Farming

Well, I have no land and no cattle. Plus I know nothing about animals. How on earth could I possibly get such a career? It's easier to get a deskjob or start my own business. That's why no one does it.

If you start such a business I might be wise to diversify your products a bit though. And get a good insurance in case something happens to your products.

>>1023559
I'm 24 and I would love to earn a living doing something related to agriculture. The main obstacles to someone like me doing this sort of thing is the fact that it seems like a difficult profession to break into. Most people who do this lifestyle were born into families that have been doing it for years. There seems to be a lot that can go wrong - especially if you don't know what you're doing.

>>1023559
This line of work interests me but I don't come from that culture and would find trouble getting started. I'm 19 right now and I've applied to SO many ranch hand jobs but they pretty much only want experience. Any advice on how to get into this stuff would be greatly appreciated.

Also, how profitable would you say it really is? As far as I know, cattle ranches have been offering other sorts of entertainment (horse rides and shit to stay afloat).

>>1023559
because it is a full-day job being a farmer, and unless you own a farm, there is no need to even think of doing this independently.

>>1023566
>>1023572
Just getting ahold of the cash to get started is the hardest part, like I said I bought mine about 5 years ago when 6-7yr old cows could be had for around $900 a head, the last 2 years the cattle market has seen some record highs but they started declining 4 or 5 months ago when the market Chinese ordeal caused our markets to get shaky but the futures for feb-march are looking decent....if you don't have property if can be leased at a fairly reasonable rate in my area anyway..

>>1023573
Well it's honestly not....they pretty much take care of themselves they just need to be checked on once a day and given some hay during the winter (unless you have like 200-300cows), and you can lease farm land far cheaper than you can buy it and still make a nice profit.

>>1023585
Do you need to employ ranch hands and other maintenance staff or do you do the work yourself?

>>1023597
No for the operation I have I can handle everything by myself no problem, I only have 12 cows and 1 bull in my herd currently and 8 calves that will be ready for market in around 60 days on a 40acre farm..like I said they pretty much take care of them selves just feeding them and there are a few times a year where bush hogging is required and spraying the ground to keep weeds and shit killed out, and moving in the hay for the winter which I buy from a 2nd party...and just repair the fence if it should break anytime...that's about it

>>1023603
Well, good luck man

Farmers don't have days off. A nice office job in the city gives you a two week vacation. That's why people don't farm.

Have you ever been tempted to...you know...

>>1023605
Thanks man, you asked earlier how profitable it is. well man that depends on the size of the operation as to how much you can expect to make....on my 12 cows I can expect to make a profit of around 7-9k per year after expenses if everything goes well and the markets are at a decent price....so you can multiply that by how ever many cows you could handle

>>1023606
I go on vacation every year....it's no problem to have a friend or family member to look in on my cows every other day but if I didn't have someone who would do that for me I could easily find someone to do it for a 100 bucks...

>>1023616

Yeah, you're right. My family has a few large farms. I guess a few beef cows won't be too bad.

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>>1023559
people in my country only do olive and citrus/lemon etc type of farming.. not really cows or animals as it´s way too hot.

>>1023620
What kind of farming do they do?

>>1023624
That's cool anon how about reefer does it grow there?

I was thinking of getting into farming. I've been mentally compiling a list of high profit things for a while. Stuff like foie gras, worm castings, mushrooms, etc. I'd like to get into sheep/ goats.

>>1023629
Are you in the US, do you have any pasture ground?

>>1023626

My cousin's father in law is a dairy breeder. He also grows wheat for the cattle.

My uncles run my grandfather's apple orchard. They keep some small livestock, too.

>>1023559

The college meme probably.

I personally would love to live on a farm and raise cattle. sounds nice.

>>1023633
No. I'm not anywhere close to starting up anyway. It'd have to be a side thing at least initially. Do sheep take a lot of land? I prefer to stick to things that don't require a lot of it, but I know there's a need for the meat in my area. Could start a cowshare program too. I also know a guy who does a co-op with people who want to buy his produce. I feel like the key in farming is diversification, at least for small producers. Right/ wrong? Could be that I've been listening to too much Michael Pollan.

