Small Farm ?

Tagerts_crossing · February 25, 2004, 11:33:57 AM

I have two small heards 8-12 each and try to buy 10 more calves twice a year to feed out. Some breades are near trouble free at calving season but still problems can happen, I lost a calf yesterday. Is it worth it, yes I enjoy it, the profitabilty comes and goes right now its good and Ithink it will get better in the next few months. As a small hobby set up you need to be able to keep cost down with feed, I produce my own grain and hay otherwise it might not be profitable. Try to sell to people as freezer beef and cut out the many middle men. The one thing that no one has said yet is the tax benefits of this ie(equipment feed time material ect.). You can make it look as a loss on paper for a while and realy help out, but when you finely quit the capital gain will need to be delt with, a good tax person that deals with ag. issues is worth the charge at least the first couple years. Its not for every one but seems you are already doing well with the oxen a few more is not that much more work, and if you start out with feeding some calves its easy to get out in a year or so.

Wes · February 25, 2004, 03:53:54 PM

I worked a double yesterday and didnt get to check the puter, I was suprised to see the number of responses on this.

Thanks everyone,
Profit may not have been the rite word. as I have yet to make a profit with the sawmill but I am buying equpment , getting more customers and having fun.

Not counting , fence, barn , and pasture, could I buy... say 6-8 ? calves raise them 2 yrs, [1 winter] sell them and come out ahead.?maybe 6-8 a yr. There are a fiew people around here that are doing that but I havent had a chance to talk to them yet. the cows are in a small pastures and allways hanging around a round bale.I guess what Id like to get out of this besides doing this with my kids and building a mini farm is to give up my winter overtime snowplowing job for time with the family.

Corley5 · February 25, 2004, 04:38:57 PM

You'd probably do better to buy some feeders in the spring, run them on pasture with a little grain as a supplement and sell them in the fall. Feeding cattle through the winter to sell them in the spring is generally not wise especially if you need to buy feed for them.

Wes · February 25, 2004, 05:31:04 PM

corley5
that makes sence,Im going to do alot of reserch on this before I start. :P

Does anyone have any experience raising certified organic beef? That seems to be getting popular around here.

also A frend of mine raises holstiens for about a year and a half and sells them bred. He says that he does preity good with that. I dont know if thats any better than beef though.

Thanks again
Wes ;D

redpowerd · February 25, 2004, 05:52:24 PM

i was going to reccommend organic. my buddy has "organic beef"
but hasnt sold any in years. he was organic before there was organic. keep your papers in order, round here you cant spray or spread or feed from outside sources. ie, you can spread your poop, just make sure the poop was made from hay that wasnt sprayed chem in the last 3 yrs. and if you buy feed, have documentation that it was from an organic source.

Frickman · February 25, 2004, 06:41:47 PM

You guys mentioned the one thing I'm not fond of, calving season. Years ago we ran alot of black angus. They taste good but man are they a problem at calving time. And half nuts the rest of the year. Now we keep some cross breds that are mostly hereford. They are alot gentler and seem to drop their calves easier, but you are always going to have problems.

A few years ago I kind of looked at certified organic farming. The problem I saw is you don't get much of a premium and get lower production. There are alot of things they won't let you do, such as use lime. Now let me tell you, there is nothing wrong with spreading burnt limestone, an all natural product, but they won't let you do it. Your best bet is to give prospective customers a tour of your place and show them how you raise your animals. A fancy organic label won't sell your meat as fast as your customer feeling they have a connection to your operation. If you start with a few head you should easily build up a market.

woodrat · February 25, 2004, 08:03:57 PM

Almost more important than Organic certification, in my opinion anyway, is direct marketing. There are more people every day thinking about where their food comes from and are looking for more humane and local food and it doesn't necessarily need to be certified to bring a good price. my $3.00/# pork is not Organic (capital O) but people are happy to get it at that price. I'm selling the pork to friends who live in cities, and their friends are inquiring constantly.

Another direct marketing thing that a neighbor of mine does is selling 5 year beef contracts. I didn't get all the details straight, but for a set fee folks are buying a five year contract for a steer of at least a minimum hanging weight. They can pay him all up front or in payments over the five years.

I don't understand how anyone could ever make a buck selling livestock into the usual channels of commerce.

Corley5 · February 25, 2004, 08:47:01 PM

You can't even use lime ??? ??? ??? I'd be wasting my time and money planting alfalfa up here if I couldn't use lime :

I don't a problem with chemical fertilizers either. They're pretty basic chemistry. I do see concern over pesticides, and antibiotics etc but some of these are little overboard :

Frickman · February 26, 2004, 05:38:41 PM

I agree with you Corley on the fertilizers. The plant doesn't know if the nitrogen is from fertilizer or from plowed under legumes, it all has the same chemical makeup. We try to limit our pesticide and herbicide use, usually just some 2,4-D to help the corn get off to a good start. Our beef cattle get pasture, hay, molasses, salt, a little corn and oats in the winter, and nothing else. Sure does make good eating without alot of chemicals running through their system.

Corley5 · February 27, 2004, 02:42:33 PM

I top dress my hay with commercial fertilizers and I need to spray a couple of my grass seedings with 2 4 D this spring to control the spotted knapweed >:( That's all I use in the way of chems on my hay. I used Atrazine on corn a couple years when I still planted corn and that's some potent [I have typed a profane word that is automatically changed by the forum censored words program I should know better]. I put it on at the max recommendation and it killed EVERYTHING but the corn and the next year I didn't have to spray because of the carry over. Good stuff but it made me nervous just having it on the farm. I cut the jugs and put them in the burn barrel at Grandma' s to get rid of them. The next day I went torch them off and I find them in the shed tipped up draining into coffee cans. Grandma was going to use the stuff to kill grass around her house so she wouldn't have to trim. :

I took it away from her and told her to buy some Roundup ;).

