She's going on the market July 2013
- Thread starter Whitewing
- Start date
gcreekrch
Well-known member
It's none of my business how much land you have Whitewing but I am curious what agricultural land is worth there.
You've really made a change with that place.
You've really made a change with that place.
gcreekrch said:
I don't mind anyone asking gcreekrch.
My place is just shy of 1000 acres so as the big ranches go, it's not even on the radar screen. What the place does have going for it is lots of infrastructure and production from the standpoint of improved pastures, ponds, irrigation system, acreage planted in bermuda, and a reputation for producing top quality bales.
In today's market, raw land in this area runs about $200/acre. Improved land can easily go for 5 or 6 times that because it costs so darned much to improve it. And honestly, for its size, my ranch is one of the most productive in the area. I know this because I know most of the area cattle producers and virtually all of them are now interested in my helping them establish producing bermuda fields on their places. They've seen what my place can do and would like to try to duplicate it.
While I've enjoyed seeing my place develop to where it is today, I'm sort of changing gears, moving more towards custom baling and consulting work, and have opened an "agropecuaria" in the local pueblo. The agropecuaria is basically a seed, feed, farm services business, and of course, a good place for me to market my bales.
gcreekrch
Well-known member
Be careful with the consulting business, you can go from "the guy that did that" to the "SOB that told me to do that" in a hurry. :wink: :lol:
I kind of think you will make things work regardless. Good luck.
I kind of think you will make things work regardless. Good luck.
gcreekrch said:Be careful with the consulting business, you can go from "the guy that did that" to the "SOB that told me to do that" in a hurry. :wink: :lol:
I kind of think you will make things work regardless. Good luck.
This past year, for others, I planted almost 300 acres of bermuda here and in the neighboring state of Monagas. Virtually none of these landowners will ever bale it themselves so it'll provide the basis for my custom baling activites.
Coupled with continued planting, fumigating, and baling, I should stay busy for a year or two more.
A
Anonymous
Guest
May I ask the number of hectares per cow? I am also courious about your climate. What is your annual rainfall and is it seasonal? I do not know much about your country or its agriculture. Thankyou in advance. Mel
Waterway64 said:
Mel,
The rule of thumb here in this zone is about 2 head per hectare. Just a few miles to the east, they can stock double that because there's a lot more rainfall.....a few miles to the west they'd cut that number in half because it's much drier.
My place is sort of on a cusp between really wet and really dry, hence it's a good area for pasture production....enough rainfall to produce good growth but enough sun to allow for drying and baling. Folks to the east of here trying to bale usually give up because it's almost impossible to dry the material before the next rain falls.
We have two seasons here, wet (winter) and dry (summer). Our annaul rainfall in this zone is about 25 inches, mostly occurring between late May and the end of December. January through May can be brutal as it gets really dry.
Temps run from a low of about 60F to a high of about 90F. Overall though, it's a pretty decent climate, generally low humidity and lots of prevailing wind out of the east.
gcreekrch
Well-known member
To give you another project you could look into a bale wrapper for the higher rainfall areas. Not very cost effective for small squares but it has been a life saver for us in wetter years with big round bales.
gcreekrch
Well-known member
RSL said:gcreekrch said:
I think Gcreek is trying to say, "how much will a winter ranch cost me?" South looks pretty nice from here right now.
I have no inclination to go anywhere that you need a firearm to kill insects with.
nortexsook
Well-known member
That's awesome, Whitewing!
andybob
Well-known member
The land is looking good WW, is there potential to build dams to store the winter surplu rain for summer irrigation? Johann Zietsman has recently been training ranchers in Brazil on his high density grazing system and starting some breeding programs to improve the quality and productivity of the local Nelore cattle. Have you incorporated any holistic management systems on your farm?
Soapweed
Well-known member
Whitewing said:While I've enjoyed seeing my place develop to where it is today, I'm sort of changing gears, moving more towards custom baling and consulting work, and have opened an "agropecuaria" in the local pueblo. The agropecuaria is basically a seed, feed, farm services business, and of course, a good place for me to market my bales.
You have put together and developed a wonderful ranch, Whitewing. It is a fact that there isn't any more land being made. Have you considered doing both, as in keeping your nice property and doing custom baling/consulting besides. Your ranch would always be a nice sanctuary to call home, and when you get old enough to retire, you'd still have the place. At that time, should you chose not to work the ranch yourself, there are always up-and-coming young operators who would be willing to work the place for you.
