Cattle prices...anyone know?

[Nathan]

Dear Friends,

Do any of the forum readers/posters know how much it costs to buy cattle?

My mom owns 1000 acres of land and I have been placed in charge of the farm.

I intend to poblate my fields with cattle. I need to know an average price per head so I know how much money to budget and allocate to such endeavor.

Your help and insight would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance,

Nathaniel Diaz y Rua

PS
I searched all over the web and my efforts were inane...nothing came up on the subject. Only tourism stuff!

[sjh]

Have you been ranching long? I know there are several experienced ranch owners here who can give you advice, but you might want to provide some more information as to where you are located, what kind of cattle you want to raise, what type of grass you have, how many animals you think the property can support...

I would love to help out myself but I am a newbie in this business myself..

[andy a]

Cattle futures are about 80 cents/lb. The wholesale price is always very close to that. I think that they (steers) are typically martketed at about 800 lbs - I guess the growth rate slows significantly after that.

I went to a cattle auction once as a young man. Calves from dairy herds were basically given away (maybe $5 or so) to get rid of them. I know that has now changed - probably $100 or more even for a calf. I don't know about the price for beef calves.

I also know nothing about the price for bulls or cows.

I think that the best way to get started is probably to buy a lot of calves and raise them to yearlings at (profitable) marketable weights. Let experts handle the breeding.

Just my thoughts.

[sjh]

with 1000 acres of land, the decisions you make are of some consequence. I would not recommend just walking over to the nearest auction house and buying several hundred animals...

Last I checked weaned calves were over than 200 $. You will pay more per lb for young animals than mature ones...

Dairy calves will not produce beef as well as good beef stock nor will they fetch the same market price...

I agree, to start you, the easiest thing will be to get yearlings..

I should also point out that US live cattle futures are near a 10 year high. I dont know exactly what that indicates, but it is never good to buy high and sell low...

[andy a]

The more I think about it all, the more I think that it's a good time.

Cattle prices are not unreasonably high historically - they have been this high before. Since that time, prices in general have risen substantially. Many producer prices, including cattle, still have a lot of potential catching up to do. Look what gold is doing now for example, and how the dollar is weakening. These trends may well persist for years.

Even if the bottom falls out of prices, as a primary producer, your loss would come from the expense side of your operations (hired help, hay, water, etc.) rather than directly from the lower price of beef.

Speaking of hay, I have no idea what it sells for now. I did notice though a couple of years ago in New England that, although many or most farmers have found other occupations, they still mow their fields for hay. There seems to be a huge oversupply of hay now, meaning low prices.

Of course cattle need protein supplements (soybean meal, for example) too, which are more expensive than hay and require more work to feed them.

Eventually, you'll want to cultivate part of the acreage for cattle feed. For the 1st couple years or so, you can probably just hire a tractor to mow it once or twice a year to keep a forest from starting.

Again, I'm no ranching expert.

[sjh]

My understanding is that hay is only valuable in temperate and cooler climates. In the DR grazing can be done year round and most of the cattle farms in my area seem to be all grass fed

[Nathan]

Wow, thank you so much!

I am really grateful for your answer and it definitely gives me an idea of how much money I will have to dish out.

You see, those thousand acres have cacao, platanos, bananas, aguacates (avocados), and everything. The land is very fertil because a river (Mojica River in Miches, Seibo) is born in my land and runs through it. Everything there grows pretty big. I mean, it's sad to walk around the isles of the supermarkets here in Philly and seeing what these people call avocados, when I got these volleyball sized avocados going to waste.

While my mother, was here in the states working and putting me through school. The people she left in charge became crooked and stole just about everything (including the cows we had).

This one "neighbor," through the years, kept moving the fence taking a huge chunk of my inherittance.

Her original "plans of the land boundaries" (don't know what they call it), became waterlogged and damaged throughout the years and my mother couldn't really prove it in court. Plus, the guy was bribing the judges....he won!

The land is now in complete dissarray and I got to go and turn chicken dodoo into chicken salad.

I grew up there and know quite a bit about running the farm, but not much on cattle. This will be a first for me! (Besides, I don't have to know much about it, that's why I hire people to worry about that. Was good for Henry Ford, why not for me!)

So, If I don't go and take care of the land, my mom will sell the farm. I am leaving everything behind and the sweet comforts of living in the US, and go be a farmer + music business of course!

Thank you once again. Those were great answers!

[sjh]

Nathan,

There are several long time professional farmers/ranchers on this board, but i dont want to start naming off people with out their permission.. I am hoping they will jump in here, but the dont log on everyday so keep checking in. I am just a real small time guy who is just starting out.

My experience has been that you will not be able to trust anyone else to run the place for you. With the amount of money it will take to run a 1000 acre place there will just be too much temptation.

Stephen

[Drake]

For cattle beef farming- Firstly you need to prepare the land. Make sure that the land is well fenced. Depending the condition of the land, you need to plow and then find a suitable grass. I planted a Brazilian grass called San Ramon that works very well. You need to build a small ranch to lock and treat the animals with jabs ect.. Also the ranch should be designed to load the cattle on and off trucks for selling. Male bulls are worth double female cows. The recent price of the bulls was 1800$rd a quintal. Depending on the stock and where you are you can get better prices. My advice would be buy young bulls then sell them a 3 or 4 years later. With 1000 tareas you could easily support 100 cattle. An adult bull has from 3 to 6 quintales. What you basically need is plenty of food - grass and a good water supply like a stream or river that does not dry up. Don't forget cattle love salt which is very good for production. The best type of cattle for this region is Brahmen or Cebu as they call it here. Next time there is a Feria Ganadera in Santo Domingo go to it as you will see the best stock in the country.
good luck

[Golo100]

I am not into the cattle business nor do I pretend to know much about it. I also don't want to throw any dirt on your idea to come to DR and get into the business.

However, let me warn you about the cattle security business. If you decide to get into this, specially in El Seibo, be sure to organize your business with a priority in the security of your herd. El Seibo is the motherland of cattle rustlers. Not only that, but our rustlers are not the type who come in and steal a herd of cattle just walking in with their horses into your ranch and herding some cattle away. The Nagua area suffers a lot in this regard too.

These guys are one-cow-at-a-time rustlers. They come in with tools in hand and cut up your cow and take the meat ready to sell in parts to the nearest butcher. They are expert thieves. They just leave behind what they cannot use. Most times they have specific orders for a specific type of meat or parts and they just go out and get it. They drive owners nuts because of their audacity, flexibility and expertise. El Seibo ranchers are having nightmares over this. There is nothing the police can do. Few rustlers are ever brought to justice and there are just too many.

The other thing you have to be very wary of is who is going to serve as your veterinarian. This is going to be your most important ally in the health of your herd. He may also be your worst enemy. Keep your eyes open and good luck.

TW