th-cam.com/video/jkupcoZb6ag/w-d-xo.html Folks, I'm gonna share this link along with this video because so many folks don't seem to understand how this farm has a diversified income...not just growing another crop...here's how I earn my living...the cattle part is just a spoke in this business wheel...you've gotta understand that I do things differently, this is how I've built the farm
I love the ideas you share. We're not going to do things the same as you but you've demonstrated some good strategies and methodologies that can really help in different areas. I'm not sure where the "advisors" get the totality of their information or their moral authority to dictate where and how you move. Screw 'em Josh. We'll be here to see how you're doing.
Gabe Brown once said he is stacking 20 different businesses on the same ground. And Josh, you're absolutely right that all those businesses have to deliver at least a little profit. Otherwise you'd have to declare them as a hobby and waste money on them. (that oc excludes the build up phase)
I been a Subscriber for years now and Its awesome Josh it's finally paying off it took a few years but your hard work and dedication is what got it there I don't see how you do it Josh by yourself but you find a way to make it happen
You made the right move reducing the size of your herd. 30-32 head is more sustainable for the pasture you have available. Just keep building up your pastures.
Here in Scotland, I see many farmers struggling because they are stuck in outdated models - selling mainstream produce to wholesalers and/or supermarket chains. The answer is vertical integration - in particular, selling to the public directly. Eggs, beef, lamb and pork do very well when sold direct. Another way to get away from conventional farming is to grow things that nobody else has - one couple I know are doing lavender, others are growing exotic vegetables and selling to specialty shops and restaurants. We grow and sell wild mushrooms and will move to minority-taste vegetables for Chinese and Indian restaurants next year (if I can find the time this year for prepping the land!)
I personally think that you are doing a great job Josh. All I can say is, keep doing what you've been doing. It will all pay off in time. Also, thanks for taking the time to make the videos and share them here on youtube. I love your channel. Keep up the great work. Take care and God Bless.
Josh, I have been watching your videos for a few years now and often wondered if you were turning the corner on making a profit. With the new grand workshop building costs, operating expenses and newly purchased equipment. It was awesome actually having the figures shared with us today. I understand mortgages, of course and short term loans on major equipment purchases; but you seemed to have got on the other side of operating costs of building a profitable farming enterprise and proving it can be accomplished the way Creator intended. Many blessings.
Thanks for sharing the info. I can see you’re excited. One thing most ppl miss in any operation is the difference between GROSS profit and NET profit. If I was hearing correctly, you were talking about GP.
Sir for your consideration,my father B4 he passed was implementing a new way invested in some cameras,put in fields.sold livestock up front directly to consumers.they can watch ear tags and see cattle grow.got more cutting out cattle market middle man.when ready delivered buyers animal to slaughter house instead of market and they picked up and paid for cut and wrap.he made way more money than B4 cutting out all the middle men.
Hey @StoneyRidgeFarmer, I have a question for you. You mentioned in your video that you leave your bulls intact. We're starting up a small cattle operation (small even compared to yours) in Eastern North Carolina and we've been told that you have to band bulls early or the meat will take on a poor taste due to the testosterone. We've heard others say that's not the case. Many say that bulls left intact will grow faster and come up to weight faster. However there's a lot that goes into having to corral and band the bulls. I'm curious what your experience has been with this topic and why you chose to leave your bulls intact. Do you see that it impacts the price? Thanks in advance for the info!
Can’t understand why people would be against selling some of your herd. Why else would you raise beef? We need every able bodied person in this country to start thinking small (as in small local farms) if we are going to turn this country around. We have decimated our food supply, relying on corporate farms and big pharma. Your work is appreciated. Thank you…
Good work Josh, man you deserve every dime. Takes time to build any business, but if your business is your life and you enjoy it, that is the perfect situation.
Two things to keep in mind.....First, beef is/almost at an all time high depending on where you live. Secondly, at any auction house, a steer will bring 20-30% more for the same weight compared to a bull.
