How much area and housing do we need?

[scrapmom5]

Hey Y'all:

We are currently looking to buy some land so that we may farm. My sweet DH would like to have cows. He wants to raise meat cows to sell and 1 or 2 dairy cows for personal comsumption. What would a minimum space per cow be? And since I have never farmed (DH has) what type of home do they require? I want really happy cows and hope to have green pastures for them to graze and plan on rotating them through different fields as the green disappears. What should I do?

 

[wynedot55]

you can run cattle on 20 or 30acs or less.as for housing i dont know what state your in.cows really like being on pasture year around.

 

[scrapmom5]

How many cows on 20 or 30 acres?

I am in Utah but am looking anywhere I can find some nice land.

 

[wynedot55]

depending on how much grass is there an the rain.you could prolly run 10 or 12 cows on 30acs.now a horse needs 3 to 5acs pre horse.

 

[Farmer Kitty]

depending on how much grass is there an the rain.you could prolly run 10 or 12 cows on 30acs.now a horse needs 3 to 5acs pre horse.

I would agree. If you have good green pasture you would be okay. If the pasture tends to get dry and stop growing you will need to supplement feed during the dry time.

 

[scrapmom5]

I have a pasture near my cabin...the pasture is divided into 5 sections, each section is 2-3 acres each. The farmer keeps around 40 cows on the pasture. He separates the cows from the bulls and uses two pastures at a time. (the fifth pasture rarely is used) His fields are always green; My question is this; If you should have 10-12 cows per 30 acres how does he do it. I never see sprinklers going, it doesn't rain a lot up there, and yet just yesterday his fields were thigh high with green. He does have an irrigation ditch that is full only when the cows are in that particular field. His cows seem happy except when it is hot and they all huddle under the one lowly tree.

Forgive my all my q's. I am new at the cow thing and want to have all the answers. is there a place to get all the answers?

 

[wynedot55]

I have a pasture near my cabin...the pasture is divided into 5 sections, each section is 2-3 acres each. The farmer keeps around 40 cows on the pasture. He separates the cows from the bulls and uses two pastures at a time. (the fifth pasture rarely is used) His fields are always green; My question is this; If you should have 10-12 cows per 30 acres how does he do it. I never see sprinklers going, it doesn't rain a lot up there, and yet just yesterday his fields were thigh high with green. He does have an irrigation ditch that is full only when the cows are in that particular field. His cows seem happy except when it is hot and they all huddle under the one lowly tree.

Forgive my all my q's. I am new at the cow thing and want to have all the answers. is there a place to get all the answers?

if he runs 40 cows on 15acs.he is irragating it.if you have 30acs of pasture.you can make it into 15 smaller pastures to graze cows in.an move the cows every 4 or 5 days to a new pasture.it cost about $100 an ac or more irragate if you have access to water.

 

[scrapmom5]

Now does it change if I supplement them?

And what about sheep?

 

[Katy]

I agree it just depends on where you are and how many cattle you want. Where I live it takes 7-10 acres per head to support a cow/calf pair on summer pasture.

I should add that you will need to have additional acrerage to grow feed for them to eat in the winter.

 

[Farmer Kitty]

Now does it change if I supplement them?

And what about sheep?

If you supplement them it does change the equation. It just depends on how much you want to supplement to how much you can get away with.