Tubgrinding.

[T.N.T.]

Who do you know that still does custom tubgrinding in saskatchewan anymore?The guy i had been getting to do it for me,sold his tubgrinder and it went out of province.Thanks.

[ALLFARMER]

http://agcanada.ironsearch.com/Used-IRON-Equipment/SmartSort-Equipment/Haybuster/Tub-Grinder.aspx


Why not buy your own?

[T.N.T.]

For something we would use only 6 times a year maybe,why waste the money on the tubgrinder?Maybe this year we will actually get decent hay and we can run everything through the bale processors.Still have a lot of poor hay leftover from last year though.

[ALLFARMER]

If you have over 100 head and feel you need the machine spending 10K is nothing. 100 cows plus 100 calves = 200 year x 5 years = 1000 animals divided by $10000 machine cost = $10/animal Check out richie bros website auction results. I found a hay rake that new sells for 30K that sold on richie's this spring for $1500. Just my 2 cents worth.

[grassfarmer]

Rather simplistic accounting Allfarmer - add in operating costs for time and fuel, repairs, depreciation and you could probably double your investment. Cows don't like or need much metal or diesel to function. Tubgrinding doesn't improve your feed quality one bit so why not let the cows do the work? They have teeth designed for the job and time on their hands through the winter feeding period. Why spend $10k or $20k every 5 years buying unneccessary metal?

[gaucho]

Hey ALLFARMER, I think you need to take a ranching for profit or better yet a basic business accounting course... between your Tub grinding accounting and land clearing calculation I think you need to invest in a better quality calculator... I agree that on occasion you can find premium used highly depreciated equipment but the question to ask is it a want or a need? If you want to make money in this business quite doling out the welfare to your cows.

[ALLFARMER]

grassfarmer & gaucho tell me:

1)how many cows do you have?
2)how many calves you winter?
3)how much land do you own?
4)how man cows and how many acres you plan to be running in 5 years?

What I was trying to point out is 10 or 20,000 in the cattle business is peanuts if you have any kind of size. I am a college graduate and will easily have a net worth over a million dollars before I am 40 so ya I won't be taking another accounting coarse anytime soon. 14 years of schooling is enough time sitting and listening to someone else for me. I am a get off your ass and do it kind of person I dont analyze the hell out of stuff. Wealth people figure out how to make money then they use the power of multiples to capitalize on it. I don't try to reinvent the wheel every day. I buy proven machinery, all brand name stuff and run one type of cattle.

Find out what works for you then multiply! My farm has grown by 50 percent this year an may hit 100 before the year is done. How are you doin? KISS formula = Keep It Simple Stupid

[gaucho]

I don't go online to brag acres and cows numbers but the cows are are well over 400 and the land is over 7000 acres including 4000 acres lease. I started from nothing 15 years ago and will turn 40 this summer. How did we do that? by staying away from the things that rust, rot and or depreciate and using a calculator.

[gaucho]

By the way ALLFARMER... I retain ownership to the box on all our calves

[ALLFARMER]

Thanks for being open and honest.

I often wonder from what perspective people are comming from 40 cows or 400 it makes a big difference. I have only a passive interest in talking to someone with only 40 cows.

400 is more like where I plan to be in a couple years so I guess I better listen to someone who is doin it. I guess we come from similar backgrounds I also started 15 years ago with nothing.

Its hard to soar like an eagle when you hanging with the turkeys

[grassfarmer]

That's a common Alberta attitude ALLFARMER look how big numbers I have/how much machinery/how big a truck/how much land I have. Personally I'm more interested in running a profitable, sustainable business irregardless of size. If a guy with 40 cows can make a good living off his farm I'd rather listen to him than the guy that needs 400 as in my estimation the small guy must be a heck of a lot smarter. (no offence to gaucho intended)

So what's your game plan in the next decade ALLFARMER if cattle prices return to the lows of recent years? You are not interested in paying attention to the things that might make you a low cost producer, are you prepared to add value on the other end or will you just sell weaned calves regardless of price? Will a million dollars of assets cashflow you well enough to put milk on your table?

[ASRG]

I think most people have goals of where they want to be in life and how they see themselves achieving that?
I've always tried to remember that what I might want has nothing to do with what the guy down the road might desire?
There used to be a popular saying a few years ago "Who ever ends up with the most toys....WINS".....but I think that really is a foolish concept?
In reality the real "WIN" is the ride? Not what you accomplished, but how much you enjoyed doing it! At the end of your days...your money and possessions won't mean much....but your memories....and how others remember you will be about all that matters?
It's good to be young and expanding and achieving all you hope for. It's an exciting time!It really is your day in the sun!
But realize that someday that will change...either willingly or not! We'll all quit farming and ranching someday, and that isn't a bad thing, just very different?
"Wherever you go in life...there you are"

[per]

Interesting where this thread went. Allfarmer as you strive for your 400 head remember the difference between a commodity producer and one who hangs on to the tail all the way to the box. That is like comparing a couple of draft horses to a 4WD tractor. The number of head is not as important as the net profit. My little pasture to plate enterprise is highly profitable compared to our commodity enterprise.

To paraphrase what has already said. Money (cattle numbers, acres, etc) doesn't have much value. So if bragging rights are the core value here for you then have at it. A well run 400 head outfit should give you the best of both kinds of value.

[smcgrath76]

Whatever floats your boat...
I think going forward working in terms
of cost on a per cow basis and focusing
on keeping costs down and adding value
on the other end helps to reduce a lot
of risk.
If you can produce a calf for $400, that
is a lot less risk than $800, even
though $1000 calves probably cash flow
better than $600 calves.
However many cows you run I would try to
focus on the margin and the risk
management.

[per]

This blog from Dave Pratt's Ranching For Profit blog called Growth is not a Strategy by the CEO of Starbucks gets the point across pretty well.

http://blog.ranchmanagement.com/2011/06/22/growth-is-not-a-strategy.aspx