# Small acreage cattle farming, I have questions



## DYI hunting (May 16, 2010)

How many cows on 5 acres of fescue?  They will be weaned calves and need to make it on minimum additional hay during the winter months for sale next Spring.

The fescue is overgrown with thick seed shoots almost 4 foot high.  Does the pasture need bushhogged before introducing calves?

There is some goat weed, poison oak/ivy, Johnson's grass, and various other bad weeds.  Do these need removed or will they be okay?

There are some narrow holes where stumps were allowed to rot away.  Will these need filled in so the cows don't step in them and break a leg or are they fine around stuff like that?


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## K80 (May 16, 2010)

I would fill in the holes to protect my investment. Also, I would sell at the start of the winter to avoid feeding during the winter.


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## Bottle Hunter (May 16, 2010)

You can put 8-10 cows/calves on 5 acres. 

2 4 -d them weeds and turn em loose. Fill the holes in? Been around and had cows all my life [50 years] and have never seen a cow break its leg by stepping in a stump hole. Not saying it don't happen,just never seen it.

There's  a lot of good money in cows. I know cause I've put a lot of good money in them.

 Them black spots in my avatar aint dirt. Say mooooooooooooooo


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## wranglerjoe1968 (May 16, 2010)

Stockering rate in GA is 1 1/2 acre to 2 acres for a cow calf pair


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## DYI hunting (May 16, 2010)

What should I expect to pay for weaned calves?

Apart from the cost of the land, should I expect any profit from raising 4 to 6 weaned calves till fall or till next spring?


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## CAL (May 16, 2010)

Buy calvies what are under nourished and need worming usually in the 400# class.Don't buy any what are stunted.Expect to pay upwards of 1.00/lb.on the hoof.I wouldn't get over 5 this time.Mower your pasture before buying your calvies.The 4' grass is poor grazing and will find the calvies want eat it.You will find there is a difference between fert.grass and just grass too.Good luck,ya gonna need it!


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## DYI hunting (May 16, 2010)

My sister's in-laws raise cows and are selling their stock off to replace them with Angus.   My pasture was used for the last 40 plus years for cattle, but has sat idle the last 6 years except for my garden.  I am looking at either 2 cow/calf pairs or 4 calves.  I am not looking to profit but I also don't want to loose money.  My goal is to provide more safety for my family in case of major food disruptions or price increases due to anything from a mid-west drought to terrorist attacks.  Plus I like the idea of knowing exactly what is being put in the meat we are eating.


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## redlevel (May 20, 2010)

If your fescue was planted before about 1980, you might want to check this.  

http://hayandforage.com/hay/0301-fend-fescue-toxicity/


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## Throwback (May 20, 2010)

Bottle Hunter said:


> You can put 8-10 cows/calves on 5 acres.



for about a month, then what?


DYI, if you are putting calves out, they will need young tender grass, not old mature grass. Fescue that has headed out gets "rank" to cows. If you see them eating full blown out mature fescue it's cause they don't have anything else to eat. 


as a general rule, you can run a cow/calf pair on 2 to 3 acres year round. if you buy weaned calves, you can put probably 2 per acre, but you only have 5 acres. if you do continuous grazing, they will eat off the grass and then keep it bit down close as they can, and probably overgraze it if it gets dry. 

They problem with cows on small acreage is exactly that. 

you can feed them but that costs $$$. in the winter they will need some kind of supplemental feed such as hay, range cubes, etc unless you have a rotational grazing program, and to get it up good enough to not have to feed you'll need some years to get the soil built up. 


www.stockmangrassfarmer.com
 has some excellent resources (books, cd's, etc) you might be interested in. 

T


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## Throwback (May 20, 2010)

I just saw your last post. If it were me, I'd go the 4 calves route, since a cow needs a bull to make a calf, and that is either a mouth to feed all year and get little return, or some out of pocket $$ you need to  pay someone to breed your cows to. 


with calves, you just stocker them over till they get big enough to sell, and sell them and rebuy smaller calves. 

I'd recommend you read the books "pasture profits with stocker cattle" and "thoughts and advice from an old cattleman" at the website I gave. 

"knowledge rich ranching" is also excellent.

T


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## DYI hunting (May 20, 2010)

I might look into a single cow/calf pair, last thing I want to do is have to feed them in the winter.  I also might go with 3 or 4 calves, I have to see what the in-laws are sending to auction.  

There is some clover which looks like it would help with the fescue toxicity.  There is also goatweed, johnson grass and various underbrush in the acre of woods that runs beside the pasture.  There will also be corn stalks and maybe even corn depending on if I get the cows in before I harvest the corn.

So what do I do for tender fescue?  Bushhogg or run the plow over some of it?


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## Throwback (May 20, 2010)

after late spring they pretty much ignore the fescue and to for the summer grass. actually. johnson grass is a good forage, and a lot of brush and weeds have good protein. I'd let them eat it down before bushhogging just realize some of the grass they won't touch (fescue that has seeded out mainly). 

fescue is best in spring, winter and early fall. 

if you get a grown cow, she will eat much "rougher" forage than a calf will. One thought is to get a grown cow/calf like you mentioned, let her eat it down with the calf, then sell both this fall (try to get a cow already bred, with a calf on the ground, called a 3 in 1 to avoid the headache of breeding. The bred cow will normally sell better than an open cow.) this will get you two to sell this year, your old field eaten down, and a somewhat "fresh" field for next spring to put young calves on. 

one other idea would be after you sold the cow/calf this fall, to over seed with ryegrass/clover and let it grow through the winter so the calves will start out strong next spring. 

T


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## Throwback (May 20, 2010)

CAL said:


> Buy calvies what are under nourished and need worming usually in the 400# class.Don't buy any what are stunted.Expect to pay upwards of 1.00/lb.on the hoof.I wouldn't get over 5 this time.Mower your pasture before buying your calvies.The 4' grass is poor grazing and will find the calvies want eat it.You will find there is a difference between fert.grass and just grass too.Good luck,ya gonna need it!



i agree with cal, don't buy the "best" calves you can buy, buy those that look like they missed a meal or two (but not one step from starving to death) and fatten them up. 

CB


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## shakey gizzard (May 21, 2010)

Fatten'em up on stale bread and honey buns!


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