[ARCHIVED THREAD] - Ask a beef cattle farmer..... (Page 2 of 4)
)? do you hook a rope around the bucket on a tractor, then to the cows neck and yank it out?
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Where in Ohio are you located and will you sell me some beef? No thats illegal. CWD is a small concern. Cows dont sleep only on one side or the other, so they are full of shit. California - if you wanna come follow Ray around all day with a spade and sack you can have it for free! lol |
| That's good enough answer for me. I like a lot of these other guys dream of having 20-40 acres someday and some fresh steak wandering around on it. Sounds like you could do it pretty cheap with enough land. Would it be worth trying to breed them to maintain the micro herd or just buy calves? |
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That's good enough answer for me. I like a lot of these other guys dream of having 20-40 acres someday and some fresh steak wandering around on it. Sounds like you could do it pretty cheap with enough land. Would it be worth trying to breed them to maintain the micro herd or just buy calves? You could get into it for a few thousand dollars. Judge if its worth it to you. (2 heifers and a bull) |
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Where in Ohio are you located and will you sell me some beef? No thats illegal. OK, can I come over for dinner and take some left overs home with me? Seriously, where do I find a 1/4 cow butchered up at good prices? If near Columbus check the Anderson's or a local butchershop. |
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Do you just eat steak for every meal? (Former) cattle rancher here. Yes, we had steak or hamburger almost every day...but...it's always from the old/sick/dying cow, heifer or steer that died and we had to hurry and butcher on the spot before the meat went bad. Newsflash...the meat is usually already bad on old/sick/dying animals.  Anything that was good enough to be sold, got sold. The rest got served at dinner. 
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What kind of fertilizer do you use for your crops? Oh, and do you think Co-ops are a communist hippie idea? 19-19-19 NPK and cow manure, then sometimes lime depending on soil survey. Donkeys are to scare off coyotes. No shit? It's true, you learn something everyday. 
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tell me about ageing beef. what i mean is, what is the process? i have been curious about this.  hang a carcass in a cooler and let it break down. how long? does it vary on the breed,age or size of it? how do you know its "done" i guess that's what im wondering this is a great thread,by the way |
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If I knocked on your door and wanted to buy one of your 800lb cows would you sell it to me? What would it cost? I would also need someplace to gut it and help getting it in the back if the truck is that too much to ask? It wouldn't be an 800lbs cow, it would be a steer or heifer..... And we don't do any sort of processing on-farm due to laws, and we only do individual sales to family friends :) We raise black baldies, which are hereford cows bred with purebred Angus bulls, most come out black with white faces/heads.... Hereford cows can throw bigger calves than Angus bulls typically produce so we have few birthing problems Kobe seems like a waste of time but whatever people want to buy :) Yes we have lots of city idiots who trespass doing deer drives. They get ran off. Roughly, how much would one of those go for pricewise? |
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Oh, and do you think Co-ops are a communist hippie idea? [/div]
Depends on what kind of coops you are talking about. Coops were first formed as a way for a group of farmers to purchase products in large quantities and reduce the unit cost or band together and sell their commodities on the market. "Community supported agriculture?" Hippie idea mostly. Might be an ok idea for a niche to get into, but overall it is an anti-American ag idea. |
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If I knocked on your door and wanted to buy one of your 800lb cows would you sell it to me? What would it cost? I would also need someplace to gut it and help getting it in the back if the truck is that too much to ask? I would sell you one! The price is usually between $.95 and $1.10 per pound. They are easy to clean when hanging from a loader, and with this weather it would freeze solid for the trip home. But, it probably is illegal..... so call before knocking.
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What are your gross margins/cow? Do you have a drought plan? What is your average cost of developing a heifer? Do you buy your bulls or develop them yourselves? What is your stocking rate? Stocking density?
Do you do any type of managed grazing? What are your primary grass species? Are your pastures dryland or irrigated? Do you winter your cows on pasture, corn stalks or feed them in a dry lot? Have you ever considered attending the Ranching For Profit school? |
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Is now a good time to get in the biz? Im looking to buy some calves this spring or sooner.
We have (wife's pets)miniature cows, one black baldie in fact, and would like to get into beef soon. 2-5 animals a year. Since we are doing all the work already, might as well make a buck or 2. I call it the "Whats one more syndrome." They will be pasture and hay fed. No grain. I figure by the time I raise them up prices should recover. |
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Are you pissed at CWT and/or dairy farmers for slaughtering thousands of dairy cattle to bring down the milk surplus or are you understanding of our plight as well?
For the record, I think CWT suuuuuucks. Killing cows won't solve the problem. Milk Protein Concentrate importation and American dairy exportation issues need to be dealt with or we will forever see the perpetual 18-24 month dairy price cycle. |
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How much steroids are used in the process? 
No one uses steroids in dairy or beef cattle. Lies spread by the anti-ag leftists. Antibiotics are used, but it is illegal to slaughter or ship milk from cattle that have been treated within a defined period of time after the last treatment. The specified time period varies by antibiotic. |
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If I knocked on your door and wanted to buy one of your 800lb cows would you sell it to me? What would it cost? I would also need someplace to gut it and help getting it in the back if the truck is that too much to ask? It wouldn't be an 800lbs cow, it would be a steer or heifer..... And we don't do any sort of processing on-farm due to laws, and we only do individual sales to family friends :) We raise black baldies, which are hereford cows bred with purebred Angus bulls, most come out black with white faces/heads.... Hereford cows can throw bigger calves than Angus bulls typically produce so we have few birthing problems Kobe seems like a waste of time but whatever people want to buy :) Yes we have lots of city idiots who trespass doing deer drives. They get ran off. Roughly, how much would one of those go for pricewise? Look on craigslist. No joke. We bought two calves there, raised them on 15 acres then slaughtered them for our freezer. |
| OP, you are rarer than rare in the fact that you're 4th generation family farmer and actually making a living doing it. The family farm as America was built on no longer really exists. Since you work in a major American industry though, how do you look at the mega corporate farms and how do you compete with them? |