I soaked a 1 lb bag of plain lentils and left them to sprout. They sprouted so I bought another pound, rototilled an area about 12 ft square and put lentils on the ground. They grew thick and close to the ground and pods were starting so I tilled them in as green manure. It worked out pretty well as a nitrogen fixer with no fuss. These might work out for your soil and as a protein rich feed. Also, just to give you an idea fro an end user, we just bought a frozen box of grass fed beef on sale. We paid 100 dollars for 14 pounds, shipping included. That included ground beef, steaks, and a roast cut of some kind.
Amen, bro. I’ve watched you work through “the hard things” and you still keep moving forward/ahead. I’ve also watched you “grow and learn”. Keep turning your nose to the grindstone.
Dude, I’m so happy for you. The work your putting in is actually priceless when you think about what your doing for your land so every penny was earned. I think it might be useful to figure out how the cows are being appraised. Why one might be worth more then the other.
Its good to see that you are finding a sustainable buisness model. Are you considering showing your cattle at or with the FFA in order to get more brand exposure?
Josh is spot on - soil quality and health of the land is everything. It's also why most of the food in the US is so bad. It's mostly made by chemicals.
One of my hs classmates raises cattle and has a setup like yours. He's doing the organic fashion also with no horomones, pesticides or herbicides. In addition to the grass fed cattle, he sells chickens raised the same way. Every time I see a bunch of blighted properties with overgrown grass, I think of how some goats could eat it down.
Good morning, I am one of your follower and I enjoy watching you, I would like to make a comment about Ethiopia that you made a comment about soil and drought, the reality is we do have the best soil and weather. The problem about the drought was politics situation and war. Thank you.
First year in the commercial Hay Business was 1000 rounds at $50,00 ea to a Hay broker... That was 6 years ago, We have progressed far beyond that today. in production, equipment, and diversity of sales.....
yep....I've got a soil test....however...I'm trying something a little different here. The Ph of everything that comes out of a cow is nearly neutral.....wouldn't it make sense that this would reduce the acidity over time? Testing this theory on some pastures, liming some others
@StoneyRidgeFarmer Just wondering, would running the chickens improve a lot of that? I saw a presentation from a professor in Australia and she was strong that what you need is available minerals, and the application of lime or potash can hurt. Biology provides the needed minerals. Maybe you have to do a no-till of some cover crop mixes, but my bet is you have done a lot more study than most viewers.
Enjoyed the video but there is no way you could ever get 160k for 15 cows. Also you wouldn't get 1000 pounds of meat out of a 1300 pound animal. On average you get about 40% of live weight, so a 1300 pound cow may get you about 500 pounds of meat. When I sell mine privately its usually for about 5 dollars a pound out west. If you can get 10$ that's incredible and I need to move to NC. Thanks for the videos.
Hey brother, I buy half a cow every year. You have a bunch of subscribers. You should start selling the cows as quarter's, halves, or whole cow. Mays meats in Taylorsville, NC is our butcher. The guy we buy from sells the cattle at $6 a pound hanging weight. That would be a lot higher profit margin for you.
I'm working on regenerating land that had only alfalfa and hey grown here for over 140 years! Using the Back to Eden plan where I've cover huge areas with tree trimmers' waste and manure spreading... The soil was so hard a pick axe would bounce off it... 5 years later, I can use my hands to dig in the soil that also is full of worms too! I run a small Chicken Ranch with free range egg layers and plan to greating expland over the coming years... The demand for my eggs is Off the Hook! :)
@@cascios I whole sale $3 bucks a dozen at sell them at the Farmers Market for $5 a dozen. I'm planning to expand to 300 layers to meet my current demand :) It s about $2 buck a dozen to produce at current organic feed prices
We try work cattle as the vet recommends. Cow's vax and worm once a year. Calves get 2 vax 3 weeks apart plus worm. I read a 2024 study that wormed calves are heavier at weening.
It seems a lot of viewer comments are based on one video rather than your content history. Income for a self employed person can come from different sources. I think you have managed very well to tap several sources. I do hope you continue to stay ahead of the debt while you find the balance of good income or savings sources.
I know you've talked about processing your own beef at some point. Where can we check to see when that might happen and how to get on a list or whatever system you'll have set up for customer orders? I'm sure you'll have more customers than product 🙂Thanks!