>>1023559

What are your profits? Expenses?

I'd like to know more about this part of farming.

>>1023643
I wouldn't imagine so but I have never had any so im not sure as long as they have plenty of feed the pasture shouldn't matter that much, diversity could be a good thing yes if you live in a place where there isn't much food or something then yes id say go for it add some vegetables and shit in there too

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>>1023628
not really

>>1023645
Profits depend on how the cattle market is doing when you sell your calves, middle of last year you could expect a 550lb calf would bring around $1100 but it has gotten cheaper since then I think a 550lb calf now would be more like $750 or so, my biggest expense is hay for the winter it runs between 25-30 bucks per roll and you will need abt 5 rolls per cow per winter here in TN, Around $20 per head per cow a yr, around $1-1.50 per day per head a year avg for feed/mineral......so on my particular farm if every thing goes well I can expect to sell around 9-13k in calves if they all live and do well and clear around 6-10k...but of course if you had say 40 cows instead of 12 like me you could really make a nice full time living from them

>>1023728
>Around $20 per head per cow a yr.
that should have said for vaccination

also you should remember that it's never guaranteed, a few years back my bull went bad and didn't get any of my cows pregnant and I ended up loosing a years worth of calves even tho the expenses remained the same

The farming community is aging. In some states, agriculture departments will put young people with farmers/ranchers so that the young people can get the knowledge. Check with your state's ag commission and see if there is such a program there.

>>1023612
How do you make those profits though? Milk? It takes years for a cow to come of age for beef. I'm trying to understand how you get any profit at all with 12 cows, seems like you'd only sell the beef on one or two per year, plus milk profits, minus the lease on the land, plus your own cost of living and utilities, how do you possibly stay afloat?

>>1023771
Yeah that's what I was saying, all the farmers I know are older guys besides me and a few Mennonites

>>1023795
Apply for this grant, anon.

http://nifa.usda.gov/funding-opportunity/beginning-farmer-and-rancher-development-program-bfrdp

>>1023793
This is just a side income for me I was saying that I would like to make it full time and the the profits are for beef cattle I sell them when they are 550-600lbs that only takes around 6-7 months from the time they are born to get them to that size I get one crop of calves per yr. and I happen to own the property.

>>1023793
kek where and what kind of cattle take years to become of age....what im doing is in the US it's not fancy pants beer feed and massaged cattle just plain ol black angus, a lot of times when they are purchased at the local market they are shipped to feed lots who will put another 400-600 pounds of weight on them before ultimately selling them to a beef slaughter house

>>1023821
That's cool, I looked through it somewhat but still I didn't understand exactly what it was for and if it would apply to me.....are they wanting to help fund the purchase of new cattle and land

>>1023695
I don't see why it wouldn't grow well in Malta. Cannabis farming is fairly extensive in Lebanon, as it was in Syria until the civil war ramped up. Those countries have a climate that I imagine must be quite similar to Malta.

>>1023728

noice.

I used to live in Chattanooga.

Tennessee was not for me, but not all bad.

Hey OP!

How do you sell your beef? Do you also slaughter/butcher your cows, and do you sell it by-the-pound cuts or an entire cow to a butcher?

Also, depending on that answer probably, how do you find who you will sell to? What service do you use to sell your beef?

I made a website for people who want to sell their local produce/beef etc. but I'll wait for your response and let you know.

>>1024186
I actually just take mine to a stock yard sale it's basically an auction they run the cattle into a ring that is also a scale and it displays the weight onto a screen...and people bid on them per lb the majority of people there are buyers who work for feed lots filling orders on a commission.

>>1024186
>>1025067
>im op by the way my ID just changes offten

I live in a rural area and I've been interested in eventually purchasing land to start a farm. The town I'm in was historically a farm town, but since the 60s and 70s became a resort town.

Do you think land would still be good to use? I see plenty of 'farmland' and it seems they just groom it and don't actually grow/feed on it.

Do you know anyone who does vegetable growing? I have heard a lot of areas are sort of saturated and it's impossible to get a spot at farmer's markets. I worry because just north of me there is tons of farmland. I've tried applying for jobs, but there is mostly horse farms in my town that always want experience.

http://www.alternet.org/food/what-nobody-told-me-about-small-farming-i-cant-make-living

>>1023624
It looks beautiful

>>1023821
That's for co-ops, NGOs, universities, extensions etc., not for individuals.

