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Trying to expand in custom calving and would like to know best recommendations for finding customers?

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MackSmith

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Grow or die out is what we are facing. 4th generation ranch and the generation coming in to run things is large. We are really kicking around the idea of taking in cows/ heifers to calve out, but where do we look to gain customers? Any advice is so very welcome.
 
Follow the money is my advice. Absentee landowner, oil company, doctor in town. I'd guess the majority of folks are in the similar position that most of us are and they can't see paying others to calves heifers. But I also agree with you that the potential income for you would be appealing. I wish ya well and hope it all works out for ya. Welcome to ranchers too!!!
 
I guess its how your set up.
Wouldn't it be hard to bring in groups of strange cows into your place just before calving? Mine would fight,plus outside germs. Makes it harder on you if you dont know the cows.
Are you talking about bringing in groups long term on shares?
 
I guess its how your set up.
Wouldn't it be hard to bring in groups of strange cows into your place just before calving? Mine would fight,plus outside germs. Makes it harder on you if you dont know the cows.
Are you talking about bringing in groups long term on shares?
We have two different sections of wind breaks to bring in outside herds in and keep them isolated to ours and the other group. It is a very nice set up. We really just want to bring in to calve out on full care. We also have some extra grass to run full care in the summer. It is just finding people who need this that I am seeking advice on. I know other cow/calf operations have done this and it has proven successful, I just didn't know if anyone on here has done it and had advice.
 
I know of a guy who did this. He may still do it. He put up enough extra feed that he would winter and calf out cows. He ran an ad in the Capital Press which is the PNW weekly agriculture news paper. Had a price per day listed.
 
I dont know of anybody doing what you are talking about. Im not sure why someone would hire you instead of just selling what they dont have feed for? Would it pay them to hire you? Would it pay you to do it? Is there enough money in it for both sides to benefit?
If I went out and bought bred cows just to calve them out and flip them right away as pairs it would be really risky for me. Even if everything went well on the farm a lot depends on market prices that we can't control or even predict.
The more years I keep a cow the more apt I am to make money off of her.
 
We have one customer who takes cows in year-round. They are cows whose bull calves go into co-operative bull sale. They get a % of those bull calves so it works pretty good for them since it's not a traditional share cow deal. They used to take cattle in to calve them. They charged $100 head to do so. They quit to take on the year round share cow deal.

MackSmith, where are you located? If this drought keeps up in the west, you will have people knocking down your door if you are close enough to MT and WY.
 
We have one customer who takes cows in year-round. They are cows whose bull calves go into co-operative bull sale. They get a % of those bull calves so it works pretty good for them since it's not a traditional share cow deal. They used to take cattle in to calve them. They charged $100 head to do so. They quit to take on the year round share cow deal.

MackSmith, where are you located? If this drought keeps up in the west, you will have people knocking down your door if you are close enough to MT and WY.
We are in Nebraska, so it really isn't that far. The way our winter is going, we might find ourselves in a drought this year as well. We are turning one of our pivots over to hay this spring just to stay ahead of it.
 

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