My family buys a quarter mixed cow from a local farmer in south western Pennsylvania. He breeds Murray greys and I must say that we will never go back to big box grocery store for beef. We also want to start raising our own rabbits, chickens and st. Croix lamb when we move to our agricultural land
Hi Josh, On a future video, can you talk about the cost of fuel, seed, limestone, repairs to upkeep the grass? You spent a lot more than hay to keep the animals fed. Thanks.
I enjoyed you video. Thanks for sharing information about your cattle sales that you really just didn’t have to do. I liked that. I believe that you did well on your livestock sale. Keep the videos coming please. One more thing what brand of pickup do you pull your aluminum gooseneck livestock trailer with and how does it perform pulling your trailer?
Hello, I think the key to a small livestock farm is to have good animals like Angus. Quality sells itself. In Chile at least it works that way. I am in that process on my farm. I have had all the rasas and they are not that profitable. Unfortunately, the rancher depends a lot on the fairs where many of them are mafias and manipulate prices. I'm glad you're doing well. Greetings.
Have you considered selling , like in stocks, futures in beef buy now support feed and get beef later potentially you'll get recover more money in the mix but bypass slaughter packaging and that whole lot of stuff plus beef that you love to mature will get to be bigger & mature all allowing overarching goal and receive front end support they off haul beef and you avoid complications you are retrained by at present A win situation
Cattle prices are up, inventories are the lowest they’ve been in roughly 70 years and after the fires in Texas they are likely to go up a little more. Those bulls will get castrated and be stocker calves on pasture until they are a few hundred pounds bigger then they will be in a feedlot.
In eastern Va. we take our heifers and steers around the 5-550 lb. mark. Seems to always bring the best price. Prices now are at an all time high but I give it a little bit longer and it will come back down. I also sell 1/4 1/2’s on about 5 cows a year for family and friends. There is definitely a quicker turn around on cow/calf operation. That’s what I’m growing towards. I sell at 6.50 a lb. out the door for beef, could probably get 7-7.50 but no more than that.
6.50 is way too cheap my brother....you could easily get $8 per lb for farm fresh beef...look at local farm prices....we work way too hard to keep beef and raise animals to be paid pennies for it after we've done all the legwork. Good food costs more, we shouldn't even think of competing with costco or walmart prices. We've gotta be fair to ourselves when selling freezer beef for sure
@@StoneyRidgeFarmer The only problem is that everyone is that cheap or cheaper. Even the butcher that I go to sells there’s for I believe 5 or 5.50 a lb. Of course they are the butcher so they have the upper hand on that part. It would be hard to sell at 8 when everyone is 6.50 or less including all butchering fees. I do agree it is a lot of work to raise a cow up to butchering weight. Seems as 1000-1100 lbs is the sweet spot for us. Usually nets us a 600 pound hanging weight. I know closer into to town they sell for 8-10 a pound but that is a totally different market of people than the country folk I deal with. Keep up the good work buddy.
This is so wild. I was just thing about doing some research on raising cattle on the land we are trying to buy this coming year. well maybe by end of year. Depending on the situation of the country. People are telling us to do the purchase now. But we are worried about getting into a mortgage upside down. But I digress. I was thinking about learning more about raising cattle and if it worth it or not. Then your video popped up. I wonder if this is a here's your sign moment. lol
If you know some need to go to the sale, it would be worth it to go ahead and band those bull calves. That 500 weight would’ve brought a lot more. I understand your theory about banding them later but if they are going to market they will bring more.
we've done the math, there's virtually no difference in bull v/s steer calfs...and nothing at all is mentioned about any "shots" at the sale barn.....these cattle most likely go to a feed lot where they'll all be given vaccines as soon as they arrive as well as a dip for lice control. "Shots" make no difference at our sale yard...and nobody can tell whether weanen or not...they get off the trailer, go through the scale, onto the sale block and back onto another truck to head to the midwest I'm assuming
Check and see if theres any paper residue near you. We had it applied on our farm this year. Its free, has good OM and some lime value plus other micros.