>>1025504
>WAH my California hobby farm isn't profitable.

>>1024044
As a side income is this doable with other animal's? Rabbits, Chickens, Goats?

>>1025612
as long as there is a market to sell the products your producing than sure it is doable, the cows just seem to be the best fit for me and the most profit for the least amt of work, shit give it a try the small animals are a lot cheaper to experiment with if it doesn't work out you haven't lost much

>>1025275
Im sure it would be fine to use, do you know how far away your nearest stockyard is? I know one old guy in my town who does the vegetables he sells them on the roadside in our local "farmers market" it's just a small shed he is usually the only one there, of course im in a rural community where a lot of folks still grow their own produce at home anyway and the ones that don't are to stingy to pay the extra few cents to but something fresh anyway...if you were in a hipster town where folks were more health conscious and concerned abt GMO's and all natural shit im sure you could do very well...when it was in season

>>1026025
I must be confused. I found a place that does auctions. According to them a cow wt 800-900 sold for avg. 49.00 that auction day. How is it calculated? It can't be 49.00 per pound.

>>1026034
it's typically in cents, but theres no way in the US that they were selling a 800-900 cow/calf for .49 either unless it was fucked up in some way crippled ect and if that's the average on the whole run then jeeeeeeez I need to be buying and trucking them....even a shitty 16yr old cow that was headed to become hamburger should have been around .90 per lb

>>1023559
>tfw you only want to chill in your farm growing shit because you grow up playing Harvest Moon
>have a kid and make dindins from stuff you grow and raise

>cant even grow a goddamn tomato seeds

good for you OP, glad you are living your life. Some people are not just born in this kind of thing. Maybe farm stuff is your calling man, but it just didn't work out for me.

>>1026045
https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=sites&srcid=ZGVmYXVsdGRvbWFpbnx0cmVhc3VyZXZhbGxleWxpdmVzdG9ja2NvbXxneDo0ODk5M2E0MGI5Y2VjYWIx

Hope this works. I must be reading it wrong.

>>1026060
yeah man im not much of a green thumb myself but im going to give it another try maybe this year if I can get a tractor bought

>>1023559
same boat OP. i was born into it but its def waning. only people who wanna get their hands dirty anymore are named Juan it seems. Couple the risk and failure rate for starting up and it makes sense that it would be so unpopular.

>>1026064
no you were reading it right it is .49 cents per lb by the way and that was probably the last sell of the year for that market it doesn't say how may head sold to make that avg also that may just be a shitty stock yard that does attract many buyers if you don't have professional buyers that are buying for a larger outfit then you are basically going to get fucked

http://www.cattle.com/markets/barn_report.aspx?code=SV_LS145

there is a random one I found for the same date as yours check it out the old slaughter cows are similar price as yours but they are referring to old 10 plus yr old cows there they things I am growing and selling would be in the category of feeder bulls and feeder heifers...and even then they are a lot cheaper than they should be, but then again that was right before the end of the year shipping was going to be slower some buyers may have already been on vacation ect those things dictate price

>>1026069
Yeah I bought my herd a couple years before prices stated creeping up I got started for 10k...I have made a lot of attempts at other business over the years and they have all eventually let me down besides my farm investment it has actually paid off and I would love to grow it by around 30head but in todays market your looking at 40,000 for 30 IF your lucky

Did anyone start their farm today?

>>1023795
>all the farmers I know are older guys
>>1024044
>and I happen to own the property
Well, thats why. Very few young people own land. And generally speaking, if you had to purchase land, you likely couldn't make it work financially.

You live in West TN? Been looking at farming land for a while since acreage is cheap..

>>1023559
>why do young ppl shy from this type of career
Don't know where you are, but in the U.S it's a real bitch trying to get your own land. Buying a decent size patch of land that is suitable for agriculture is flat out impossible for most people.

It all sounds interesting and I have been trying to get my mom to start it (for some nice grants from the government and tax breaks since she's a woman) but so far she doesn't want to because she thinks it'll fail.

