Meet the Farmers Cattle Herd!!!
By far the biggest enterprise on our farm/homestead is our cattle herd. We have just over 100 mama cows on the farm. What is a mama cow you ask? A mama cow is a cow that we hope will get bred and have a calf for us this coming year.
Our cattle herd is a mixture of commercial and registered cows. Our commercial herd is made up of mostly Angus and Charolais genetics. We currently have about 80 commercial cows. These cows are the backbone of our herd. We only keep cows that are good mothers and have good dispositions. It is no fun to have a mean cow on the farm.
We also have about 20 registered South Poll cows on the farm. The South Poll breed is known for its ability to thrive in warmer climates and their outstanding mothering abilities. Our goal is to slowly move the herd towards more South Poll influence as we are very pleased with these cows and the quality they bring to our herd.
No cattle herd is complete without the Bulls. We currently have three registered South Poll bulls that are in service here on the farm. Again a gentle bull is a must and these three guys are extremely gentle and make some beautiful baby calves.
That is what makes up our cattle herd here on the farm. These cows are divided into two groups one group has their calves in March- May time frame and the second group will have their calves in Sept-October timeframe. We really enjoy our cattle and strive to give them a healthy and happy life. We have also been breeding for about six years now to get a cow that thrives on just grass and hay. We are not necessarily opposed to feeding grain to our cattle but from a business side of things grain can get very expensive. Our cattle herd today is grain free and they thrive on our Kentucky grasses.
That’s our cow herd in a nutshell. Hope it gives you some insight on to what we do here on our farm/homestead. Thank you again for stopping by. Have a wonderful day!
How much land do you have for the cattle to graze on? We have a small homestead (10 acres) now, but dream of owning MUCH more land someday and having a large herd of cattle as well. Just curious how much land you need for that many cattle to graze on and eliminate the need for grain.
We have about 350 acres for the cows to graze on. We graze 100 mama cows and calves then we also buy around 300 calves a year to graze also. In Ky the rule of thumb is 2 acres per mama cow. I wish you the best on getting more land and expanding;)
Thanks! Have you find a good way to get financing on large land and cattle purchases? We would love to make the jump, but just don't know much about the financial end of things.
When we started we used Farm Credit. They specialize in rural and farm properties
Hey man! Thanks for the insight! You said that the cattle is the biggest enterprise, what other enterprises do you have going on there?
We also raise meat goats. Sell some eggs and a few other things. But cattle and goats are the two main money makers
I hear goats are pretty destructive and daily look for away to hurt themselves. Do you find this to be true with the ones you have?
No. The goats are amazing. They are only destructive if they get hungry as long as they have food they are happy and content. We love our goats. For the investment they have the best return of money
These are beef cattle. You are a rancher as well as a farmer. :-)
Yes we have beef cattle. I have been told you are a rancher if you are west of the Mississippi. Since we are east of it they call us farmers;)
This is something I have never heard before. I just keep on learning. :-)
Now I am not 100percent on that but that is what they say down here in Ky.
I have never heard of the South Poll cattle before, but they do look nice and it looks like you have some good genetics in their. You must have a lot of acreage to support that many nice looking cattle. My goal is to eventually have all grass fed beef too and slowly get to a herd of between 30-50. Its a goal, but in time I think I can get there.
The south poll are a newer breed started in Alabama. We have been very happy with them. 30-50 is a great goal. I am sure you will get there in time. It has taken me just over 9 years to get to this point.
Love reading about your herd! When we lived in Kissimmee FL all those decades ago one of the breeds on the cattle ranch we lived on was the Charolais.
Our tiny herd was Simmenthal/Angus crossed with Devon. We thought it was the best meat! And the calves finished in 18 months.
That does sound like a great cross.
You have received an upvote from STAX. Thanks for being a member of the #steemsilvergold community and opting in (if you wish to be removed please follow the link). Please continue to support each other in this great community. To learn more about the #steemsilvergold community and STAX, check this out.
2.75% @pushup from @bowentroyer
You got a 5.70% upvote from @upmyvote courtesy of @bowentroyer!
If you believe this post is spam or abuse, please report it to our Discord #abuse channel.
If you want to support our Curation Digest or our Spam & Abuse prevention efforts, please vote @themarkymark as witness.
You got a 1.25% upvote from @buildawhale courtesy of @bowentroyer!
If you believe this post is spam or abuse, please report it to our Discord #abuse channel.
If you want to support our Curation Digest or our Spam & Abuse prevention efforts, please vote @themarkymark as witness.
You got a 9.96% upvote from @allaz courtesy of @bowentroyer!