Wes · February 27, 2004, 02:47:16 PM

Responsibly raised, happy beef...where the prospective city buyer can visit the country and pet their meat on weekends.

Thats a good angle, I like it ! ;D

thanks again

redpowerd · February 27, 2004, 05:07:39 PM

were starting to run into glyphosphate (roundup) resistant redroot pigweed in our beans. you have to run half quart of atrizine or less if your puttin in anything but corn the next yr. hell of a residual.

Norm · February 28, 2004, 04:42:52 AM

That's a great idea Wes, I buy a whole beef from a young farmer I know that raises em the same way. I was going to slaughter it at his place but he gets so attached to them he won't let me. Can't stand to see em put down. We truck it to the local butcher and for 50 bucks he gives me the carcass and I butcher it from there. Makes for a full weekend.

The new roundup (roundup II) will knock down your pigweed. It goes on a little heavier but leaves a clean field. Atrizine is some nasty stuff and I won't allow it on my corn. You can bet it goes into anything you feed it to.

redpowerd · February 28, 2004, 05:53:55 AM

as much as i hate knockin down cows, im gunna kill my 3 beefers right on the farm. i feel better when they die in a familiar place, than get jostled around shipped to the floor. dont know if it effects the meat?
im new at beef, and im going to try to use as much of the cow as possible.

Wes · February 28, 2004, 05:52:15 PM

Norm,
Yeah, that is a great idea, but it wasnt mine. It came from all youse guys that helped me out.

thanks,

Wes

Duane_Moore · February 29, 2004, 12:29:10 AM

:P well let's see. Haytraders calvin out heifers. proly short on flashlite batteries. read all the magazines, Louis LeMore. Books. had the whole family up everynite all nite long. sleeps all day. has wife and kids do chores, has a set of pulling chains in back pocket, had welded the calf puller up at least twice. all coveralls are dirty, buckles on overshoes tore off, to darn Grumpy to talk to, hopin one don't prolaps and have to stuff it all back.got 3 bottles combiotic in the frig, needs to get a bunch of scower medicine. and swears this is the last year of this crap. as for a wire tie bailer and a stud horse at the same time. Two of the most contancorus peice of things in the world. ya can't do a darn thing with a stud horse. or keep him anywhere or trust him for anything. and a wire tie bailer has never worked. tie 1000 bailes then miss everone for a week. always said someday guna buy an ole one and put it in the field and pour 5 gal gas on it and lite a match. then laugh like he77 for days. put a runnin W on a stud horse and get the Case pocket knife out and a set of hot Irons and fix him good. then put him in the pasture with the mares. farming so much fun.and easy to. keeps ya busy takin the money to the bank. what I know me from Wyoming. Duh---Duane ;D

Haytrader · February 29, 2004, 03:35:25 AM

Who you callin grumpy?
5:30 here and raining
I use a peice of nylon rope (made a new one this year)
Wife and kids are avoiding me......... ;)
Time to go.

shopteacher · February 29, 2004, 03:43:30 AM

I see quite a few Llamas being raised around here anymore. I know they use the wool off them like sheep, but do they butcher them as well? Never seen or heard of Llama steaks.
Just curious.

Norm · February 29, 2004, 04:38:07 AM

They don't butcher em around here shopteacher, they shear em for the wool. But you never know what your eating when you go out for dinner. Look out back to see if they have a pen of em looking nervous.

redpowerd · February 29, 2004, 04:49:52 AM

oxytocin makes calveing easier!
on me and the cow
jus two ccs in the arm.........

them llamas and alpacas are supposededly guardstock.
ever had 'paca jerky? me neither

woodrat · February 29, 2004, 05:35:15 PM

I have heard of folks eating llamas and alpacas, but I don't know anyone around here who does.

[Wife and kids are avoiding me..]

Yeah i've been smelling pretty sweet too, got the pigs loaded up and outtahere the other day, then been working on cleaning up the mess they left behind. Had the neighbor and his bobcat over today and helped get the immediate drainage probs fixed. Been covered head to toe in mud and pig sh*t on and off for days. :-/

Duane_Moore · February 29, 2004, 06:40:26 PM

:D :D :D :D You no Grumpy? such sweet memories. pullin calves. lookin for 600lbs weaners. easy calvin cows. hope the banker understands, and then going huntin this fall. the life of the American Farmer, the greatest there is. gota admire ya. your a peice of history. wish were young enough to still do it. would be right beside ya. a way of life. sure miss it. God Bless. Duh---Duane 8) 8) 8)

redpowerd · February 29, 2004, 07:52:45 PM

duh-wane...
sumpin tells me i gotta shake yer hand :D

Duane_Moore · February 29, 2004, 11:24:38 PM

MyMy. :P :P lets see iffin I can fiqure this one out. 17 replacement Heifers. 10% rotation on 10 years old cows. calvin at 2ys old. must be runnin about 140 to 160 momma cows? thats enough to keep 2 men darn busy. fixin fence, hayin, movin um,cleanin corrals, fixin fence, pullin wells, fixin equipt,.-- what flavor? Limosine, Gelbich, anything cross.? Angus, Baldy, I know Rainbo. same with me. more lbs per gain.better momma cows, well just trying to keep ya entertained during calving. Keep in touch All Ya Farmers, huh from wood to farmin? good combo. Duh---Duane. Wes cattle are more addicting then sawdust. when your sick of um you just put wheels under them, sold that day. outa the cow bussiness. ps. they always look so little with them BIG ear tags in them.