Average Cost?

[Cheese]

Forgive me if this isn't in the exact right location.

I've always wanted to raise cattle, and have my dreams of having a large ranch. Realistically, that's quite out of view though. But I've been trying to inform myself more and more on cattle. And I'm trying to get an average cost. Just a guess at best.

My grandfather has land that he is willing to offer me. He says 15 acres in total, but about 5 is wooded. The rest is rather sandy, and he hasn't been able to grow corn or beans on that plot very well. I'm curious if there's any type of feed I can grow here that works well for feeding cattle and grows in some sandy soil. It's located in Northeastern Illinois, so climate is temperate, but not extreme.

Also, I've noticed other cattle farmers here (small scale) will put temporary fences up in harvested corn fields and let the cattle graze on the dropped corn. This may also be an option for me in terms of feeding. But since I don't know much about cattle diet, I don't know if this is good or sufficient. Other than that, I would have to buy any other feed. I don't know how much a cow needs to consume on a daily basis though.

I was only thinking about 1 or 2 cows for a start, but since I would have 10 acres of possible grazing area, I might be able to add a few more. But for the sake of this post, let's just assume 2.

While I love the concept of having dairy cows, I'm thinking I may be better off with just a beef bred variety for starters. Some people that I've talked to said dairy was more work.

Sooo, yeah. I think that's about it. And a side question, does anyone make any income off their cattle if it's just small scale?

 

[Mike Fronczak]

I'll work back words on your questions. No income yet, just feed our family, & building herd. In 2 years we will begin selling. I would plant the 10 acres as pasture, get some of Joel Salatin's books, and go from there. You will learn alot, I cant tell you dairy vs beef breeds, I have only raised for beef, if your doing for beef get a beef breed (we didnt with our first steers, it costs more in the long run). 15 acres is a good start especially if you can buy hay grown "off farm".

 

[kenfromMaine]

Hello and welcome to the forum.
About the soil condition I would talk to your local county extension office they would have a wealth of info.
I have found that on average "here" it cost me about $1.50 to $2.00 per day per cow. Now I am buying square bales of hay for $1.75 a piece so that will have a big impact on your cost, a cow will eat about 4% of its body weight of hay a day along with some grain and minerals so a 600lb cow will need at least 20 to 24 pounds of hay a day. They always eat more then that tho. A lot also depends on how cold and what kind of cow but when it gets colder the consumption goes up. But during the summer they dont cost much at all if you have pasture. You have to be careful turning cows out on corn stocks due to nitrates in the stocks, just something to check first.
Making money small scale lol well on paper it seems yes you can, but to be honest the only time I ever seem to make money is buying day old calfs and raising for about 8 weeks then sell them, it seems like people can come up with a couple of hundred dollars a lot easier then buying a half or whole cow hanging. Oh and I am talking about day old Dairy cross bull calfs.
One niche market that I always did fair in was matching up pairs of calfs and selling them for "future" working/pulling pairs. Same calfs but that crowd of buyers would always pay an extra hundred for a pair. I always could have sold way more then what I had to sell, have not done that for a few years tho. Now I just raise for beef.
I would say enter it with the assumption of raising your own beef for you and your family and if you make money then great, but I would not plan on it to pay the bills, esp. small scale. Have fun with it.
I am sure others will share their knowledge.
Ken from Maine

 

[WildRoseBeef]

Forgive me if this isn't in the exact right location.

I've always wanted to raise cattle, and have my dreams of having a large ranch. Realistically, that's quite out of view though. But I've been trying to inform myself more and more on cattle. And I'm trying to get an average cost. Just a guess at best.

Your benchmark costs depends on your location and how you attempt to raise your cattle. If you're aiming to be a low-cost producer, your daily costs per cow will be lower than the conventional or high-cost producers. Feed, fuel and fertilizer costs will be the biggest factors in $/cow/day. Keep those down, your average cow cost will go down.

My grandfather has land that he is willing to offer me. He says 15 acres in total, but about 5 is wooded. The rest is rather sandy, and he hasn't been able to grow corn or beans on that plot very well. I'm curious if there's any type of feed I can grow here that works well for feeding cattle and grows in some sandy soil. It's located in Northeastern Illinois, so climate is temperate, but not extreme.

Best type of "feed" to grow there is grass for pasture and hay. If crops won't work, grass will. Check with your local county extension office and other neighboring farmers/ranchers to see what kind of grasses they have growing in their pastures. The rule of thumb is that the grasses that grow locally and wild will grow well in your pastures. For example, up here where I live smooth brome, kentucky bluegrass and a host of others grow quite well in my climate and region and are best suited for pasture. Also good for hay as well.

