Anyone making a living raising cattle?

[shedrow]

Over the long haul, do most cattlemen lose a farm or two or do some really make a living at it?

[vagabonddreamer]

LMFAO@shedrow!!!!

its kinda like my friend from Vancouver...he has been married twice...and i am best man at his third...i told him instead of getting married...find a woman he hates and buy her a house!!!

i know exactly how you feel...at least YOUR provincial govt aknowledges the situation and CARES about the situtation...our plight in BC is exacerbated by an ineffectual government that really doesnt CARE about a very small portion of the total agricultural contribution for the province...they are more thinking of ways of taxing the pot growers that are so prevalent...

we have been making a bit of money selling CWF...but the only one stop kill/butcher in our area is closing because the provincial government wants him to upgrade his facility to the tune of half a million dollars...lol...he wont be in business long enough to re-coup THAT kind of capital investment... (he has been in business for 30 years with NO problems)...it means substantially more trucking expenses as well as somehow getting the product to the customer with the nearest facility being min 3 hours away...and remember...here in BC we have hills and curves in the road!!!!!

when he does close...i cant make enough money at the auction selling fall steers/hiefers to justify purchasing the hay to feed the remainder during the winter...so...i will probably go the path of least resistance finally...i have been one stubborn idiot up to this point...lol...even 4-H is getting less and less appealing as all the bigger operations take a "whateverittakes" attitude to produce 1450lb animals by the beginning of july...actually...some of them have 1450 lb animals by feb/march and they cruise through to competition...we have bumped our calving later in the year and...we refuse to use implants...ergo...we cant get finish on the animals by july...so..there goes 4-H...

it really doesnt bode well for the future of the north american cowboy...unless you want to work on one of the THREE or FOUR 250,000 head ranches that will be left in canada at the end...lol...Sean...will you need any help if you are running that many cattle??? i know a good hardworking bc cowboy that may be looking for work...vs



i noted grassfarmer in another thread advocating later calving for easier herd management...he is absolutely correct...but...the system is not set up for that...its an uphill battle...

we also have radical and organized ecological groups in BC that make it harder and harder to graze and water cattle on range...(remember we ARE hippy central!!!)...

[grassfarmer]

I'm moving to selling grassed yearlings, grass-fed beef and breeding stock not trying to win 4H shows, bit long in the tooth for that pastime,lol!

[coppertop]

grassfarmer you may be shortchanging
yourself, you might be able to pass for 21,
and get in on the big bucks with a 4-H
steer ! One of the local kids is 6'4" ,
looks like he is 25, and still has three
more years to be involved in 4-H !!!!!

[grassfarmer]

I thought you had to pimp your kids out to get the big bucks from "Big oil" at the 4H sales? I'm about as popular with them as I am with some of the corporate packers/auction mart owners!

[coppertop]

This community has had wonderful support
from the Oilfield service industry. One
fellow buys at least half a dozen steers
each year and I asked him how he decides
which ones he will buy.
He said he always buys at least two from
first year members, and buys one or two
of the lighter ones, then he buys from
kids he knows that he feels deserve the
support. I know some families send their
kids all over the place trying to entice
buyers, and others decide that Granpa
should pay big bucks for the Grandson's
calf which doesn't look very good in my
view.
When my granddaughter was in 4-H she got
the highest price next to the Grand
Champion and the company that bought her
steer didn't know who she was, they
thought she was a cute little kid and
tried her darndest with a steer that
didn't really co-operate, so I honestly
don't know if there are many kids out
pestering oil companies and service
companies in the four clubs that make up
our interclub.

[smcgrath76]

VBD - Laughing at the comment of working
for me.
I think the only reason we don't see
corporate ownership and 250,000 head
ranches is the cost of real estate and
the fact that many Cow/Calf guys are
willing to subsidize their cowherds. In
essence it is still cheaper to let guys
work off farm to cover
land/equipment/labour/etc. and then use
a small investment (such as a measly 50
or 60 million dollar plant) to control
the entire resource anyway.
I promise if I ever get up to running
250,000 cows you will be the first guy I
call. If your roping is good you could
drag me to the looney bin. (LOL)

[rookie]

well, I 'm not trying to stop the humour here, but I too will soon be looking for that job.

Another month and the herd is getting pink slips. Gone.

Maybe there will be a better " next year", but I'm not waiting for it. Just a little too expensive to wait.

Even calving without snow, swath and corn and bale and rotational grazing and everything else, I think it will be easier to just pocket the off farm paycheck than to ride another crappy season out.

So what do others do better that keeps them in the game ?

Oh well , what ever it is I hope it keeps working for them..............

[kato]

I think what a lot of it is, is that at least with the old school types out here, we are not in it as much for the money as for the life.

Reasons we do this..

1. Neither of us respond well to authority. LOL The idea of working for someone else is much like being faced with jail time.

2. We like cattle. Sitting in the warm sun on a pile of straw in the shed on a warm spring day while a pack of baby calves all stand around you in a circle before they turn and bolt in a mini stampede is an experience not many have the privilege of having.

