How much area and housing do we need?

wynedot55

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the thing is you want the cattle eating grass for as long as they can.so your better off understocking your pasture than over stocking.the way i figure it youll be feeding hay 5 months out of the year.so thats 5 4 by 5 round bales pre cow a year.so if you have 12 cows thats 60 round bales a year.sheep can be ran 3ewes to a cow/calf.but there again if you overstock your going tobe buying alot of hay.if you can its best to buy alest 70acs.so you can have 20 or 30acs in hay ground.
 

scrapmom5

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You guys have been soooooo helpful. I am on a huge learning curve with this. I had been looking at 21 acres but have decided to move on to find more acreage.

Thanks for the help. :woot
 

beefy

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it varies from place to place. in georgia, for example, we CAN run 1 pair per acre but the recommended stocking rate is 1 pair per 2 acres.

depending on how many head of cattle you want, cost of land, fertilizer, hiring someone to bale, etc it may be more feasible to use your land for grazing and purchase hay rather than trying to make your own.

with rotational grazing it is possible to increase stocking rate per acre, which is what your neighbor has done. do you know if he keeps that same amount of cows year round or does he sell some of them and then restock when the grass is growing? does he bale the extra pasture for hay or does he graze it in the fall?
 

amysflock

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For us in Washington, we can just about graze 1 Scottish Highland per acre. We have a small farm (just over 2.5 acres of pasture and paddock) so only plan to have a maximum of 3 adult animals at any one time. The Scottish Highland, though, are extremely hardy and browse more than graze, so they are happy with brush, apple trees, scotch broom, blackberry thickets, whatever. Ours are on hay right now as our grass is in its summer dormancy, but we'll put them back out again in September for a couple of months before pulling them back into the paddock for hay through March.
 

scrapmom5

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beefy said:
do you know if he keeps that same amount of cows year round or does he sell some of them and then restock when the grass is growing? does he bale the extra pasture for hay or does he graze it in the fall?
I only see the fields and cows...I have never seen a farmer maintaining them. I never see dried grasses out there either. In the winter the cows are there until around April...they then disappear for a few weeks and then return.

We get several feet of snow and you can see where the cows are scrathching through the snow to get to the feed.

I will probably just need to get out and about earlier to see the work getting done.
 

dairy_girl

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you could do a simple shed like this if you have free range beef cows
Horse_Run-In_Shed.jpg

dairy cows "if you end up getting alot of them" need something like this:
cowshed.jpg


and i agree with 12-30 acers!
 

troynmary

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If you'd like a good smaller cow, Dexters make great milk cows and are about half the size of the average cow. They only get about 750 lbs and I understand they calve very easily. We haven't bred ours yet but have 3 heifers and 3 steers (also a Lowline/Dexter cross heifer) on about 10 acres.
 

GrassFarmerGalloway

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scrapmom5 said:
Hey Y'all:

We are currently looking to buy some land so that we may farm. My sweet DH would like to have cows. He wants to raise meat cows to sell and 1 or 2 dairy cows for personal comsumption. What would a minimum space per cow be? And since I have never farmed (DH has) what type of home do they require? I want really happy cows and hope to have green pastures for them to graze and plan on rotating them through different fields as the green disappears. What should I do?
Rotation grazing is definitely the way to go. It works well, but only if managed properly. Ideally, you want to move your cows daily or once every few days, and have them not return to the same spot for a few weeks. That can be difficult to do.

Let's say you're raising ten cows. I'd give 'em half an acre to an acre a day to graze, moving them daily. Have a complete rotation cycle of three weeks to a month, I'd say for rotational grazing, thirty acres per ten cows. When you get really good at this, you can work your way up to more cattle, maybe. It depends upon the quality of your pastures, what cows you get, etc. Start small, and work your way up. Don't jump in too fast. Make sure you have a market, take your time.

If you make hay, bear in mind that you will need an extra acre for each cow, upon which you make the hay. This can vary, again, on the quality of your pastures.

There is very little I can tell you but the basics. The rest you must find out for yourself. What works for me might bankrupt you. So don't listen absolutely to everything I say. Take your risks, but don't rush it. Start out with a single or pair of cattle to see if you like it. Then work your way up to the size herd you want.

I'll recommend some good books for you to read.

Storey's Guide to Raising Beef Cattle - Heather Smith Thomas

Great, overall cow book. If you look, I'm pretty sure there's a diary version too.

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Salad Bar Beef - Joel Salatin

Everything you need to know about pulsing the pastures, proper grazing management and so much more! (Bear in mind, what works for him might not work for you, so read with an open mind and a critical eye.)

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The Encyclopedia of Country Living - Carla Emery

Great, overall book. Covers everything you need to know about farming. It's all basic stuff, but it's got LOADS of great references and links. Only get if you have ample bookshelf room (it's a HUGE book!)
 
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