New venture.. Cattle or Sheep

[CopperBeech]

Probably best to get yourself 50 good maternal ewes, breed up your flock and put males in boxes at first, and a small number of mixed stores, fatten and kill a couple for freezer and friends, and run on the heifers. Better to enjoy the thing at first than try to take over the world . . . . and see what floats your boat.

 

[neilo]

You’ve got to see sheep twice a day every day and build half an hour for ad hoc jobs into your schedule. However not all sheep are the same, some need less attention than others, be that extensively kept breeds or running around ewe lambs.

Cattle and sheep grazing complement each other and you can make it as extensive or intensive as you like on 200 acres.

Really? How many see all their sheep twice a day, I know I certainly don't. Even once a day would be stretched at times, as it is on most farms I suspect.

 

[Hsals]

Probably best to get yourself 50 good maternal ewes, breed up your flock and put males in boxes at first, and a small number of mixed stores, fatten and kill a couple for freezer and friends, and run on the heifers. Better to enjoy the thing at first than try to take over the world . . . . and see what floats your boat.

Like this idea! A few of each to see which we get on with.There seem to be a lot of votes for both. Think i need a chat with sheep guy on the road.

 

[beardface]

Are you in a pig area? If so if you want to make money I’d fill the sheds with B n B pigs. Then I’d start with store lambs on your aftermath’s (I’m guessing you mow most of that acreage?). And buy some draft romneys,be some not too far away from you, and build numbers to suit your acreage. Will give a lot more turn over and potentially double that capital in a couple of years to invest in cattle if that really floats your boat.

 

[Woolless]

If you're busy in summer contracting and mow most of your ground, how about starting off with some long keep store lambs or grazing ewes over the winter?

 

[Hsals]

Are you in a pig area? If so if you want to make money I’d fill the sheds with B n B pigs. Then I’d start with store lambs on your aftermath’s (I’m guessing you mow most of that acreage?). And buy some draft romneys,be some not too far away from you, and build numbers to suit your acreage. Will give a lot more turn over and potentially double that capital in a couple of years to invest in cattle if that really floats your boat.

Yes, we rent a lot of land out to I believe the Souths biggest producer of pork...

 

[Hilly]

Really? How many see all their sheep twice a day, I know I certainly don't. Even once a day would be stretched at times, as it is on most farms I suspect.

Old fashioned looking them twice a day but alot round me do, they would regard those that dont as lesser farmers lol i look mine once if they lucky i dont have the man power some have.

 

[Woolless]

Old fashioned looking them twice a day but alot round me do, they would regard those that dont as lesser farmers lol i look mine once if they lucky i dont have the man power some have.

If they're round twice a day, doesn't leave much time for much else?

 

[Highcountryshepherd]

Probably best to get yourself 50 good maternal ewes, breed up your flock and put males in boxes at first, and a small number of mixed stores, fatten and kill a couple for freezer and friends, and run on the heifers. Better to enjoy the thing at first than try to take over the world . . . . and see what floats your boat.

probably in that area there are to many doing the box schemes , you are for ever seeing adverts for meat like that on social media

 

[Bossfarmer]

You’ve got to see sheep twice a day every day and build half an hour for ad hoc jobs into your schedule. However not all sheep are the same, some need less attention than others, be that extensively kept breeds or running around ewe lambs.

Cattle and sheep grazing complement each other and you can make it as extensive or intensive as you like on 200 acres.

Cattle and sheep grazing complement each other

do they really though, yes cattle eat the longer grass which can help keep the sward down for the sheep but what benefit do the sheep give the cattle they eat the short grass before it gets a chance to reach cattle length?

 

[twizzel]

Cattle and sheep grazing complement each other

do they really though, yes cattle eat the longer grass which can help keep the sward down for the sheep but what benefit do the sheep give the cattle they eat the short grass before it gets a chance to reach cattle length?

Our cows are quite picky so the sheep are useful for grazing the fields down evenly especially over winter ready for spring growth.

