Beef Cattle Question

[Parks 788]

I have a question. Many know we'll be moving to OK in the next 7-8 months and at some point will be pruchasing a fair amount of land. Despite what many think of people from California, I'm fairly capable around a ranch/property type setting with respect to hard work, tools, equipment, maintenance and all the things not related to farm animals.

So, my question is: What is the best way to learn about buying, owning, raising and evenutally slaughtering beef cattle? Is there a "raising cattle for dummies" type of book or similar that is worth a chit? I have a good friend in the Cushing area that will guide me with much of this once i move but want to do a lot of research early before my relocation. Please point me in the right direction with websites, books or other info on this topic. Thanks for the help.

 

[Oklahomabassin]

Probably best as a hired hand if you weren't raised around it.

 

[Snattlerake]

All I learned was through osmosis working the farm.

Storey's Guide to Raising Beef Cattle, 4th Edition : Health, Handling, Breeding
by Heather Smith Thomas

Beef Cattle Husbandry : A Study Course on Raising Beef Cattle
US Department of Agriculture

Here is one source with a phone number at the end.
http://www.dasnr.okstate.edu/Member...y-revised-osu-beef-cattle-manual-a-great-gift

“It’s a comprehensive resource of the latest research-based information for beef cattle producers, Extension professionals, veterinarians and others in the industry, and is especially important for those participating in the OSU Master Cattleman Program,” said Dave Lalman, OSU professor of beef cattle production systems. “The new edition contains a number of revisions and updated chapters.”

Cost is $25 plus shipping upon request through local OSU Cooperative Extension county offices, or orders can be placed online at http://www.agecon.okstate.edu/cattleman/order.asp and at https://secure.touchnet.com/C20271_ustores/web/store_main.jsp?STOREID=68.

The manual order page is here:
https://secure.touchnet.com/C20271_ustores/web/product_detail.jsp?PRODUCTID=1397

The original manual was a concise resource for information on beef cattle production and management, including nutrition, reproduction, animal health, genetics and the design of cattle-working facilities.

“More recent versions of the manual added chapters addressing economics, marketing and risk management, business planning and tax considerations, leasing arrangements, enterprise performance analysis, livestock insurance, forage production, grazing management, drought management, beef quality assurance, waste management and biosecurity,” said Damona Doye, OSU Cooperative Extension farm management specialist.

Contributors to the manual include faculty and staff with the OSU Division of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources, OSU Cooperative Extension area specialists and agricultural professionals with the Noble Foundation, and USDA's Risk Management Agency.

Additional information about ordering the OSU Beef Cattle Manual is available by contacting Kareta Casey at 405-744-9836.

 

[ignerntbend]

Raising beef is a noble endeavor. You need a lot of knowledge and a sharp pencil if you expect to make money at it.

 

[Okie4570]

Slaughter for just your own family or to sell to the public?

 

[Aries]

I think there are some government programs that will help you learn...

----------------------------------------------


A man was attending his livestock in a remote pasture when suddenly a brand-new BMW advanced out of a dust cloud towards him.

The driver, a young man in an Armani suit, Gucci shoes, Ray Ban sunglasses and YSL tie, leans out the window and asks the man, "If I tell you exactly how many sheep you have in your flock, will you give me one?"

The man looks at him, obviously a yuppie, then looks at his peacefully grazing animals and calmly answers, "Sure. Why not?"

The yuppie parks his car, whips out his Dell notebook computer, connects it to his AT&T cell phone, surfs to a NASA page on the internet, where he calls up a GPS satellite navigation system to get an exact fix on his location which he then feeds to another NASA satellite that scans the area in an ultra-high-resolution photo. The young man then opens the digital photo in Adobe Photoshop and exports it to an image processing facility in Hamburg, Germany. Within seconds, he receives an email on his Palm Pilot that the image has been processed and the data stored. He then accesses a MS-SQL database through an ODBC connected Excel spreadsheet with hundreds of complex formulas. He uploads all of this data via an email on his Blackberry and, after a few minutes, receives a response.

Finally, he prints out a full-color, 150-page report on his hi-tech, miniaturized HP LaserJet printer and finally turns to the man and says, “You have exactly 1,586 sheep.”

“That’s right. Well, I guess you can take one of them.” says the man. He watches the young man select an animal and looks on amused as the young man stuffs it into the trunk of his car.

Then the man says to the young man, “Hey, if I can tell you exactly what your business is, will you give it back? “

The young man thinks about it for a second and then says, “Okay, why not?”

“You work for the government.” says the man.

“Wow! That’s correct,” says the yuppie, “but how did you guess that?”

“Well, you showed up here even though nobody called you; you want to get paid for an answer I already knew, to a question I never asked; and you don’t know crap about my business... Those are cattle, not sheep."

"...Now give me back my dog!"

 

[BReeves]

Have a friend that raises cattle, he is pretty tight lipped about his operation but from what I have picked up. He is a one man operation and makes enough to do pretty well. He inherited his property and allot of equipment from his Dad. Not sure if you have to invest in tractors, hay equipment, stock trailer, feed truck etc. how well one could do. He is also tied to his operation, those cows have to be feed almost everyday. Not counting other chores necessary to keep the operation going. Not including the land and cows it wouldn't take much to have 100,000 invested in support equipment. May be able to cut that in half by buying used but then you really need to be a jack of all trades and able to fix what breaks.
Good luck, hope it works out.

 

[CHenry]

Raising beef is a noble endeavor. You need a lot of knowledge and a sharp pencil if you expect to make money at it.

Raising them is so easy even you could do it.
Making money however is the tricky part.
I raised a few cattle for 17 years before I left the country. It was a hobby ranch to feed my family and sell some calves to pay for expenses. I always made a little cash but had I wrote down every expense, I may have been surprised at how little it was.
The only way to make enough it to do volume. Maybe 500 head or so?
I'm sure @Cowcatcher could educate ya. Maybe volunteer to go help him work cows durring different operation stages.
Hands on experiennce cant be beat.

 

[jakeman]

Buy 2.

See how you make out.

My guess is, if you will acquire a good bit of property, you'd be better off renting the pasture out to someone else to run their cattle.

You could also go partners with someone that knows what their doing, but there is a whole new set of "what you don't know"s which that can cost you money. Like the "dead" ones that get disposed of before you ever get to see the carcass.

I'd be wary of the cattle business any time, particularly right now.

You might also start watching the markets and see what you think of that.

Raising a couple to butcher is one thing, raising them as a business is something all together different.

Making money on cattle, or anything else in agribusiness, is hard. Really, really hard.

 

[mike miller]

Check out the OSU Extention Service area. You are going to be close to them and they are very good in answering questions and help.