Any ideas on what I could say to her to get her to change her mind? I think it could be interesting and a decent way to make money whilst being self-sufficient, but she would rather be a slave to her job because it's "safe."

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>>1024050
Why can't you just put the 400 to 600 on them and sell directly to the slaughter house?

I have 90 acres. I lease the land for $1380 each year to a rancher. Is that a fair price?

~$690 per each 40 acre plot.. (One of the parcels has a house and a barn taking up some acreage.)

... Also want to ask you what a head gate, panels and set up in the picture would sell for? Priefert.

Thank you kindly...

You're in Tennessee?

>>1028309
>I have 90 acres. I lease the land for $1380 each year to a rancher. Is that a fair price?
Damn I would rent that in a heartbeat just to go camping, have bond fires, drive my RC car and just chill. Too bad I live nowhere nearby.

>>1028314
That's interesting... I'm actually in Northern Calfornia... not in Tennessee.

I just rent the land for cattle usage but have been considering goats or boarding horses. I own 40 acres outright and I only pay $1200 per year for property tax.

You gave me a good idea about people who want a get away spot.. camping bond fires ... now im thinking.

>>1027725
start with a couple cows, and if it doesnt work out just take them to the butcher and have meet for a long time and sell the rest to the butcher or to a farmers market

>>1028341
You up near the humboldt/southern oregon? That's an area I'd love to be at in a few years, although the cannabis industry is gonna start making a bunch of shitty tourism spots/resorts around there soon.

>>1029241

this. Buy one cow, see if you make money. If you make money, buy as many cows as you can.

If you lose money on the cow, it was a cheap lesson why 1-2 people are doing it

>>1028309
Yeah bro OP here, i don't sell to slaughter house directly one reason is the distance involved in shipping them wouldn't be profitable for the small number i have when you go to hauling them around you increase risk for sickness and injury ect ect, the guys who buy at the auctions will buy enough that they can load a tractor trailer (abt 60 head)... that's cheap as shit on the lease most around me are paying $25+ per ac IF IF they can even find any to lease,....head catcher, shoot and corral panels i can't tell how many but id say you have a solid $700-$1000 set-up.

>>1029241
>>1029285
>>1027725
Well buying a cow to make a profit with isn't really going to be possible unless it's pregnant when you get it or if you are going to buy a bull to go along with it.....unless of course you are advising him to purchase a small calf and feed it and then re-sell it?

>>1029316

Yep.

Op needs to spend the money on one calf, get it fat as he can, do very detailed accounting on food expense, how many he can jam in one acre, and then document how much he makes.

If he spends $1000 on the calf and can turn it around for 3000$ in 2 years with $1000 in expenses then he should buy 100 cows

>>1029320
I am OP the originator of this thread, i can tell you already that each cow needs at least 2 acres, and getting them "fat" isn't exactly they best you want them to grow yes and you want the to be healthy yes BUT you do not want them to be obese, one weaned calf at 325lbs it's going to cost about $600 and feeds it out for 3-4 months getting it to 625lbs it's only going to bring roughly $850...so $250 minus cost of feed which would be around 75-100 for one calf that size if you weren't over feeding it you really aren't left with much..AND taking the risk of it dying during that 3 month span...buying a bred cow would be the way to go or buy a cow and bull...

>>1029340

Well, that answers you question why only 2 people do it.

Find something else to do with your life.

Open a petting zoo and when the animals get too big, sell them for tasty steak

>>1029349
oh no im cool with what i do my setup makes some money for me...just curious why more young people don't give it a try

>>1023559
grandparents growing up had a farm. it was a 'hobby' more than a business. 6-12 head of cattle, couple dozen chickens, 3 or so horses at any given time. we grew and baled hay one year for the hell of it.

i could farm. i don't own any land. i would like to one day.

>>1029352

because it isn't profitable?

>>1029363
I own the cows they give birth to calves every year..the calves from years gone by paid for the original investment into the cows, so the calves i am selling for $750-800 only have a little feed invested in them not a purchase price....understand?

>>1029358
good times.

>>1023559
its a business thats dominated by a few large corporations