I'm from the city and want to move out west to start a ranch

[Faster horses]

What I would like to tell you is not to plan on having frivulous things.
You will need to live lean and mean, at least to begin with.

There's an old saying, "ranchers live poor and die rich."
That's because of the land being valuable, but you can't have
the land and the money it is worth, too.

Some of the best advice we were ever given was by a Basque
ranching friend. She said, "making it work ranching is really
pretty easy. When you make a little more, you spend a little
more, when you make a little less, you spend a little less."

What you have to watch out for is spending the money before
you get it. There is only one payday per year for ranchers. That's the
day you ship your calves.

Hope this helps!

 

[tenbach79]

:agree:

 

[borderancher2]

[]Your answers are so right, your yearly income can't be predicted. Look what happened in southern Ab.a little over 10 years ago. Prices were good in the early 90s' but we had a drought that meant we had to buy everything our cows ate, trying to save some of the herd for the better times coming. Good prices were not good enough to pay for the feed so many went in debt. Then, when we thought that we might survive, we were hit with the BSE debaucle when we lost our export markets and prices went to almost nothing. That was in 2003 .Many ranchers sold their whole operations. Those that could "hang on" had to find some really inventive ways of doing business to survive. The "old money" in families lucky enough to have some, was decimated. Now that our cow herd in Canada is much smaller, our prices, like yours, are high, but oldsters like me are always thinking What's next, this is too good to last. I see posters in feed stores showing the first signs of "Foot and Mouth" disease. I think you may get that before us as you are closer to Mexico, South America where if not yet cofirmed, it is hinted at. BSE could rear it's ugly head again at any time in either of our countries. I'm sure there are lots of other things lurking out there to ruin things for all of us! All I'm saying is you will have to be made of really "tough stuff" to survive a ranching life or even to want to. BUT if you do make it your lif's work, the rewards are many, your life with nature is unbelievable and you can be very happy.

 

[Big Muddy rancher]

I've worked on ranches all my life and have never been able to get my own. So my advice is probably not what you're looking for. But things I've seen work are----ranch basic, I mean basic equipment, basic facilities, basic stock. Don't be lured into keeping up with the neighbors. Get the best females you can afford even if you can't have as many as you want to start out with. Quality and not quanity are what you want in females. Do as much as your work as you can a-horseback not with motors. Do most of your work yourself and when you need to hire some one-hire the best.

Good luck, if it was easy then every one would want to do it and any one could.

Unfortunately working on ranches where you get them most experience isn't where you make enough money to start a ranch. :?
A job as a CEO of a Fortune 500 company is more like what you need. :wink: :lol:

 

[Zeusophobia]

Thanks for the responses everyone! So from what I understand the rule of having money to make money is very important here. Is $50,000 enough startup capital? I'm getting a trust fund before I'll be able to finish my degree. If not, my dad might help me out, but I really don't ever see him giving me more than $100,000 for this. So I might be able to pull off $150,000 for a startup....maybe. Not exactly bags of money, but I think I could start small with this and expand later, no?

Also, would an animal shelter with farm animals be OK as hands on experience? I can't find any ranches in my area hiring, but I could volunteer at an animal shelter. Theirs one not too far from me with horses, cattle, goats, pigs, ect.

Edit- I think I remember someone asking, I'm 21 years old.

 

[Faster horses]

What are you planning on buying with your money? You can't buy
many cows with that amount, and not much land, so buying land
and cows would be almost impossible. Maybe you could find someone
to work for (as was mentioned here earlier) and they would let you
run some cows for wages. Sometimes that's just an anchor around
your neck, but it would be a good way to get started. Then you
would find out first-hand what all ranching entails. It isn't glamorous,
that's for sure. But it is rewarding in ways not counting money.

 

[joaker]

$50,000 is still a chunk of money and $100,000 is nice chunk of money, and what I would give to be 21 again. If I had it to do over again. I would go a good college like South Dakota or Wyoming or CSU that has a good range program. SDSU has some experiment ranches out in the western part of the state and I'm sure the others do as well. I would beg every which way I could to get out there for 6 months ( a year would be better) and see how a ranch is suppose to operate. Than you have some background to get a job on a ranch or working in a feedyard were you'll see how it's actually done. After you've gotten a good taste for this life than you can evaluate if this is really for you. If your really lucky you'll meet a gal with long blonde hair and other attractions, whose dad will take pity on you have explain how he does things. Time is on your side 10 years seems like a long time for you now but when your in your 50's like most of are it seems like yesterday. Be patient keep your eyes open and you'll learn alot. You seem like you've got a pretty level head so good luck.

 

[per]

Marry a ranchers daughter. That advice could work. I think an extra zero on the seed money would be necessary. Buying land and cattle even 1.5 million would fall short of a real viable operation. There are other places to invest $150,00 that would buy you that ranch in 20 years.

 

[Faster horses]

Pers advice is probably the best way to start ranching. :clap:

 

[Yanuck]

Pers advice is probably the best way to start ranching. :clap:

but.....make sure before you marry that ranchers daughter that the land is not left only to the cherished male offspring!