Soapweed
Well-known member
andybob said:
Didn't mean to shove your post to the bottom of the last page, andybob. Here is is again.
andybob
Well-known member
Thank you Soapweed, I think WW will get to the post soon enough, I am just far too busy these days and not getting on the internet much, need to slow down to a better quality of life, nobody thanks us for producing more food anyway, we all need to cut back to a more manageable lifestyle, let the prices increase accordingly, and the population can start to think of controlling their numbers instead of bullying us to produce even more cheap food!
Hayguy
Well-known member
Soapweed said:Whitewing said:While I've enjoyed seeing my place develop to where it is today, I'm sort of changing gears, moving more towards custom baling and consulting work, and have opened an "agropecuaria" in the local pueblo. The agropecuaria is basically a seed, feed, farm services business, and of course, a good place for me to market my bales.
You have put together and developed a wonderful ranch, Whitewing. It is a fact that there isn't any more land being made. Have you considered doing both, as in keeping your nice property and doing custom baling/consulting besides. Your ranch would always be a nice sanctuary to call home, and when you get old enough to retire, you'd still have the place. At that time, should you chose not to work the ranch yourself, there are always up-and-coming young operators who would be willing to work the place for you.
I'm with Soapweed on this one WW. the baling biz can be good to very good but it still rust's and depreciates where as land with your talent for improving production should appreciate, and like he say's they ain't making any more.
Andybob has a lot of good advice for you as well, and maybe understand,s the political reason's for your decision better than most of us
andybob said:
Andybob, when I started clearing the place in Jan of 2007 I knew I was going to need plenty of water because the summers here can be really brutal. I drilled a 300 foot 8" water well and started constructing farm ponds.
When I finally finished with all the dozer work, I had completed a total of 5 ponds scattered around the place, each catching water from the 5 main drainages and each providing water access to my largest pastures.
The photo in the original post with the irrigation system delivering water is from my largest and deepest pond. It was constructed in a deep ravine with the dam measuring over 300 feet across and a maximum water depth of 60 feet. Lots of water in that one.
I set casing on the water well and tested it at the time of completion but have never hooked it up for production because my ponds are handling all my water needs so far. I'm about to run electricity across the place so I'll probably go ahead and place a hook-up at the water well too.
Here are a few assorted pics: pond construction, a couple of the ponds on my place, and my irrigation system at work. I can cover over 60 acres with water with my current installation.
andybob
Well-known member
Looks like you have planned well for your water requierments WW the crops and grass are looking good. Are you raising any fish in thye ponds for extra production/income? We used to stock our irrigation dams with Tilapia and grow them to about 1-11/2 lbs for sale, the larger dams that didn't go dry due to irrigation use, were stocked with imported bass for day fishing by local anglers.
hayguy said:Soapweed said:Whitewing said:While I've enjoyed seeing my place develop to where it is today, I'm sort of changing gears, moving more towards custom baling and consulting work, and have opened an "agropecuaria" in the local pueblo. The agropecuaria is basically a seed, feed, farm services business, and of course, a good place for me to market my bales.
You have put together and developed a wonderful ranch, Whitewing. It is a fact that there isn't any more land being made. Have you considered doing both, as in keeping your nice property and doing custom baling/consulting besides. Your ranch would always be a nice sanctuary to call home, and when you get old enough to retire, you'd still have the place. At that time, should you chose not to work the ranch yourself, there are always up-and-coming young operators who would be willing to work the place for you.
I'm with Soapweed on this one WW. the baling biz can be good to very good but it still rust's and depreciates where as land with your talent for improving production should appreciate, and like he say's they ain't making any more.
Andybob has a lot of good advice for you as well, and maybe understand,s the political reason's for your decision better than most of us
Soap, Hayguy, Andybob......you guys are all correct, of course. I'd probably be nuts to sell the place unless I can get someone to make an offer that I can't refuse.
My current plans are to really spruce the place up between Jan and May, repairing, cleaning, and painting my fences and bushhogging all the unruly areas. By July I can have those areas not yet seeded with pasture, plowed and ready for planting with bermuda. Any prospective buyers at that point would see the place at its best, with my bermuda production in full swing including actual high output baling activities underway.
Of course, if at that point I decide not to sell or if no buyers come forward, I've not really lost a thing and the place looks great. I've long said that one of my main benefits from this ranch is the satisfaction I feel when I look at my work and see how far its come in just these last few years.
andybob said:
Thanks Andybob! I'm proud to say that I know of no other ranch within many miles of here that is as well-prepared for drought as mine.
I haven't yet stocked my ponds but have already lined up the fry I'll need when the timing is right. I'm going to be stocking with a local fish that does well in this climate and is also well-received by the buyers. It's called cachama. Here's a photograph of one. And as you mentioned, about 1 1/2 lbs is the ideal size for sale in the pueblo.
