A lot of newcomers to the business want to know a good web site to get started with learning about cattle farming and cattle fattening for their new (or not yet existing) cattle farm. Well, this web site is a good place to start! Of course, there are a few other sites to check out.
But first, an old cattle farmer joke!
Someone asked a farmer what the quickest way to get a million dollars in the cattle business. The farmer answered, “Start with two million.”
OK, here are a few places you should check out:
- Go to the USDA website.
{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
The first thing you need is land either land you own or rent. Next you need capital. There is an old joke about this “Someone asked a farmer what the quickest way to get a million dollars in the cattle business. The farmer answered *Start with two million”.
Go to a USDA website To be of any further assistance I would need to know where you are located. You can email me
One final thing it would best best if you had a steady income from a source other than the farm at least when you are starting out
Well, first of all, congratulations on your interest in the cattle business. There’s nothing else quite like it!
It sounds like to me you’re interested in raising some stocker cattle and selling them–that is a VERY good idea for a first-timer! Stocker cattle are bought in the spring as weaned fall-born calves or in the fall as half-grown spring-born calves. The stocker farmer ‘fattens,’ or ‘finishes’ the cattle. He keeps them until they are yearlings, and then sells them at the market at a finished weight (average steer-1,000 lbs finish weight).
You need to make sure you have sufficient pasture (fenced well), grain, hay, and handling facilities.
Pasture should not be weedy or overgrown, and I cannot over-stress the ‘fencing’ part. PLEASE be sure you have a secure fence BEFORE you acquire any cattle, or else you’ll be chasing cattle all over creation, and your neighbors won’t be too pleased.
Grain is essential for stocker cattle. Some good 14% or 16% protein cattle grain will really put the pounds on them, but not too much. You’ll need to start them out (if they’re not preconditioned) at about 1-1/2 pounds a day per calf, and, according to their manure (thin, squirty–bad; too much grain; tight (think approximately doggie doo)-good, just the right amount of grain) you can raise them about 1/4 lb/head/day.
If pasture will not be enough or it’s wintertime, you must have good-quality hay, and plenty of it. A 15-head group will take out a large round bale in less than a week. High-quality timothy/bermuda/clover hay with a sweet, fragrant odor and good green color should serve you well.
Handling facilities is just a fancy term for a headgate/corral/holding pen. You should have these facilities to catch the cattle in order for the veterinarian to properly care for them, if they get sick/injured, or just for routine vaccinations.
This is just the tip of the iceberg of cattle-raising. You need to find an experienced farmer near you and become friends, to get the proper information and hands-on training you need.
I hope I helped, and this is a Google book, and it is an excellent online resource
I think it’s great that you want to raise cattle and that you are looking for information first! Too many people jump into it without the proper knowledge and facilities.
There are a lot of great websites out there to get you started.
You will want to make sure you have a reliable vet and maybe some experienced neighbors to help you out and give advice. You also want to make sure you have proper facilities: acreage, fencing, corral systems, head gate, feed, vaccinations, etc. You also need to be financially capable of providing proper care.
A great website to get you started is
They have a Question and Answer Board, where you can read up on just about everything.