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| New poster, but this subject is near and dear to my heart, and I'll eventually get all my introductions out of the way. I farm "part time" as well, and am a little younger than you, but I'm essentially in the same boat as I'll one day be looking for income from the farm. Ever thought about slimming down your operation and moving away from full on cow/calf?
I don't mean a cutesy, petting farm, corn maze, agri-tourism operation, just a streamlined, diversified cattle business that one man can manage.
Basically, this is my goal/plan, and I'm not advocating it or throwing it at anyone, just sharing what I've learned. I run 25 Angus heifers and 40 black heifers, keep a couple registered bulls, and finish off about 10 - 15 steers a year as "freezer beef". The calves from the 25 Angus cows are kept on pasture/hay/feed until they're ready to sell as breeding stock, i.e. heifers or bulls, and for awhile I entered them in registered hoity toity top of the line Angus sales. But I got out and made connections with other cattlemen, developed some genetics that are beneficial for beef production (I believe anyway) and now sell these heifers/young bulls to commercial producers looking for heifers to use for embryo transfer or to infuse genetics into herds, or for the bulls as young sires. I just keep a "black book" of contacts, keep in touch with these guys, share e-mails, stop and see them, meet for coffee........you know, basically, socialize, and I'm not knocking these here internets at all, but it does seem to be more and more of a lost art. Then I send out a quick flyer on what I've got for the year to the entire list. Getting anywhere from $1,500 - $2,000 per heifer depending on particulars, and averaging around $3,500 for young bulls from this little racket. You can figure out the numbers for yourself.
Then I do cow/calf with the 40 black heifers, try to always put together a lot of 40, wean at 600+, send them to the lot and never touch them.
Finally, I buy weaned steers, 10 - 15 per year and finish them on grass, hay, and brewer's grain and sell to individuals, on the hoof, who have them slaughtered for freezer beef. This little diversification is working well for me and produces a nice, tidy little income, or so it has over the past few years. I am a heavy advocate of managed, intensive, rotational grazing employing cool season forages and don't put a lot of money into equipment. A neighbor bales my hay for me on a share basis and I get brewer's grains as feed suppliment (cheap, at least for me). I do purchase feed, medicine, fencing, barns, tractors, etc., I don't get crazy here and try to run absolutely bare bones, but I've got my pencil sharpened about as much as possible and weigh every outlay in terms of what it will do for me in return.
I'd enjoy talking the topic more with you, if you'd like, and wouldn't mind hearing about how you've acquired land and made the cattle pay, that's something I'd like to do, as my operation is starting to push the limits of my land. | |
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Help with Retirement Plan
