Here is a topic I thought could start a good discussion. What part of the country do you think is the best area for cattle producers. Some items that might be beneficial to know. Land prices or price per animal unit, rainfall, growing season, feed prices, markets either clubby, commercial or purebred and anything else I may have left out.
Best cattle country
- Thread starter A.P.
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aandtcattle
Well-known member
I would like to think that the panhandle of Nebraska is cowboy heaven. There are some downfalls, such as extremely cold and windy winters. Sometimes we have snow on the ground for 6-7 months out of the year and have low temperatures of -30 to -40 without windchill figured in. Summers can be hot and dry as we average 12 inches of annual precipitation counting snow and hail! At times in July and August temperatures can soar to 110 plus. But with all this considered there is a lot to like about this area. Ground water is plentiful as we sit right on top of the Ogallala aquifer and a lot of our stock wells are only 15-20 feet deep. There are thousands upon thousands of acres of excellent native pastures for summer grazing and enough farmground in the area that there is abundant crop residues to graze in fall and winter and with well developed irrigation projects and sub-irrigated meadows, feed resources are excellent. But probably the best thing about this area is the fact that cows far outnumber people. It is very rural around here and cows have preference over everything. There isnt a buch of city folks complaining about this and that and there is no urban sprawl swallowing up precious rangeland. The county I live in is about 40 miles wide and 55 miles long with a total of 3 towns with a collective population of about 3700 people in the towns. I have no idea what the rural population is but it is sparse. Sometimes your "neighbor" might live 20 miles away in some instances. County fairs and brandings are big celebrations and the salebarns are the hotspots for socialization. There are 2 large salebarns in my home county and between the 2 they will auction around 8000 calves/week throughout the fall season. Nearly all the ranchers in the area do some artificial insemination at least to some degree and many (even commercial) a.i. every cow they own, every year. There are also about 35-40 seedstock suppliers in my home county alone and this area has a reputation for producing extremely high quality, good-doing cattle. <cowboy>
trevorgreycattleco
Well-known member
I think its hard to argue with a @ t. We talk all the time and he is in cowboy central. I live 30 minutes from the biggest city in Ohio so unfortunately I got folks all around me. Land prices are a joke. I rent my ground. Its a big deal when the cows get out. These city folks that bought their 5 acres and mow the hell out of it every week dont like it when the cows come through. With all that said, Ohio can grow some grass. With not much help from me. I am always amazed evry year at how much the grass can grow. My lawn care company is still going gangbusters, tho it is finally slowing down. No frost yet. Best I can figure, and from what others here have said. It takes 6 acres of good pasture to run a cow calf for all but 6 weeks out of the year. Southeast Ohio is still very rural and has many cows. I think the grass is even better there. It is a beautiful place. My father is from southeast Ohio and in a perfect world, I will have a big spread there one day or out west beside a @ t. Either way, the cows thrive. I think Arkansas and Missouri are very good cattle country as well.
Good topic
Good topic
Aussie
Well-known member
Right here at the bottom of the world. The best climate for growing grass and the cleanest air in the world.
Rainfall. We normally get about 50 inches a year. This is spread from March (Fall break) to mid November(spring). We normally get a Christmas rain of a couple of inches.
Temp range Summer 10 degrees C to 28 C winter is 4 dirges C to 13 C maybe 3 frosts a year. Fall Spring somewere in between.
Here grass rules. If you like cattle are the by produce to consume the grass. Pasture is mainly a rye clover base. We try to match our breeding cycle to match pasture growth. We run a cow to to the acre year round and young cattle (Ylgs)in the spring gain up to 4.4 pounds a day with a season ave 1.54 pounds. We want cattle that will grow to utilise feed marbling for our markets is not as important as yours unless suppling some of the feedlots in the north of the country so don't have to worry to much. Our target weight for the local packer is 550 to 750 pounds dressed weight 0 teeth.
Rainfall. We normally get about 50 inches a year. This is spread from March (Fall break) to mid November(spring). We normally get a Christmas rain of a couple of inches.
Temp range Summer 10 degrees C to 28 C winter is 4 dirges C to 13 C maybe 3 frosts a year. Fall Spring somewere in between.
Here grass rules. If you like cattle are the by produce to consume the grass. Pasture is mainly a rye clover base. We try to match our breeding cycle to match pasture growth. We run a cow to to the acre year round and young cattle (Ylgs)in the spring gain up to 4.4 pounds a day with a season ave 1.54 pounds. We want cattle that will grow to utilise feed marbling for our markets is not as important as yours unless suppling some of the feedlots in the north of the country so don't have to worry to much. Our target weight for the local packer is 550 to 750 pounds dressed weight 0 teeth.
