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SW MN | So I was doing chores the other day and realized most of the parts and pieces of my "feedlot" were purchased for $500 or less. Someday I am going to have some nice buildings like Garvo or Roo, but until I make some $$, this is what I am getting by with. Some background- my Dad fed steers for 35 years with the silos and a feed bunk, but everything was completely shot when I bought it after he retired. So now I am slowly getting back into feeding cattle. Everything you see had to have something fixed or dismantled to move or..... basically cheap $$ but needed labor to make it useful.
Picture 1. I bought 1/2 semi load of ties for under $400 (knew of someone taking them out). The fence line was from my uncle for $100. I poured a little bit of cement where the bunk used to be for them to eat off. The little monoslope shed in the back was dismantled from another farmer who didn't use it for $100. I got all the poles for it for $25 a piece- my Dad found them somewhere....
Picture 2. the two feed bins were unused at 2 different neighbors, I think the big one I paid $300 for and the small one I traded some meat for it. I had to make up a little slide under the small one so I can fill my feed system (2 five gallon pails- the maintenance cost is quite reasonable, except for the Busch Light in the summer....). The large one had a rust spot in the auger that had to be patched and the motor needed a capacitor and bearings.
Picture 3. I traded a case of beer for the fountain. It works good, but I did have to rig up a thermostat and replace a valve. The ice around it was from when I was gone for a few days and the guy doing chores didn't notice it was overflowing at night. The culprit was a little piece of plastic behind the shutoff valve. No big deal.
Picture 4.All the gates in the yard I got for a couple hundred $$ from various neighbors, other farmers that didn't have any livestock anymore and didn't want them. Some were bent, others needed to be welded or fixed up in some way. All had to be removed from posts, sheds etc.
Picture 5. Yep $500 for the cattle trailer. I had to replace the floor in the back and weld in new cross braces and shore up a couple other places. It works.
Picture 6. 1984 Chevy 3/4 with the 300,000 miles and the 6.2 diesel. $500. It was the only pickup I had with a 5th wheel ball. Had to replace the block heater. Never had to worry about getting a speeding ticket! I finally replaced it a couple months ago.
Picture 7. I bought the headgate for $50 on a farm sale. It was rusted stuck and I had to spend an afternoon getting it loosened up, greased and working again. I made up the squeeze gate behind it out of scraps and a partial old hog gate from a neighbor.
Edited by vpfarms 2/2/2013 15:30
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My $500 feedlot
