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BryanM

New member
Joined
Mar 1, 2011
Messages
3
Location
ohio
I am new to this site and enjoy reading and looking at the pics! I am from ohio and have a small,small hobby farm but we raise a few head of cattle mostly for 4h, pigs chickens and grow our own hay.

I was wondering how some of you ranchers got your start in ranching? Having ranch handed down to you, our buying into it latter in life just curious! I know that is kind of a forward question maybe even a bit rude to ask but curiosity gets the better of me :lol:

How many acres do you own? how many cattle? how many people have to help?

Curosity again! or maybe I am toying with a few ideas or dreams not sure which!!
 
I always wanted to run cattle but my parents made me go to college first. The home place had been rented out since I was a little kid due to my Dad's poor health. I was going to work out for a few years and learn the ropes and pay off my student loan but my Dad died the spring after I graduated so I had to s...t or get off the pot. Borrowed enough money to buy the land, some cows and to upgrade water etc and have been happily paying for it ever since. I have enough land to run my cows and enough cows to graze the grass-plus a bunch of horses to get what they miss-those are a touchy question out west. In the true tradition of a thrifty Scotsman I raised my help-I've got four kids all quite a bit handier than I was at their age. Surround your self with practical optomists and it's amazing what you can accomplish.
 
I always wanted to go to college, but my parents made me run cattle first. :wink: :-) Not really. I had one year of college, thought that was enough, and have been ranching ever since. Probably I should have attended more college, and then maybe I would have learned not to calve in the dead of winter. :wink: :shock: :roll: :-)
 
I spent eight years at a University studying animals followed by a 28 year working career. Seven years ago I bought lands in Montana for ranching and recreation. We run about 300 head of Angus on 9,500 acres, mostly deeded lands. We operate a fairly high cost and flexible winter calving operation with 75 registered cows, the rest commercial, and the majority AI bred. We also put up about 2,500 tons of irrigated and dry land hay so can background fairly easily when markets suggest.

Good luck in your ranching endeavors !
 
Soapweed it was the school of hard knocks that helped me figure it out. Why I didn't listen to Bill Hunt my old boss from 25+ years ago is beyond me. When I had to leave his ranch to go home and told him about my winter calving plans he told me 'The ignorant have met the sublime' lol. I learnt more by listening to some old ranchers than I ever did at school-I just didn't listen enough or put it into practice soon enough. I do remember my Finance prof telling us it was stupid to borrow money at 20%-he was probably right-more good advice not taken!
 
Northern Rancher said:
Soapweed it was the school of hard knocks that helped me figure it out. Why I didn't listen to Bill Hunt my old boss from 25+ years ago is beyond me. When I had to leave his ranch to go home and told him about my winter calving plans he told me 'The ignorant have met the sublime' lol. I learnt more by listening to some old ranchers than I ever did at school-I just didn't listen enough or put it into practice soon enough. I do remember my Finance prof telling us it was stupid to borrow money at 20%-he was probably right-more good advice not taken!
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Believe it or not, I am more interested in postponing our calving date next year than is my wife or son. Since they are the ones doing the majority of the calving while I feed hay and take pictures, :wink: the decision is up to them. Last year was a beautiful spring. We didn't have a single calf freeze their ears. Sure as heck, if we did things different next year, the bad weather would come later in the spring.
 
I got a BS in Animal Science from South Dakota State. They didn't teach me a thing on when to calve those cows. :lol: :lol: In my junior year an opportunity to buy part of the place my Dad was born on came up for sale. With Dad's financing I bought it. Bought more land in the 90's and the place I was raised on in 2001. All of this was before the price of land went crazy. Don't know how feasible it would be today. Good luck.
 
Soapweed said:
Northern Rancher said:
Soapweed it was the school of hard knocks that helped me figure it out. Why I didn't listen to Bill Hunt my old boss from 25+ years ago is beyond me. When I had to leave his ranch to go home and told him about my winter calving plans he told me 'The ignorant have met the sublime' lol. I learnt more by listening to some old ranchers than I ever did at school-I just didn't listen enough or put it into practice soon enough. I do remember my Finance prof telling us it was stupid to borrow money at 20%-he was probably right-more good advice not taken!
Click to expand...

Believe it or not, I am more interested in postponing our calving date next year than is my wife or son. Since they are the ones doing the majority of the calving while I feed hay and take pictures, :wink: the decision is up to them. Last year was a beautiful spring. We didn't have a single calf freeze their ears. Sure as heck, if we did things different next year, the bad weather would come later in the spring.
Click to expand...