In the first example you mentioned, that cow is not just sitting in the pasture "earning interest" at no cost to you. It takes constant inputs of feed to keep that cow around that costs you money. You would only know your profit margin on an individual animal based on how much it cost you to purchase the animal plus the cost of feed per year for that individual animal, then comparing the total cost of ownership over time to its final sales price. If you only take purchase price into account when calculating your profit, and don't also take the cost of holding the animal on your farm into account as well (which, as you know, is not free), then you have no idea how much you made when you sold it, and you could be losing money on that animal. I would imagine you spent more than $150 in feed cost alone in order to keep that animal on your farm for two full years. If you're considering the sale of this one cow as a loss leader and making the real money off of the calves she produces while breaking even on the cows sales price, that's fine, but you should be more clear about your numbers in that case. It's a bit misleading to compare an animal that has an ongoing cost of ownership to something like a bank account that earns interest without you having to do anything.
This year isn't a model year. With the shortage of cattle packers are contracting with feed lots at record prices. This will last for maybe a couple more months. After that who knows. I started a cattle operation 15 years ago and I've never understand why the cow calf farmer does the most work has the highest cost and risk while making the least money out of the 4 stages of beef production. Most profitable being the packer with the least amount of risk.
really happy for you! I was playing a hunch with that previous video comment. Do you get a different rate/price b/c they are on your place with your measures? Glad you got a hunk of change, and the summer season, rains, temps, humidity's, sun, work out to your favor! I'd be best off fishing every day! ha! You can actually vegetable garden here. Lots of Ranchers about here! The Governor is escared of them. With his 'Cows and Rocks' comment. That was shocking to me, I took the time, and looked it up. Wooooo! 🔴⚪🔵 that's my latest thing! ha
You said the sales will cover your hay costs. But does it cover all the other expenses (equipment, that new road you just put down, your sunk costs like fencing, the watering system and electric fencing)? And if you made $150 on a $1200 purchase after two years that’s around 5% per year.
yep....I've spent a million dollars building the farm brother....make no mistake about it...you should watch this vid..it details how I've earned a living for the last several years th-cam.com/video/jkupcoZb6ag/w-d-xo.html
@@StoneyRidgeFarmer so to be fair I went and watched the video. You haven’t really built a ground up farming operation you’ve built a social media brand with farming as the subject matter. Similar to Clarkson’s Farm. Which apparently has paid for most of the infrastructure. Which is not how life goes for most farmers. You don’t have to depend on good market rates for your cows to be able to survive to the next year. You apparently don’t have any loans on your equipment from what I’ve seen you say. And not everybody running a farm can create a social media business. There are thousands upon thousands of small farms. If they all had TH-cam channels they’d saturate the market and wouldn’t make the money you make now. And that’s if they had the time to even do it. Have fun with the farm, more power to you, but it’s not really a realistic representation. I’ll be interested to see if you can actually create a livable profit solely off farm activities over the next few years.
@@franciscodanconia4324 I think you're reading his reply wrong, just saying.. As I tell everyone, typing words are too often misread, as in text messages..thanks
if you are buying the hay, somebody is doing the wrong way. buying or doing that way, looks like the same. congratulations on the farm, it looks very nice and healthy
What about lime? It's natural. I wonder what the ph is? If you can get lime lay about three tons to acre you should see a difference. Thanks for the nice videos!
up in Canada ( as i have cow calf operation as well) the best price up here is between 400 and 550 lbs. then there another window around the 700 - 800 lbs ( but that time of year dependant ) if you are intending to grow chickens for meat or eggs unless you grow your own grain it a very low margin. sheep not worth the effort in my opinion , goat can be okay as they have strong meat market currently but you would have to live near a community that has alot of middle eastern population
So that is my understanding of cattle farming or at least the way we did it and the way the farmer I did some work for did it. My father had a set of brood cows, let's say twenty, and one bull. Our cows were Brangus which is an American hybrid breed of beef cattle derived from cross-breeding of American Angus and Brahman stock. If one of the cows lost a calf she likely would go to market. Or if there were other issues with her she'd go to market. We could replace her with outside stock or keep a calf cow to add back to the brood stock. More often we would increase our brood stock by purchasing outside stock. To me the outside stock was a better option as it diversified the genetics of the herd. The bottom line was that the calves (all of them) would be separated out of the herd after a certain time and sent to market along with any of the brood cows that needed to go. It is how the cows paid for themselves and helped us with some income to cover other cost like hay which we also purchased.
