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
!