They just haven't become as progressive and open minded as you have from hanging out at ranchers. :wink: :D :D
 
My folks say I was born in it...... My dad always said my freckles where cow poop from a cow pooping on a rock... :wink: And I've been weird since then..
Can't beat outta the flesh what's in the blood.... :pretty:
 
Like Katrina, it was in the blood. The home place was too small for two so I left school after the 10th grade and attended the school of hard knocks. Married at 19, leased the first ranch at 20. We started with nothing and still have most of it left.
We have added to what we started with somewhat and haven't stopped growing yet. :D
 
Always wanted to be a cowboy. Actually a cattleman vs: cowboy. I wanted to operate a beef cattle ranch, knowing and managing cattle. My folks had lost a place, and gone to town getting jobs and paying off their loans. I grew up in Colorado Springs, but spent all the time on could on a cousins ranch near Canon City or at an Uncle's place near where we now live. Graduated, went to the Army, college for a semester, and started working on ranches. Then I started driving truck. Met my wife, whose dad had a small place, but it was not easy for us to work together. I quit trying to before we were married, and continued driving truck and living on a 5 acre parcel. My FIL gave us 5 heifer calves, and ran them the first summer breeding them also. I found pasture to rent and bought 3 more heifers and a bull. Kept heifers, and bought some along the way. In 88 Jan's dad gave us 40 acres on which we built, and rented his place to us which I was then able to manage independently and it worked fine; we also bought a couple hundred acres from a neighbor. I still run on mostly rented land with too many cows to feed, but not enough to pay the bills. We do now rent Jan's folk's place from her mother along with other state and private leases. Her folks have helped us a lot, as have other family members. My uncle was very instrumental in building our herd. My folks in labor and encouragement; one of the joys of their life was helping us hang on where they couldn't. Somewhere along the way I left the truck behind. I will finish my story like my grandma finished all her stories of life on the homestead "my it was hard, I don't how we'd a made it but for the Lord." We never would have made it but for the grace of God. Thanks for the memories.
 
I have always loved being around livestock when I got out of high school I went into the electrical field for 10 years. I couldn't take the people any more so I came back to help my dad and uncle run the place. Make a third the money I did doing electrical but couldn't be happier doing what I love. Right now I am in the process of taking the bull by the horns and calling the shots. I am also the fifth generation to live and work on this place and hoping to pass it on to the next generation as well.
 
I suppose, when you come right down o it, what most of us inheirited was the ability to work hard and to be persistant. I still live on our home place. I live in the house I was born in. I don't exactly know why I am the one who remained here. I guess I don't transplant very well.

My parents just had a small farm and cattle outfit. I helped pay for it two times. When I was young we never could have what we thought other kids had. We always had to help pay for our home. We were told, at least we have a place to live, others may not have a home come next March first!

When my Dad died everything was turned over to my mother. My youngest brother and I ran the place. My mother had in her will that he and I could buy the place on a contract at apraised value and at 8% interest. My brother was killed in farm accident two months before my mother died, this left me to accept that option.

Land had increase a lot so the farms value was quite high then. I did manage to pay it all off to the rest of the heirs in ten years. So here I set.
 
Here's a link to a similar topic:
http://www.ranchers.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=33798&postdays=0&postorder=asc&highlight=animal+science&start=12

And here's my previous answer :-)

I grew up in town and have no family involved in agriculture whatsoever. My family was friends with a rancher, and my dad would take me out there on weekends. I loved the animals and being outside. Dad bought some cattle when I was 10 in 1984. I got my first heifer calf then and started building a herd which eventually put me through college. I was given my first heifer calf, but purchased the rest on my own with no discounts just because I was a kid. At 16, worked with a good cowman who taught me livestock handling. During college, worked at the state veterinary laboratory...learned more there than in any class I took in four years. Also worked for a rodeo stockcontractor during school... was a challenge working with brahmas which made you think, not your average slow beef cow. At 21 worked for a good cattlewoman who taught me the "science" behind cattle husbandry. Got a BS in Animal Science from UW, started this job thinking it would be fun to do for a few years... that was 15 years ago. Lucky to have this job and work for Jim since I've pretty much been given free rein to try whatever I think might work. I've had HUGE setbacks, and a few successes along the way. Just when you think you're the best at something, you become the worst. I kinda like doing this.
 
I started 3 years ago. My dad bought a piece of property but really only wanted to use it recreationally. I was bored with city life....still am in fact....spent 5 years getting a Mechanical Engineering degree, then another 3 years in law school before passing the Texas bar and becoming a lawyer.

I hate being inside and I hate working on a computer....I still do both, but the cows keep me sane. I leased the place from my dad, used some of my savings to buy 9 cow/calf pairs and got started. Luckily most of the fences were good, and the grasses had been well maintained before purchase.

I have only had the chance to work the ranch part time...even more part time since having our first daughter, but it still keeps me sane.

Were up 78 head, on 786 acres...with a grazing rate of 1.7 au/acre, Ive got some growing room...I just cant afford to buy more cattle at these prices....so Im growing them on site. I figure by the time I get the herd up to a big enough number I can start working on purchasing my own land....thats a pretty good ways out there.
 
worked into the family ranch, as for cows too many to take care of by my self and not enough to pay the bills.
alot of places it not really nice to ask how many acres or how many cows... :?
 
Sorry, I didnt mean any disrespect, or to pry into any bodies personal life. again no direpect intended Jodywy
 
gcreekrch said:
jodywy said:
worked into the family ranch, as for cows too many to take care of by my self and not enough to pay the bills.
alot of places it not really nice to ask how many acres or how many cows... :?
Click to expand...


:wink:
Click to expand...
:agree: Not offended, but I was taught that question was like asking "how much money are worth?"
 

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