I've been watching a ton of your videos cause your style is awesome and makes it believeable that I can raise cows one day. I've a couple questions that I came up with. 1. How do you handle calf births?, can they handle it on their own or do you have to pull the calf out (I've never understood why that's nessecary). 2. Do you inseminate or let the bull make the decision 3. Have you had any mastitis issues and if so how do you handle it? Thanks for all you do. God Bless
th-cam.com/video/jkupcoZb6ag/w-d-xo.html Folks, I'm gonna share this link along with this video because so many folks don't seem to understand how this farm has a diversified income...not just growing another crop...here's how I earn my living...the cattle part is just a spoke in this business wheel...you've gotta understand that I do things differently, this is how I've built the farm
I love the ideas you share. We're not going to do things the same as you but you've demonstrated some good strategies and methodologies that can really help in different areas. I'm not sure where the "advisors" get the totality of their information or their moral authority to dictate where and how you move. Screw 'em Josh. We'll be here to see how you're doing.
Gabe Brown once said he is stacking 20 different businesses on the same ground. And Josh, you're absolutely right that all those businesses have to deliver at least a little profit. Otherwise you'd have to declare them as a hobby and waste money on them. (that oc excludes the build up phase)
I been a Subscriber for years now and Its awesome Josh it's finally paying off it took a few years but your hard work and dedication is what got it there I don't see how you do it Josh by yourself but you find a way to make it happen
You made the right move reducing the size of your herd. 30-32 head is more sustainable for the pasture you have available. Just keep building up your pastures.
Man I can hang out with this dude for days. Great family, good ethics and a benefit to his fellow mankind.
So glad u stuck with it and didn’t give up ! That proves u r a successful farmer ! STONEY RIDGE 🙏✝️💫
Here in Scotland, I see many farmers struggling because they are stuck in outdated models - selling mainstream produce to wholesalers and/or supermarket chains. The answer is vertical integration - in particular, selling to the public directly. Eggs, beef, lamb and pork do very well when sold direct. Another way to get away from conventional farming is to grow things that nobody else has - one couple I know are doing lavender, others are growing exotic vegetables and selling to specialty shops and restaurants. We grow and sell wild mushrooms and will move to minority-taste vegetables for Chinese and Indian restaurants next year (if I can find the time this year for prepping the land!)
Exactly my farming model.
On my lil farm here, I'm learning all the time. I've read the books, but EXPERIENCE is the BEST teacher!!!
Markets are at all time highs. Glad you did well
Thanks Josh for being transparent, I do learn a lot from your experience. I'm on the early stage of cow and calf operation
I love how the cows waited til you took the netting off. Then it was game on. Love ❤ the videos😊
lol...they've been fussed at a few times for trying to eat it before I can get it unwrapped...amazing how they learn and follow my lead sometimes
@StoneyRidgeFarmer great work. Most people just clean the nets once a year and its gross.
I personally think that you are doing a great job Josh. All I can say is, keep doing what you've been doing. It will all pay off in time. Also, thanks for taking the time to make the videos and share them here on youtube. I love your channel. Keep up the great work. Take care and God Bless.
Josh, I have been watching your videos for a few years now and often wondered if you were turning the corner on making a profit. With the new grand workshop building costs, operating expenses and newly purchased equipment.
It was awesome actually having the figures shared with us today. I understand mortgages, of course and short term loans on major equipment purchases; but you seemed to have got on the other side of operating costs of building a profitable farming enterprise and proving it can be accomplished the way Creator intended.
Many blessings.
Thanks for sharing the info. I can see you’re excited. One thing most ppl miss in any operation is the difference between GROSS profit and NET profit. If I was hearing correctly, you were talking about GP.
Sir for your consideration,my father B4 he passed was implementing a new way invested in some cameras,put in fields.sold livestock up front directly to consumers.they can watch ear tags and see cattle grow.got more cutting out cattle market middle man.when ready delivered buyers animal to slaughter house instead of market and they picked up and paid for cut and wrap.he made way more money than B4 cutting out all the middle men.
