Hey y'all. I've never raised cattle or lived on a farm before, but I have always wanted to. It's been a dream of mine for a long time. I'm currently serving in the Army. I've been in for six years and have roughly 4-5 years left, maybe more, so I have time to properly plan. My goal is to start a cattle farm when I get out. I know doing my homework is key as well as talking to good and experienced people such as yourselves. If you could square me away with some advise on how to get started and what are the first steps (examples help allot) it would be much appreciated. Thank y'all and God bless.
First off Welcome and Thank You for your Service! Your already making the first step. Research! You'll need to decide what breed of cattle your interested in. What your wanting to do with them. Calving your own calves? Raising purchased feeders? Things like that. You need to really read a lot and get an idea on what you feel you'll be able to handle. Equipment you'll need is another thing you need to pay a good deal of attention to. What land you'll have to start on will determine a lot as well. That's just a start Just read, read and read some more. Remember there are a lot of "know it alls" out there so don't take everything you read as gospel. Again! Welcome to the forum and Thank You for your Service. Were happy to have you!
Thank you for the advise. And thank you for the support. As a soldier I get some genuine thanks from people. But I want to say thank y'all farmers. Y'all are the true backbone of this great country. I hope to join the ranks in a few years. Again thank you.
Feel free to ask specific questions when you have them. We (as in our whole family) greatly appreciate your service to our country. Wouldn't be a free farmer (well we are in California but still free ) without our brave soldiers. Thank you for the appreciation though. It's rare.
Thanks again. I do have a few questions off the top of my head. What breeds of beef cattle are best recommended for the humid Alabama climate? Also, who are some trust worthy grants/loan agencies to look into to help get started? Thanks for input.
I wish I could help you with those questions but that is out of my area. You'll have to wait for a response from someone closer to that area.
I would say brangus,Santa gertrudis, or maybe even Simmental cattle would work for you down there, but beef master and angus should be fine also. And as for farm financial help, your local farm credit service (FCS) office is a great place to start.
