New to BYH - Cow question

AL

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I am on the other boards, but new to BYH. It was suggested I come here for expert advice on cattle.

Question 1)
The property to be used is woods and brush. Is there a type of cattle that could do well there? No cleared pasture land. Should I start with goats / donkey?

2) Is there a way to know the going price / lb for a beef cow? My cousin raises angus / simmental (sp?) and has offered me a small discount to buy from him.. but it is a pretty good road trip and I don't know if it would be worth the gas money?
There is also an "organic" beef ad on CL for my area to buy 1/4, 1/2 or whole cow already butchered and packaged, $4/lb. Any ideas on what might be close to reasonable there?
http://pensacola.craigslist.org/grd/1838266191.html
 

WildRoseBeef

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Where are you located?What are your goals for raising cattle?

1) Goats will certianly clean out your bush and woods area. Cattle will only trample it down. You will have to have less # of head per acre in the woods than you would on pasture, plus cattle are primarily grazers, not browsers, although they too will eat leaves and shrubs as high up as they can reach. There's really no specific breed that is better at doing this than another, as all cattle of any breed will be more than happy to help the goats trample and clean out the bush. It'll be only a one-time thing though, as the bush won't grow back nearly as vigorously as grasses will.

2) This depends on where you live (which would be important for us to know). Your local salebarn or local ag newspaper that will often list the weekly prices of cattle is one source to look for. It seems you are more interested in raising beefers for your own freezer beef than anything else. However having to get them up to weight and fattened before slaughter takes buying feed and the cost to either have someone come out and butcher your beefers for you, or take them to the slaughter house. It is less of a hassle if you have a source you can buy your beef from, already wrapped and boxed.

Cattle need mineral, water, and fences before they come and "destroy" your woods. When they have eaten every twig and leaf they can reach, they will be looking at you for more food, in terms of hay and grain. The thing that I don't like about having cattle "graze" in the woods is that they will cause harm to a natural ecosystem that houses many different plant species that have been growing there since before you moved there. Cattle also aren't too particular to what they eat, and you may have one or more poisonous plants in your woods that you will have to watch out for. And they aren't too particular to where they step, like deer or other wildlife are. So if I were you, if you don't want to go to all the hassle of making sure your animals have good water and feed and mineral available and don't want to have your woods destroyed, boxed beef may be the best solution. But I would like your opinion on that, AL.

BTW, :welcome
 

AL

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Well... it is kind of a 2 part / 2 person question.
I am interested in raising for my own beef. I have a 3 acre grass pasture and am aware cattle need feed / mineral blocks / fresh water. The question about the beef price was mine.

A friend has purchased 10 acres of wooded land - brushy thickets, etc. She was talking about buying angus cattle and putting out there.... I told her I didn't think Angus would thrive in that environment, but that there might be a heartier, rangier type that could.


ETA - oops... sorry, forgot to add that this is all in NW Florida / lower Alabama
 

WildRoseBeef

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Ahh, I see.

You, Al, could raise a couple beefers on your 3 acre pasture no problem. I'd go with steers, not cows, as they are a) smaller and b) a bit easier to manage than cows are. Make sure when you bring them home, though, that you have a secure area built where you can house them for a few days so they can settle down, before you turn them out to pasture. As for the prices, it depends on what goes best for your area. Usually smaller steers, like those in the 300 lb range go for higher than the ones in the 900 lb range. Up here in Alberta, I believe the 600 lb steers are going for $110/cwt, but I could be wrong, as prices fluxuate week-to-week. Go with whatever breed you choose; if Angus is popular, go with Angus, though those black-baldies do great finishing up for beef as well.

As for your friend, I still think that there really isn't a particular breed that will do best for the woods. But, Angus cattle are quite hardy and are commonly used as range cattle, especially up north in Montana. They do get a bit flighty though, and I don't know whether she's well aquainted with cattle. Herefords or Red Angus might be another couple breeds she could consider, or an RA baldy. Herefords are also a common range-type animal.
 

goodhors

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Your friend might want to get some more heat resistant breed than Angus for a Florida. That black hide gets awful hot in the sun. They do cold just fine, but heat, they can be rather lethargic, overheat in sun so they don't always do as well as other breeds can.

Some other breeds, crosses, have been developed that take heat very well. Santa Gertrudis is a red breed, developed in Texas for the heat. Personally, I am not happy with the Brahma crosses, but they do take heat fine and other folks like them. I would think buying locally, she would have more access to heat resistant breeds or crosses that work in areas similar to hers.

Woods in Florida is not like woods in the Midwest, which is what I was picturing. Still not sure how much is edible, even for cattle. She should plan on supplementing what grazing they get, with baled hay. She will have to watch the condition of cattle to see if they are getting enough to eat, or need the extra hay. The cattle will clean the woods regardless, but without hay extras, they may be underweight when she wants to sell them off or get rid of them because woods are now clean.

Our neighbor had a (midwest) woodlot the cattle ranged in. It looked like a park, all groomed smooth, no underbrush and all trees trimmed up about 6ft. Cattle checked out the grazing on the way to their big pasture, woodlot was "snacks" not the main course of grazing area. They were in good flesh, shiny coated with plenty of grass to eat all the time.
 

WildRoseBeef

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Goodhors, I was thinking about the Brahman but not knowing how cow-savvy this friend of Al's was, or how experienced she is with cattle, I thought it best to stay away from the more high-strung and more flighty brahman breeds and have her stick with a more versatile breed like Hereford or even Red-Angus crosses. Unless there's a producer that has very docile Brahman-type cattle like gerts or brangus or even just brahmers, it's hard to say what she'd do best with. But I do agree that Angus is a poor choice for a hot climate like down in Florida.
 

herfrds

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Al maybe your friend should look at a brahma hereford cross. I have heard they are doing pretty good down there.
 

LavacaW

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Don't tell all these south Texas ranchers down here that their angus cattle won't handle the heat. If she has small acreage, she might think about Dexters. They forage some, take less space to raise and are a gentle breed.
 

clebouef

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One type of breed that i didnt see mentioned was the texas longhorn. They can do very well on substandard pasture and wooded brushy areas dont bother them a bit. Here in deep southeast texas its either salt grass marsh type pastures or a lot of wooded areas.
The longhorns do well and they eat the bark off a tree if the can.
 

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