That is a fantastic idea!
Hey @StoneyRidgeFarmer, I have a question for you. You mentioned in your video that you leave your bulls intact. We're starting up a small cattle operation (small even compared to yours) in Eastern North Carolina and we've been told that you have to band bulls early or the meat will take on a poor taste due to the testosterone. We've heard others say that's not the case. Many say that bulls left intact will grow faster and come up to weight faster. However there's a lot that goes into having to corral and band the bulls. I'm curious what your experience has been with this topic and why you chose to leave your bulls intact. Do you see that it impacts the price? Thanks in advance for the info!
Well done Josh, that's for sharing such important info! You are a working cattle farm for profit not a petting zoo.
That’s awesome! Really got me focused on starting a cattle farm. America needs more of them and also setup to butcher for local sales.
Can’t understand why people would be against selling some of your herd. Why else would you raise beef? We need every able bodied person in this country to start thinking small (as in small local farms) if we are going to turn this country around. We have decimated our food supply, relying on corporate farms and big pharma. Your work is appreciated. Thank you…
Good work Josh, man you deserve every dime. Takes time to build any business, but if your business is your life and you enjoy it, that is the perfect situation.
Two things to keep in mind.....First, beef is/almost at an all time high depending on where you live. Secondly, at any auction house, a steer will bring 20-30% more for the same weight compared to a bull.
Congrats on the profit. It's nice to see farms making money
Thanks for sharing the numbers Josh. Keep doing you!
I soaked a 1 lb bag of plain lentils and left them to sprout. They sprouted so I bought another pound, rototilled an area about 12 ft square and put lentils on the ground. They grew thick and close to the ground and pods were starting so I tilled them in as green manure. It worked out pretty well as a nitrogen fixer with no fuss. These might work out for your soil and as a protein rich feed. Also, just to give you an idea fro an end user, we just bought a frozen box of grass fed beef on sale. We paid 100 dollars for 14 pounds, shipping included. That included ground beef, steaks, and a roast cut of some kind.
Amen, bro. I’ve watched you work through “the hard things” and you still keep moving forward/ahead. I’ve also watched you “grow and learn”. Keep turning your nose to the grindstone.
Dude, I’m so happy for you. The work your putting in is actually priceless when you think about what your doing for your land so every penny was earned. I think it might be useful to figure out how the cows are being appraised. Why one might be worth more then the other.
Its good to see that you are finding a sustainable buisness model. Are you considering showing your cattle at or with the FFA in order to get more brand exposure?
Josh is spot on - soil quality and health of the land is everything. It's also why most of the food in the US is so bad. It's mostly made by chemicals.
Good to see the sale was good to you Josh! Wooooo!
Amazing, all your planning and dedication is paying off.
One of my hs classmates raises cattle and has a setup like yours. He's doing the organic fashion also with no horomones, pesticides or herbicides. In addition to the grass fed cattle, he sells chickens raised the same way. Every time I see a bunch of blighted properties with overgrown grass, I think of how some goats could eat it down.
Josh. Great job and nice to hear you made a good profit. Not complaints other than more shop videos are needed
Impressive !
A passion for what you do and Hard-work pays off $$
Thanks for sharing 👍
Good morning,
I am one of your follower and I enjoy watching you,
I would like to make a comment about Ethiopia that you made a comment about soil and drought, the reality is we do have the best soil and weather. The problem about the drought was politics situation and war.
Thank you.
Cow and calf operation works. Keep it going!
Congratulations Josh!! Great news. Also can’t wait to see some new animals show up on the farm.
You won’t make that every year. The market has been very good the past couple years.
First year in the commercial Hay Business was 1000 rounds at $50,00 ea to a Hay broker... That was 6 years ago, We have progressed far beyond that today. in production, equipment, and diversity of sales.....
need to get with local extention service get your soil tested see if it needs ag lime or maybe potash...that sage grass is a sign it needs a bit
yep....I've got a soil test....however...I'm trying something a little different here. The Ph of everything that comes out of a cow is nearly neutral.....wouldn't it make sense that this would reduce the acidity over time? Testing this theory on some pastures, liming some others
@StoneyRidgeFarmer Just wondering, would running the chickens improve a lot of that? I saw a presentation from a professor in Australia and she was strong that what you need is available minerals, and the application of lime or potash can hurt. Biology provides the needed minerals. Maybe you have to do a no-till of some cover crop mixes, but my bet is you have done a lot more study than most viewers.
