Beef Farm Enterprise

A Beef Farm Enterprise in 3 Phases

A Beef Farm might be considered or thought of as a beef cattle enterprise that raises cattle and finishes them through to harvest and the sells the beef direct to a consumer. This is kind of an over simplified description of how a beef farm might operate. It is our hope that it will give you a glimpse into the basics of how a small beef farm might operate.

Three Phases of a Beef Farm

 

• Phase 1: Beef Calf Production. The Beef Farm Cow is expected to produce a calf each 12 months beginning at the age of two years. To remain a sustainable entity each cow must remain in continuous production and not allowed to skip a calf. When the calf is weaned the cow must be checked to see if she is with calf and if not she should be sold and replace with one that is productive. This phase on the beef farm may also be referred to as the cow-calf operation. Some beef cattle farmers may prefer to maintain just a beef-cow operation and market all their calves at weaning time.
• On a Beef Farm most of the food for the cow and her calf will consist of pasture and hay raised on the farm. Very little if any grain is ever fed to the cows. The cows will live outside year round and actually prefer trees as shelter when any is needed. You can give the cows a choice of trees or a barn as their shelter and they will choose trees most every time. When raise in a cold climate the cows will grow a heavy coat of hair that will protect them from the winter cold.
• On a beef farm the calves will nurse their mothers from birth to about 6 to 8 months of age and then they are weaned. Separating a calf from its mother and eliminating mother’s milk from its diet is considered weaning. At this time the calves are expected to weigh about 400 to 600 pounds.
• Phase 2: Growing the weaned calf as a stocker or backgrounding. On a Beef Farm when the weaned calves are grown out as stockers they will usually remain in some of the same pastures where they have lived. They will have good grass pasture to eat and allowed to grow and develop for a few more months or until they reach about 700 to 900 pounds.
• If the beef farm operator elects to grow the calves out in a backgrounding operation they will be confined to a smaller paddock or pen and their feed will be brought to them. Most or all of this feed will come from what is produced on the farm because it is cheaper than outside purchases. This backgrounding feed will consist of or be combined with grains for faster growing of the calves. Additional profits should come to the producer who uses feeds produced on his farm to grow the cattle. When calves are backgrounded this way they are usually expected to gain from 1 to 2 pounds each day. Just like with the stocker operation backgrounded calves are ready for the next phase when they reach 700 to 900 pounds. On average they should be about 12 to 14 months and because they are around 1 year old they are now referred to as yearlings.
• Phase 3: Feedlot or Finishing of Cattle. A Feedlot is a facility where cattle are placed in pens or lots and all of their feed is brought to them and fed in bunks. When the cattle are finished on the beef farm these are referred to as on farm feedlots. The feed that is fed in a feedlot is high in grain content and it allows the cattle gain weight very quickly. Most of the cattle will gain over 4 pounds per day in the feedlot. Preferred areas for this type operation is where large amounts of corn and other grains are grown. The beef farm cattle usually remain in the feedlot for 100 to 150 days and will have grown to about 1100 to 1300 pounds. The cattle are generally considered ready for harvest when they have reached about 1100 pounds in weight. This is the point where steaks, roasts, and ground beef are obtained from the animals. Also there are many more byproducts produced and harvested from them but we will cover those in another section.

This has been a brief but fairly complete start to finish description of the activities on a beef cattle farm. Most cattle persons will tell you that this is the type of operation where you reap the most value of the animals produced. Reason being is that each of the phases could also be described as a profit center and not necessarily confined to the same owner or operator. There may be a little more work involved but a beef farm is first choice for those wanting the most return for their labor.