3. Growing up working cattle and learning a work ethic from their Dad helped us raise two of the best sons a person could ask for. (This should probably be reason #1, but I'm not going to retype all this)

4. Hubby often gripes about the RV's and boats going by as he bales hay, but I always remind him that these same people are living for the weekend. And why do they live for the weekend? Because the week is no fun at all. I'd rather have a week where I didn't spend every day counting down to Friday, than a miserable life that is just an existence between holidays.

5. There's the adrenalin rush that comes with pulling off yet another miracle with a batch of feeders or doing up that last bale just before the rain falls.

We've been doing this a long time now, and have seen many ups and downs. This down has been the longest and cruelest of all though, and it's about time for it to end. I can see a younger person who has a long future ahead to make a life for themselves taking another path. For us however, we figure if we've come this far and are still standing, we may as well stick to our guns and ride it out. It's become a case of stubborn determination now.

[coppertop]

Kato, I think you have nailed it for
many of us. My little bit of heaven is
right here on my farm. I have a city
friend who comes to spend a couple of
three day weekends each summer/fall.
She cannot believe the quiet and the
closeness to nature.
This winter was very tough, I calved
cows in -35/40 and was worn out by the
time the weather warmed up to -20 !
Now we have had rain, the pastures are
looking good, and I just moved the cows
this morning, spent a few minutes
watching the calves kicking up their
heels heading down the alleyway, and
surprisingly enough the cold calving
weather is just a faint memory !

[PureCountry]

Well, in response to Rookie's questions, "The Good Life" still requires cash to pay the bills, and I'll tell you the only way we do it is with diversity. Selling multiple products off-farm, beef, pork, soon-to-add chicken and eggs, and all the possible specialty cuts and sausages from each. We will be custom grazing a large group of yearlings next year, our store in town will be open by then, and I'm currently working part time as a Brand/Livestock Inspector for LIS. That's how we do it, and there are certainly days that we wonder why, or how. And when those days come, we sit down early in the morning, review our Holistic Management Goals and Plans that we laid out for ourselves, and it keeps us focused and on track of where we're going and how we'll get there.

Then of course it helps that we get rain to make it all work.

Have a good one.

[coppertop]

good luck PureCountry, sounds like you are
n for the long haul, and that takes
determination and willingness to diversify
!

[rookie]

As I sit with a cup of coffee, waiting for my little guy to wake up this morning, I often browse various web sites for news, market conditions etc, keeping an eye on the world so to speak ...

and here I am with 2 more cents...

On my table with the mail is a flyer for the local ag research group doing a field day with something new for producers to learn something new perhaps. Something to make there business more profitable and help them out with cost of production . On my screen are more comments of what we will do ( everything under the sun off a farm ) to keep our farm alive, and even comments along the lines of you just can't beat the life....

What I want to know, is what else can the industry do ? And I am being serious . Thats why I serf the various sites over coffee ( looking for business solutions instead of another job or reason to justify the extra work or lack of profitability ).

Now before anyone goes off... I am looking for the answer to make life better for you aswell as me.

I've done my time working 10 months on the road per year, and have seen more than my share of wonders of this world ,
and as interesting , profitable and a great education in life that is was, I did it for the creation of my grain farm and cattle ranch.

On the grain side of the yard its all business and dollars dictate what goes on, and on the pasture it is the same aswell.

I worked those jobs with the intentions of giving the farm a helping boost in its infancy ( subsidized it) but as a business person had no intentions of having to do it for who know how long or at any cost...

My Dad raised a family on his farm and had a successful farm at that without going out to work. For me the trend is different, and for many of you out there it will be different too. Will the trend continue indefinitely now?

All I do know ( I think ) is that the trend seems to be continuing and not for the better. Just look and listen to what it takes to grow food...

And can you make a living raising cattle? Obviously yes, but what is your cost of production (and I don't just mean $ )

Personally I weigh my cost of production with my little guy that will soon come wandering out of his room asking what we can do today... and thats priceless and... my benchmark .

But my questions of how this industry can change to make it better , easier( and why can't it ) will go unanswered. I am looking for those answers for my son. So maybe he will get to see what we see.
I've had my share of fun and I want him to aswell .

I suppose what we do will all depend on our definition of cost of production.

My benchmark just came into the kitchen ... gotta go , good luck to all and I hope its working for you................

[Sawbones]

Rookie thanks for sharing that
Here's my 2 cents worth
Success can be measured in 3 ways
Productive, Profitable or Sustainable
We've gone through the productive phase where biggest was best. We're now in the profitable phase where the most profit is obtained by taking advantage or someone's mistake or position and the cow/calf guy is bearing the brunt and is now leaving the industry in droves. The key is to find sustainable and that is where we understand the various sectors in the industry and agree on a formula that is mutually beneficial..easily said but I haven't found that magic formula

[kato]

This whole agricultural industry, (not just cattle), is approaching a point where something has got to give. Primary producers of all products have absorbed the inflationary costs of food for far too long. It's all been passed down to us, whether we grow grain, hogs or cattle, and there will come a day where no one will be able to grow any type of food at anything but a loss. That is not sustainable.

What is it going to take to reach that magic sustainability? It will have to involve a willingness from consumers to appreciate the food that they have taken for granted for a lot of years. What the trigger for that is, is anyone's guess. I bet it would have to be something pretty serious.