Dad's farm in the family? Want to ranch for a hobby? Or believe you can succeed and make a business of farming and ranching?

Angus would probably be as good a breed as any to get started with. Today they seem to be the most popular and there is a lot of different sires to chose from. I have had Herfords, now I have angus, I have dabbled around with some other breeds and there are some breeds out there that interest me. Right now I would stay away from the larger continental breeds.

If I was starting out today and had the resources, I would buy the best cattle I could find, then breed AI to good sires. Select replacements from these calves. Remember AI is not a perfect science, you will not get 100% cows bred AI, and you may not always get the results you are after.

Before you make to many decisions, look at the resources of your farm. What is the best way to utilize these resources?

 

[cowman52]

Just do not do what my neighbor did was buying cube at the feed store 4 bags a week for nearly a year, asked the manager one day "when will the cows calve?" a little later in the conversation manager asked when did the bull go out? answer was " I've been feeding these breeder cubes long enough I don't need a bull" :shock: :shock:

 

[burnt]

Just do not do what my neighbor did was buying cube at the feed store 4 bags a week for nearly a year, asked the manager one day "when will the cows calve?" a little later in the conversation manager asked when did the bull go out? answer was " I've been feeding these breeder cubes long enough I don't need a bull" :shock: :shock:

You can't be serious???

 

[garymason]

Thanks to everyone for all of the input. I appreciate it a great deal. Thanks again.

 

[Kato]

What's the reason he wants you to get some cattle? Is it because you have suitable pasture land? If so, you may want to consider leasing it out to someone else for a summer or two. That way you can see if you actually like working with cattle, and you can probably get a lot of good free advice from the renter.

A cow herd is a long term thing. A very long term thing. In and out doesn't work in the business, and it takes years to get the herd you want. Make sure you like cattle first, before you spend a lot of money getting into this.

If you find you like the critters, and want to make them a part of the operation, then go for it. Just beware of debt.............. :shock: :shock: Get your advice from people who have been the longest in the business, :cboy: and don't ever be afraid to ask lots and lots of questions.

We're all fond of handing out free advice, and whatever disasters are possible in the cattle business have probably already happened to most of us here at least once, and we've figured our way out of them. :wink:

 

[Denny]

Maybe buy some short term pairs and see if you actually like the whole cattle deal.If not you can sell them all and make a little cash or you could run stocker's for a summer alot of option's depending on what yer after..

I run cow/calf sell feeder's. I also have Registered cow's and sell bulls and heifers but thats not all wine and roses.