[mikethesmallholder]

First of hello, I am new to the website and have a farm in the midlands. It has sheep on it at the minute but as soon as the fields recover from the winter and the grass is long enough I will be buying a Hereford cow in calve with a Hereford x.
This is the first time of keeping cattle, i intend of keeping the cow for breeding and raising the calves to 20 months then selling them at market.......everything is ready  (i think) e.g.  The cattle shed and cow crush but i need help!!!!!! How much does it cost??

I understand the cow in calve will cost about £1000 and to get it AI every year will cost about £50 but food wise not a clue, the cow will have 30 acres to roam around on grass land but is this enough? Or will it need extra feed during the outside months?
Also when does she need to go into the shed? Then once in there how much feed will she and her calve need? For how long will they be in there? Is it 5 months??

Any help would be grateful


Mike

[SallyintNorth]

If you have a hardy native like a Hereford, in the Midlands, and your ground isn't too wet, and you clearly won't be overstocking, you might not need to bring them in at all.  We outwinter some of our natives and native cross cattle and we're on wet moorland/upland in the far north of England.

One beef cow rearing one calf on good ground shouldn't need much extra feed - just some hay when they can't get at the grass and maybe when there's little nutritional value in it in the late winter.  If your ground can stand the footfall, I'd just have a shelter available for them if the weather turns really evil, and for bringing her in to calve if the weather isn't kind at the time, or you are anticipating problems.

You might want to give the calf a little cake through the winter and for a month or two before you sell it, just to 'keep the belly off it' - unless the market around you wants grass-fed, in which case stay off the cake.  (Ask your local farmers, the auction company, etc.)  If you will be selling in the winter, you might want to bring the stirk in the winter you will be selling it, to stop it growing too much hair and keep it clean - you'll get through a lot of straw to keep it clean, mind.

You will also need to supply minerals - ask your vet or local farmers what is required in your area.  And med for worm and fluke, ditto.

One tip is to make sure you get the pedigree of the bull used when you AI her - some processors will pay a premium for cattle with a proven pedigree native sire (usually Angus or Shorthorn but I expect there are schemes for Herefords too), and this will be reflected in the price paid for your stirk in the store ring - make sure the auctioneer knows you have the pedigree for the buyer, and says so.

Another thing to think about is how you will never have one bovine on its own; if you have one cow and want to keep her calves on to 20 months, how do you wean the first without it and her being alone?  Maybe it would be best to think of buying two cows, then they and their calves can keep each other company.  I guess you could leave them all together and let her wean the first calf naturally - but then you wouldn't be able to bring the older calf in before selling it, you'd have to sell it off the field, or bring the whole family in.  Food for thought, anyway.

If you do house over winter, budget on half a small bale of hay (or one bale if they're rather lightweight) per day for the cow, similar for the last year's calf and a little for this year's.

It sounds exciting - good luck!

[Rosemary]

I agree with all Sally says - like most animals, they like company of their own kind, so I'd go for two females.

[robert waddell]

i think you are way of the valuation with your price  try doubling your anticipated value  remember there is a shortage of cattle that is why the price is high
30 acres you could have 8 cows and calves running there  herefords wont Finnish at 20 months old unless you are intending selling as stores for somebody to Finnish
have you worked with cattle before
when will she need  shelter  when she standing with her arse into the wind and rain/sleet
re read your post will the sheep still have access to the 30 acres as well as the cow 

[SallyintNorth]

I didn't think the value was way off, unless he's talking pedigree cow with pedigree calf inside, in which case yes double at least.

We've just recently paid £1200 for a very good quality British Blue x out of a dairy cow, carrying an Angus calf from a well-proven bull.  Hereford x cows fetch quite a bit less hereabouts.

I too assumed you meant to sell in the store at 20 months, not to finish. 

[mikethesmallholder]

Thank you sally that might be an option to keep them outside until it snows. There is an open sided lean-to barn that why will be able to shelter in if  the weathers bad.

How much is cake? Do you buy it from farm suppliers?

At the minute the Hereford cow is in calave after being ran with Belgian blue bull but once calved I will look into AI ing her with a Hereford straw.

Thank you for the information about keeping them company and selling of weaning the calve. I didn’t think about this and will have to see how much I can afford in the first year.

I am intend on only keeping them till 20 month and selling them to be finished at market as this is a specialized market and I do not have the knowledge yet.

Yes the sheep , rams and horse will have access to the fields, the rams and horse are kept separate but I am sure the cows and sheep will be fine in the same field

Not going for pedigree stock just yet as I don’t want to invest to much ££££ when I am learning. The price is right as I have spoke to two local farmers one who has the Hereford x with the Belgian blue and that’s a price he has said and also a pedigree Hereford in calve with Hereford bull with paper work for £1500 for a heifer or a cow £1300


Thank you for your help

[Rosemary]

You could probably pick up some Shetland cows reasonably priced - there's a dispersal in Lanarkshire and a good few for sale in England (see the Shetland Cattle Breeders' Association website for cattle for sale).

The Shetland is hardy, small and thrifty (therefore low input / low coast) but because of her build, will successfully calve to a Continental bull, if that's your desire. The St Trinian's herd, where the dispersal is, has crossed Shetlands with Simmentals for years.

Worth a look, IMHO. BTW, Shetland beef is wonderful.

[SallyintNorth]

mike, how many calves has this cow had?  If not many or none then the price is about right but I think I would be cautious about a Belgian or British Blue calf - particularly if it's Belgian Blue rather than British Blue - as they can be large calves, difficult calvings - not something that's ideal for a first- or second-timer.  Especially if she's a narrow individual, which if she's a Hereford cross out of a dairy cow she could be. 

If she's had several calves already, then I maybe would be a little less cautious on the BB front - but I might question the price.

The big advantage of a Hereford cross (assuming out of a diary cow) over a purebred Hereford cow is that she's likely to be much more milky than the purebred, and this will put growth on the calf.

If she's quite narrow, chances are her calf would be too, and would be worth less in the store.  However, we have a really rather ordinary Hereford cross heifer on which we used Hereford AI and her calf is an excellent beef calf - in fact she's being saved for a show and sale later in the year.

Re: cake, we use a 'store blend' 16% protein cake for the most part; we might use an 18% for a month or two before selling the stirk 'to put a bloom on it'.  Ask your local agri merchant what the price would be.

[robert waddell]

still think i am right with the valuation up in Scotland you wont get a decent cow for your kind of money even old mincers are getting over a grand
we had a hereford  x jersey and one of the best calving cows ever foutered about for a little while lay down calved straight back up and always a heifer calve never had to assist and that was calving to the Simmental
40 years ago every man and his dog was pushing the hereford x Freisian the most useless animal ever created huge skeletal frames that had gallons of milk that caused the calve to skitter and the cow to get weeded  more money and time was wasted on these inappropriate by products of the dairy industry and for what just to give the greedy dairy farmers more income
SAC did an experiment with all breeds of cows inc beef ones  (on milkink ability ) all fed the same and all milked well  cant remember if the results were ever published

[SallyintNorth]

still think i am right with the valuation up in Scotland you wont get a decent cow for your kind of money even old mincers are getting over a grand

We maybe should look to bringing some of our old girls - or even younger girls - over the border to sell then?

[robert waddell]

sally or anybody else    search lawrie and symington  click on lanark sale reports then primestock it comes up with the cast cow trade not that heavy cows but over a grand 
maybe worth the diesel to come up north mind you they would need to be good not the washboards that are normally sold

[mikethesmallholder]

thank you for all you comments

Mike