Cattle

[Full Throttle]

I don’t know the first thing about the biz… But I have 60 acres, thought it might be a fun little side gig to run a few head. 38” of average annual rain fall, over 1/2 of my property is open pasture with Bermuda grass, plenty of water. I’d need to do a little fence work… it’s only 1 hour 10 minutes from home and I’m up there at least once to twice a week.

Not really looking to make money, but not sure if it makes a decent tax shelter? More of just a hobby type deal. Maybe butcher one a year and give as gifts at Christmas or keep some for personal/family consumption. Really just brainstorming at this point.

What’s the easiest way for me to go about it. Just buy and raise calves and sell em off when they get to a certain weight? What other options would be feasible?

[Txhunter3000]

Get someone to lease it first and watch. That's what I did and I have no desire to do it. I have the Ag Exemption without the headache. It'll take 5 years of running cattle to get the exemption.

[cj7zrcool]

Save your money. Get a wildlife property tax designation and go buy half a beef from a good processor.

[Txhunter3000]

You have to have Ag first before you can switch to Wildlife.

[gonehuntin]

Look this article up and ask yourself, is it a hobby or business. I know IRS is scrutinizing small operations. Make sure you have a good CPA that will represent you when the IRS wants to see you. For me its was not worth the headaches anymore.

[MIHunter]

following

[rut-ro]

Get someone to lease it first and watch. That's what I did and I have no desire to do it. I have the Ag Exemption without the headache. It'll take 5 years of running cattle to get the exemption.

You can get someone to lease it for a couple years. instead of charging them, you can have them fix the fence in return or do minor improvements. They can be time consuming. We have 75 head and they are pretty easy going for the most part, unless they get out on the road, breach calf and other misc. vet bills. if anything you can slaughter one and have some meat.

[JBJTX81]

Its fun and can be minimally profitable if you already have a tractor, live stock trailer, and a good set of working pens.

[HunterMatt]

seems like you go there often so just get them your self. You lease it he leaser will be out there with you when you will be there checking on the cows so just do it your self

[M16]

The cattle business is great right now. Buy some cattle. Don’t overstock and spend a bunch of money on feed. If they get sick let nature take its course. Range cubes are your best friend. It’s very profitable if you run them right.

[Gary Roberson]

Get someone to lease it first and watch. That's what I did and I have no desire to do it. I have the Ag Exemption without the headache. It'll take 5 years of running cattle to get the exemption.

I agree with Txhunter3000. Also true that cattle prices are at an all time high; maybe not the best time to be getting into the business.
Adios,
Gary

[Dusty Britches]

Bred replacement heifers are running an average of $2700 now. It will be high for 3-4 years, too. Best advice here is to lease it to a cattle operation and learn from them until the prices come back down.

Buy low, sell high.

[ThisLadyHunts]

You can get someone to lease it for a couple years. instead of charging them, you can have them fix the fence in return or do minor improvements. They can be time consuming. We have 75 head and they are pretty easy going for the most part, unless they get out on the road, breach calf and other misc. vet bills. if anything you can slaughter one and have some meat.

For all of these reasons and more, I would discourage you from pursuing a cow/calf operation—even a small one—if you can’t have someone laying eyes on them at least once a day.

[Shane]

I'm in the process of getting my 60 acre pasture ready for livestock. I've had perimeter fenceline brush cleared. I'm about to pull out the 50-80 yr old fence and then build new fences. Rather than cattle initially, I'm going to run goats for a year or two to clean up a lot of under brush. Once that's done, my original plan was to run a few head of cattle. Probably steers rather than cow/calf. But I'm also considering hair/meat sheep instead of cattle. I like eating lamb as well as beef (and deer/elk). And the smaller animals can be more profitable per acre. I'm not looking to make a living on it, but I'd like to make a little on livestock to make it worth my time and effort.

[ThisLadyHunts]

I'm in the process of getting my 60 acre pasture ready for livestock. I've had perimeter fenceline brush cleared. I'm about to pull out the 50-80 yr old fence and then build new fences. Rather than cattle initially, I'm going to run goats for a year or two to clean up a lot of under brush. Once that's done, my original plan was to run a few head of cattle. Probably steers rather than cow/calf. But I'm also considering hair/meat sheep instead of cattle. I like eating lamb as well as beef (and deer/elk). And the smaller animals can be more profitable per acre. I'm not looking to make a living on it, but I'd like to make a little on livestock to make it worth my time and effort.

Sounds like you’ve got all planned out. Love the idea of using goats to forage the undergrowth.