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W Texas | Wisdom.
I've seen a lot of folks get rolled on fancy cattle. Haven't personally ever seen anyone succeed with them.
Doesn't matter how fancy they are, they still only raise one calf per year, if you are lucky. That calf is just a sale barn calf for 90% of US producers.
If you are honest about inputs, that calf is only going to clear 100-150 US south of I40 over production costs in a typical year with good marketing. Problem is, few are honest with themselves about input costs, and folks are always expanding when they should be culling and culling when they should be expanding. I sell hay and have seen it over and over.
Out here in West TX a lot of those 2,500 USD bred heifers bought several years ago are headed to sale barns because these third and fourth generation ranchers have their rangeland overstocked with cattle last several years due to the El Nino years of 2014-2016. Local bred cattle in that age range are going for $600, and $75 of that is eaten up with freight to a salebarn eastward to near I35 where someone MIGHT have still some feed.
North of I70, have no idea how they feed a cow 6 months per year, lose a percentage of calf crop some years to cold and weather, and EVER break even. I read on this board a few years ago a post about "ear muffs for calves". I thought it was a prank. Couldn't believe it. If I had to buy ear muffs for calves, I'd raise reindeer, instead.
By far the most common profit strategy for a US Cattleman is to lie the themselves about inputs and supplement operation with off farm income. | |
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Break even on a bred heifer
