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Registered Angus herd vs commercial Angus herd profit

wadeferguson

New member
Does anyone have the profits on a registered Black Angus yearling and or two year old compared with a commercial Angus cross yearling or two year old?

I'm considering selling my Black Angus cross cattle and thinking about investing the money in a pure bred Black Angus herd.

Let's assume $50,000 is the investment and 90 acres is the pasture amount. I could invest the $50,000 and net a 10% return. In addition, I could enter a government program where I could receive approximately $200 per acre for leaving the land unused.

On the other hand, I could purchase a registered bull and 30 or so young heifers for approximately that amount.

Or would I be better off keeping the commercial cows I have now and buy a registered Angus bull?

Any suggestions?
 

Denny

Well-known member
You will invest years and alot of money in a Registered herd before the payoffs will begin.We got our 1st registered cows in 1995 and have yet to clip any coupons We are getting closer but I would bet a bull sale for us is at least 5 years off.We do sell some bulls private treaty but not that many.I do cut alot of bulls around here we dont have a market for that many so the one's we keep are good..I know I've cut better bulls than some people sell but a $800 steer in the fall pencils out better than a $1200 bull in the spring.
 

Mike

Well-known member
Denny said:
You will invest years and alot of money in a Registered herd before the payoffs will begin.We got our 1st registered cows in 1995 and have yet to clip any coupons We are getting closer but I would bet a bull sale for us is at least 5 years off.We do sell some bulls private treaty but not that many.I do cut alot of bulls around here we dont have a market for that many so the one's we keep are good..I know I've cut better bulls than some people sell but a $800 steer in the fall pencils out better than a $1200 bull in the spring.

You're right Denny, and it would probably scare some newcomers to know what is actually costs to develop a 2 yr old properly.

It makes for a loooooooong 2 years. Not counting the injuries and such.
 

Shorthornguy

Well-known member
If it ain't broke, don't fix it. If you are making a decent profit on good cattle that piece of paper isn't going to make you any more.
 

elwapo

Well-known member
The purebred business is a totally different ball game. Raising purebred cattle depends on your ability to market and communicate with people. Remember, you can have the best cattle in the world but go broke if you don't have the marketing or people skills. Another pitfall new breeders fall into is buying animals from a breeder with a very good reputation expecting to sell the progeny for the same amount he does, that's not the way it works. You have to pay your dues to be a successful purebred breeder. In my opinion there is two ways to get profitable in the purebred business
1) show hard and produce winners
2) 20 years of hard culling

PS
right now every bush you kick........ out jumps a purebred Angus breeder
 

loomixguy

Well-known member
90 acres seems a bit on the small side, even for just 31 head, and it don't matter much where you are.

The papers are chock full of "Registered Angus" breeders trying to sell bulls right now.

And if they don't get 'em sold, the feed bill goes on, unless they head to McDonald's.
 

the_jersey_lilly_2000

Well-known member
There are lots of places that you can run 1 cow per 3 acres. In the east it's not uncommon. Pushin it on a dry year...but in good grass years more than possible.

If it was me...I'd go with the commercial.....breed or A-I to a good angus bull.....sell the calves and make a lil money. I wouldnt touch the registered part of it with a ten foot pole.

We do have a couple new registered Angus bulls....but all our cows are commercial. The price was right LOL
 

IL Rancher

Well-known member
WE have ground here that you could grow the hay and feed the cow on 1.5 acres with average precip for the year. Wouldn't recommend it usually but it is there (It is also 200 bushel corn ground that is renting for obscene amounts of money) NRCS has it rated at 10.5 AUM's per acre, you should see the grass grow on the side of the road, lol. The folks who take the time to grow a hay crop on some of these fields have gotten some amazing yields.. When corn was 2 bucks and cattle were 1.20 it would have paid to run the cows, lol.
 
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