planning future on farm

sean98

Hi, i am wondering what ye all think of my little 'business plan' for my future on the family farm. I hope to breed approx. 25 purebred hereford cows, keep off spring and fatten them for factory. I think this might be a way to make a bit of money and not be fulltime. I have a good few years before i take over farm so have plenty of time to think..
I realise to do this i would need a lot of land, meal and good stock. Anybody doing this or know anyone who is? All advice appreciated! Thanks :-D

whelan2

what are you planning on putting them in calf to? If the are going to be pb cows would you not put them in calf to he and sell as breeding stock?

sean98

whelan2 wrote: »

what are you planning on putting them in calf to? If the are going to be pb cows would you not put them in calf to he and sell as breeding stock?

No, pb herefords is what they will be breeding, i hear herefords are the best dor meat and are heavy cattle so i was tinking of using dem

gozunda

In my experience Hereford's generally have good temperaments and are easier to handle compared to some other breeds.
Meat quality is very good and they are hardy beggars too!

I note you talk about land - will you work from the family farm or or do you intend to lease?

sean98

gozunda wrote: »

In my experience Hereford's generally have good temperaments and are easier to handle compared to some other breeds.
Meat quality is very good and they are hardy beggars too!

I note you talk about land - will you work from the family farm or or do you intend to lease?

I intend to work off family farm but hope to expand a little by buying/leasing to accomodate these big herefords which im sure will eat an awful lot..
Herefords seem to be good at factory time and are big cattle, they also seem to be easy handled so thats my reason for herefords

trg

I'd agree that Hereford is a good breed for parttimer, II'll be going for them in not to distant future hopefully.

One thing though....would it not make more sense to simply purchase enough stock for the land you have rather than the expense of leasing/buying other land + the potential cost of getting land up to required standard?

Are you calving them? If so & if you have full time job how will you manage this?
Is it possible to synchronise ovulation somehow? This would be handy for planning time/holidays

sean98

trg wrote: »

I'd agree that Hereford is a good breed for parttimer, II'll be going for them in not to distant future hopefully.

One thing though....would it not make more sense to simply purchase enough stock for the land you have rather than the expense of leasing/buying other land + the potential cost of getting land up to required standard?

Are you calving them? If so & if you have full time job how will you manage this?
Is it possible to synchronise ovulation somehow? This would be handy for planning time/holidays

I hope to buy a few extra cattle to try and make a bit of money (if thats possible). Theres no point in Only bringing a few to factory every year

weatherbyfoxer

Why pb's?....herfords are fine cattle but you will be tied into fattening...not as popular as some of the continental breeds in marts as weanlings or stores....I have a limo bull (elite vantastic forever) throwing super docile very easy calved well shaped calves on a low cost system with very little meals

If your set on fattening herfords maybe try some suck calves from british friesian dairy?

sean98

weatherbyfoxer wrote: »

Why pb's?....herfords are fine cattle but you will be tied into fattening...not as popular as some of the continental breeds in marts as weanlings or stores....I have a limo bull (elite vantastic forever) throwing super docile very easy calved well shaped calves on a low cost system with very little meals

If your set on fattening herfords maybe try some suck calves from british friesian dairy?

I want to fatten the calfs and kill them myself, thats why i was thinking pb herefords, if there is another breed that kills best and gets me the best price at the factory please tell me!!!!

Oldtree

sean98 wrote: »

I want to fatten the calfs and kill them myself, thats why i was thinking pb herefords, if there is another breed that kills best and gets me the best price at the factory please tell me!!!!

Don't think you can kill them yourself. They would have to be slaughtered by a licensed person. I'm told that this means that they will have Dept of Health approved slaughter and meat prep facilities as well as approved offal disposal facilities

weatherbyfoxer

sean98 wrote: »

I want to fatten the calfs and kill them myself, thats why i was thinking pb herefords, if there is another breed that kills best and gets me the best price at the factory please tell me!!!!

Define kills best??...definitely breeds with better confirmation out there.....buying into pb cattle just for slaughter is madness in this country imho.....yea...good price with the AA and hereford schemes. ..but bare in mind markets can change