 

[Denny]

Pers advice is probably the best way to start ranching. :clap:

but.....make sure before you marry that ranchers daughter that the land is not left only to the cherished male offspring!

That never happen's. :wink:

 

[Whitewing]

Pers advice is probably the best way to start ranching. :clap:

but.....make sure before you marry that ranchers daughter that the land is not left only to the cherished male offspring!

That never happen's. :wink:

And if looks like the cherished male offspring will get the place, you could always swing the other way. Brokeback.

 

[jodywy]

$50,000 is still a chunk of money and $100,000 is nice chunk of money, and what I would give to be 21 again. If I had it to do over again. I would go a good college like South Dakota or Wyoming or CSU that has a good range program. SDSU has some experiment ranches out in the western part of the state and I'm sure the others do as well. I would beg every which way I could to get out there for 6 months ( a year would be better) and see how a ranch is suppose to operate. Than you have some background to get a job on a ranch or working in a feedyard were you'll see how it's actually done. After you've gotten a good taste for this life than you can evaluate if this is really for you. If your really lucky you'll meet a gal with long blonde hair and other attractions, whose dad will take pity on you have explain how he does things. Time is on your side 10 years seems like a long time for you now but when your in your 50's like most of are it seems like yesterday. Be patient keep your eyes open and you'll learn alot. You seem like you've got a pretty level head so good luck.

That was the saying at college about getting a ranch big enough that that was your only job was thru a Ring, or Womb, and Tomb.

 

[Clarencen]

I get the feeling that you are not getting the answers that you want from here. I don't suppose I can help. You have a dream, don't abandon it until you have examined all options. You may be looking at ranching through rose colored glasses, but there are still oportunities out here. There is no such thing as impossible.

We don't all start out on the ladder of success on the same rung. Family, money, education, time and place, and where opportunity is found, all enters in. You have to compete with people at different levels. Most advise we can give you is most likely useless.

I am an old guy, $50,000, boy what I could have did with that when I started out. Things are different today. I grew up on a small farm where the land is submarginal, we were able to carve out a fairly good existance. When I started out I had the home farm as a base, my Dad was still operating it and was not big enough to need a partner. I shared the use of my dad's facilities and equipment. No need to go into how things were then, no one will believe it anyway.

I don't consider myself as being real successful, but I was far from being a failure. I have to admit I could have done better.

Get the most out of your college education you can. In my opinion, college professors teach what other professors learned from other professors 20 years ago. In between they have picked up a few new ideas to add to what they had been taught. Yes, we can learn from others experience and mistakes, but the best experience is to get out there and make your own mistakes.

I have a few guys come out here with a college degree, who offer to go in partnership, all they have to offer is what they call their expertise. They believe they could really turn my business around, at my expense of course. There is some good ideas out there, and there is room for changes, if you have some don't give them up, but there is no silver bullet.

 

[LazyWP]

:agree:

 

[Saddletramp]

If I was as young as you and had the money you're talking about i'd invest it in something safe. Get a job at a ranch that is willing to take you on if you're willing to learn there's lots of them. You must be able to take all kinds of weather and stay out in it. You need to be fearless around animals yet treat them with respect. Be able to show up for work even if you're sick or hurt. Do what ever needs done and be able to acquire the skills it takes for this way of life. Yes it's a way of life and not a job. In ten years you will know if you want to continue this employment. You will probably be on your fifth or sixth job by then but you should come away with alot of knowledge and alot of good friends if you've done it right. You'll still be a young man and have your money to help you get what you need to get started. Also you will know by then where you want to start your own operation and with what stock. Never miss an opurtunity to learn about livestock handling both cattle and horses. you will get your ranch some day because you have a nest egg right now and you have youth on your side. But you will have to wear out some saddles and lots of pairs of work gloves.

Good luck.

 

[joaker]

I was 21 in 1979. Land here was $2500 per acre and interest rates from federal land bank were over 10%. Corn was $2/bu Bean $5.5 and you got 100 bu corn and 38 bu beans. I bought my farm in 1987 I was 29 and had been working in town, saved $15000 over the years and bought 148 acres with an old house $650 per acre interest was still 10%. Baled hay on small lots in town, kept working in town, and still managed to find time to get my wife pregnant. The lesson here is things always change. When I was 21 "nobody could get started farming unless you got it from dad." Just like now. Take saddletramps advice use this time to get an education and experience, things change, they always do.

 

[Roundup]

Zeus, One thing I would consider, especially if longer term college is not in the picture is to develop some skills to set you apart from other young people looking for a ranching career.

As one example, that might be something like becoming certified at AI and developing an understanding of EPD's and genetics. That can all be done with seminars, short courses and time on your own. When looking for a job it is best to be able to bring something to the table the next applicant does not have. Might be a skill or simply experience, better yet, both.

 

[Big Muddy rancher]

or Trades school and learn mechanics and welding.

Learn how to run a grease gun.

 

[Hayguy]

although welding and mechanics are very useful, fixing and trouble shooting electronics are becoming more so, seems like everything is run with some type of computer these days.