[Megan]

I know I've been asking questions as I'm interested in having a cow or two in the not too distant future, but just not totally sure. Of course, I have to get the land in the Spring.

But, how did you decide to get a cow or two, and is it living up to what you were expecting when you started?

Are you doing it for the milk or for the beef meat for the freezer?


I'm thinking more for the meat for the freezer.

 

[goose835]

my wife and i decided to raise beef steer as a more healthy alternative to store-bought beef. theres a certain satisfaction knowing exactly what went into that steak you're eating. i buy only the best quality hay for horses so i know they are eating the best food they can get. the horse hay only costed $10 more per 900lb roll. a small price to pay for the best beef i can possibly raise. im hoping for a 700-750lb weight by october for slaughter.

 

[rrachell_llynn]

I am a new comer to raising cattle myself and trying to educate myself more to help my boyfriend (who was raised on a dairy farm) breed and raise his cattle. My family has always bought a steer and pig for slaughter off of neighbors who showed them at the local 4H/county fair. Their steers were grain fed and on grass. The hard work is well worth it when you have a freezer full of meat and you know exactly where it came from, how it was raised, and what the animal ingested.

 

[CROWEmtnFARMS]

I do it for the money, freezer, and pleasure. Im a FF fulltime. Work a 24/48 schedule and fool with cows my 2days off. I luv raisin em up From nothin to bringin top dollar at the sale barn. The only hobby ive found that makes me money instead of draining the bank

 

[cattle]

I was selling eggs there for a bit so I can relate. It's nice to have a hobby that makes some money instead of just spending it.

 

[CROWEmtnFARMS]

Yep doubles the enjoyment lol

 

[DoubleR]

I've always been in ranching and raising our own food.
I want to know how my foods been treated and what it's eaten and that it was happy right up till the end.
I have some wonderful clients, great cattle (and lots of other animals) and love the reproduction/lab aspect of it also.
It's been a trying life but a great one. Can't beat it in my opinion and certainly can't beat the meat!

 

[Fairfarmhand]

we accidentally became farmers. Bought some property next door to keep neighbors from moving right next to our house. Thought we'd want some horses someday, so we bought cows to make some money off the land until we could afford horses. We loved the cows so much that we never looked back. Now we have 43 acres, 15 mama cows and their calves. Mostly black angus and commercial beef but I have 2 Jerseys that I milk. We raise calves on the milk and drink it for our family.

 

[cattleman1253]

Get a Black angus or a black baldy( black angus/Hereford cross) very good beef with lots of growth and meat marbeling DON'T GET A HOLSTEIN!! I'm not downing the dairy industry but they take FOREVER to gain weight I don't care what anyone says don't get milkers for feeders stick with beef breeds for best results this is from personal experience and research on cattle. And one more thing Holstein bulls are one of the top dairy breed for a very mean bull that all he wants.to do in life is kill you I'm not kidding as an employee at a stockyard and friends with dairy farmers I would know please just stay away from dairy especially bulls. Just trying to keep someone from getting burned out on a deal and/or getting hurt. So if you was to get meat calves stay with beef breeds and remember when you start raising cows DON'T EVER trust them even if raised from babies especially bulls but bulls and cows alike are still as dangerous but is a very enjoyable hobby i love it.

 

[RanchWife]

I married a rancher and became the instant hired hand as Gwen Peterson put it in her book that has become my life, "the ranch woman's manual" our family has been running cattle since late 1800 s. Since my husband and I moved to the ranch I've developed a love for cows, I love working them, learning about them, taking care of them, and talking about them.

 

[Blaundee]

I grew up on a ranch & we raised Santa Gertrudis. My family sold the cows & we havent owned cattle for about 5 years, & now Hubby & I want to get back into it- it would be our first cattle herd to start up new, for ourselves We're looking at it all on paper first lol (we already have dairy & meat goats, horses, & sheep)

 

[Krooked_S]

My wife has been around cattle her whole life her grandparents used to raise 1000s of veal calves a year and had cows out on pasture. She also showed commercial dairy heifers for FFA which we still own #1 cow in the state and one of her heifers. We also traded a big billy for two weaned jersey bulls which we took to sell barn already. Then we decided to get into bottle calves were we raised out a few bulls so far and sold them at weaning age and raised two heifers and are going to make them nurse cows. And we have currently have a couple bulls and few heifers in barn.

 

[Megan]

These are all great stories of how you all got started.

Keep them coming they are inspiring.