 

[Kiwi Pete]

Cattle and sheep grazing complement each other

do they really though, yes cattle eat the longer grass which can help keep the sward down for the sheep but what benefit do the sheep give the cattle they eat the short grass before it gets a chance to reach cattle length?

Depends how you graze them, I have lambs and calves together most of the year - calves eat the longer stuff, lambs pick away at the shorter stuff, nothing gets wormy and the pasture is dense and even next round.
Ratio here is ideally about 5-6:1 or thereabouts
And then you have different income from them at different times, lambs are gone late summer which seems to get the round out nicely (til it gets too wet)
A week after the cattle are in then I get hoggs or more stores for winter to run around and nip it right down to start afresh for next spring..

That works for me, might not work for the OP but I have next to nothing invested in livestock - just a few grand in my hoggets and a few calves.
Bulk of my stock are bought and sold through a livestock firm and I get a margin when sold
(does anyone in the UK offer that?)
Makes adjusting numbers too easy.

 

[CopperBeech]

probably in that area there are to many doing the box schemes , you are for ever seeing adverts for meat like that on social media

You're probably right!

I'm sure a couple of friends and family will enjoy it though and the rest can go on the hook!

 

[Ysgythan]

Cattle and sheep grazing complement each other

do they really though, yes cattle eat the longer grass which can help keep the sward down for the sheep but what benefit do the sheep give the cattle they eat the short grass before it gets a chance to reach cattle length?

Cattle mop up worms and stop the land getting sheep sick. Cattle are indiscriminate grazers but will avoid their own dung patches meaning you get bare patches and long patches like a spotty teenagers face. The sheep will eat those longer patches off and deposit their manure much more evenly.

Or you can burn diesel harrowing and pre mowing, pumping as much fertiliser on as you can, or force the cows to eat stuff they don’t want to by controlled starvation, also known as strip grazing or mob grazing.

The first year after you stop mixed grazing, especially winter grazing by sheep, you get more silage, but the year after and progressively thereafter you get less and less.

 

[Bossfarmer]

Cattle mop up worms and stop the land getting sheep sick. Cattle are indiscriminate grazers but will avoid their own dung patches meaning you get bare patches and long patches like a spotty teenagers face. The sheep will eat those longer patches off and deposit their manure much more evenly.

Or you can burn diesel harrowing and pre mowing, pumping as much fertiliser on as you can, or force the cows to eat stuff they don’t want to by controlled starvation, also known as strip grazing or mob grazing.

The first year after you stop mixed grazing, especially winter grazing by sheep, you get more silage, but the year after and progressively thereafter you get less and less.

controlled starvation, also known as strip grazing or mob grazing

this seems to be what everyones doing now

 

[Ysgythan]

controlled starvation, also known as strip grazing or mob grazing

this seems to be what everyones doing now

I know. I don’t tend to count the heads already doing it when assessing any particular grazing model though.

 

[Woolless]

controlled starvation, also known as strip grazing or mob grazing

this seems to be what everyones doing now

A point Trevor Cook made at the last QMS grazing meeting was that in his opinion a lot of breeding stock was overfed. Minimum nutrition to meet performance objectives was his mantra. A lot of chat about rotation etc on here but I would reckon that the uptake across the sector is still pretty low.

 

[Ysgythan]

A point Trevor Cook made at the last QMS grazing meeting was that in his opinion a lot of breeding stock was overfed. Minimum nutrition to meet performance objectives was his mantra. A lot of chat about rotation etc on here but I would reckon that the uptake across the sector is still pretty low.

Jesus wept

And what happens in a rough year? Drought/flood/snow

 

[Woolless]

Jesus wept

And what happens in a rough year? Drought/flood/snow

Que??

 

[Bossfarmer]

Jesus wept

And what happens in a rough year? Drought/flood/snow

Yes it appears with the wet weather peoples rotational grazing systems arent going to plan, a lot of cattle house already in west scotland im led to believe i wonder how much rotational grazing takes place down there?