Also, I've noticed other cattle farmers here (small scale) will put temporary fences up in harvested corn fields and let the cattle graze on the dropped corn. This may also be an option for me in terms of feeding. But since I don't know much about cattle diet, I don't know if this is good or sufficient. Other than that, I would have to buy any other feed. I don't know how much a cow needs to consume on a daily basis though.

A cow will consume 2.5% of her body weight in dry matter ration as maintenance per day. (I'd like to know where the 4% figure comes from though...) What a bovine will really consume per day depends on many factors including body weight, type of animal, moisture level of the feed, nutrition level of the feed, physiological requirements of the animal (lactating cow, growing calf, time of gestation, etc.), salinity level of the feed, the list goes on. Some things to remember in judging how much a bovine will eat per day is that an adult cow will eat more than a growing calf; a fat cow will eat less than a thin one, big cows eat more than small cows (usually), the list goes on.

Crop-residue grazing of corn isn't just a small-scale thing. More large-scale producers are taking on the challenge of winter grazing their cattle on not just corn stalks, but swath grazing, bale grazing and stockpile grazing. You don't have to do just corn, if you do your research on winter grazing there's a heckuva lot more to it than grazing harvested corn fields. And yes, it can be cost effective if you do it right and plan it out, not just throw the cows out on the fields and hope for the best.

I was only thinking about 1 or 2 cows for a start, but since I would have 10 acres of possible grazing area, I might be able to add a few more. But for the sake of this post, let's just assume 2.

Your better off to start small. Starting with a couple is a good idea and building your herd up from there is a good idea. If you decide to implement mob or managed-intensive grazing you may want to add a few more to keep up with the grass.

While I love the concept of having dairy cows, I'm thinking I may be better off with just a beef bred variety for starters. Some people that I've talked to said dairy was more work.

And they're right. It takes more care and more feed to raise dairy cows than beef cattle; this is true even comparing beef calves to dairy calves or dairy cows to beef cows.

Sooo, yeah. I think that's about it. And a side question, does anyone make any income off their cattle if it's just small scale?

LOL No such thing as income when it comes to raising cattle, especially if you are stringent about your bookkeeping and like to see what your net income (or net loss) is. Even small scale you can make money - not - as much as the larger-scale producer can.

The thing is though, if you're really good and make the effort to be as low-cost producer as you can be, you WILL make a bit of income, or at least enough to stay out of the red. You won't be making lots of money like you would in the oil biz or in a nice big city office.

 

[aggieterpkatie]

Now I am buying square bales of hay for $1.75 a piece

I'm insanely jealous! You can't buy a moldy bale of hay for $1.75 here. Most square bales of grass hay are going for at least $6 here.

 

[Oakroot]

I do not personally have experience with them but I believe mangels grow quite well in sandy soil and are great for feeding cattle.

 

[kenfromMaine]

Hi
The 4% per day per day figure I have and was always told to figure about that much per animal, that is for everything grain etc. So far using that number it has been accurate for "me up here" .
The hay I know I am getting at a very fair price, nice older farmer who generally has alot more then he can use and he really enjoys farming but he really likes to just talk about farming and animals etc. hay is all in barns I am very fortunate. He is also a wealth of knowledge and truly enjoys sharing it. wow I could not imagine paying $6 a bale that has to hurt.
Ken from Miane

 

[Oakroot]

Now I am buying square bales of hay for $1.75 a piece

I'm insanely jealous! You can't buy a moldy bale of hay for $1.75 here. Most square bales of grass hay are going for at least $6 here.

I just recently paid 9! but that was with delivery and. I could have paid 6.50 with delivery for the lower quality but it was really stemmy and bailed dead.

 

[Cheese]

Thanks for all the replies!

I wasn't thinking about making big bucks, at least not right away. I was more trying to get my feet wet. Since I didn't grow up in farming (animals), I'm just trying to get a feel for it first and foremost. I'm trying to educate myself first, but some things you just have to learn first hand.

 

[mikeksfarmer]

Hi folks my first post here. Looks like a lot of good information on the small heard or the cow or two. I want to get a cow or two for my 5 acres. Thinking that in the end I can run one cow and her offspring. Thinking she would have her first year and second year calf at least until it goes to the processing plant. I am planning on Artificial insemination from Kansas State University. As I cant eat one whole cow a year I think I can get the neighbors to buy hay for some of the meat. Any way I am excited to read further here and learn more. Looking at buying my first cow or cows this coming spring.