Happy for you! Thank you for the education.
Enjoyed the video but there is no way you could ever get 160k for 15 cows. Also you wouldn't get 1000 pounds of meat out of a 1300 pound animal. On average you get about 40% of live weight, so a 1300 pound cow may get you about 500 pounds of meat. When I sell mine privately its usually for about 5 dollars a pound out west. If you can get 10$ that's incredible and I need to move to NC. Thanks for the videos.
Hey brother, I buy half a cow every year. You have a bunch of subscribers. You should start selling the cows as quarter's, halves, or whole cow. Mays meats in Taylorsville, NC is our butcher. The guy we buy from sells the cattle at $6 a pound hanging weight. That would be a lot higher profit margin for you.
I'd take at least a quarter ASAP, myself! 🐃🥩❤
I’m sure he could sell them like this with relative ease!
@EvilEye1986 when you have a large family that's barely any meat in the freezer 😒
@@EvilEye1986 - ?? Do you really think ground beef is the only thing that comes from cows?? 🤣
@@EvilEye1986 - I believe the quarters will be evenly distributed, depending on availability. Even if he prefers to sell 'a la carte', I'm flexible..
Keep up the hard work Josh. You are doing an amazing job.
thanks Josh for sharing
I'm working on regenerating land that had only alfalfa and hey grown here for over 140 years! Using the Back to Eden plan where I've cover huge areas with tree trimmers' waste and manure spreading... The soil was so hard a pick axe would bounce off it... 5 years later, I can use my hands to dig in the soil that also is full of worms too!
I run a small Chicken Ranch with free range egg layers and plan to greating expland over the coming years... The demand for my eggs is Off the Hook! :)
I was wondering what you sell your eggs for. Here in Va. I see them anywhere from $3 to $6 per dozen.
@@cascios I whole sale $3 bucks a dozen at sell them at the Farmers Market for $5 a dozen. I'm planning to expand to 300 layers to meet my current demand :) It
s about $2 buck a dozen to produce at current organic feed prices
That's a huge improvement. Congratulations. Using a lot of leaves really helps too.
We try work cattle as the vet recommends. Cow's vax and worm once a year. Calves get 2 vax 3 weeks apart plus worm. I read a 2024 study that wormed calves are heavier at weening.
Great video, I appreciate you sharing these numbers!
It seems a lot of viewer comments are based on one video rather than your content history. Income for a self employed person can come from different sources. I think you have managed very well to tap several sources. I do hope you continue to stay ahead of the debt while you find the balance of good income or savings sources.
the farm will be 100% debt free by June! Amazing how much freedom being debt free can give a man!
That's wonderful news!
Wonderful!!! Great news!! 🎉🎉🎉🎉
I know you've talked about processing your own beef at some point. Where can we check to see when that might happen and how to get on a list or whatever system you'll have set up for customer orders? I'm sure you'll have more customers than product 🙂Thanks!
My family buys a quarter mixed cow from a local farmer in south western Pennsylvania. He breeds Murray greys and I must say that we will never go back to big box grocery store for beef. We also want to start raising our own rabbits, chickens and st. Croix lamb when we move to our agricultural land
Thank you for all the videos you put out. Informative and helpful content. Stay safe up there and keep on growing 🤠
Thanks 👍
I have been waiting for this video. Thank you for sharing.
Hi Josh, On a future video, can you talk about the cost of fuel, seed, limestone, repairs to upkeep the grass? You spent a lot more than hay to keep the animals fed. Thanks.
for sure....
Great work your doing here .. hope you end up making this a very profitable n successful operation while keeping it all natural .
Good money! can't wait to do this myself!
I enjoyed you video. Thanks for sharing information about your cattle sales that you really just didn’t have to do. I liked that. I believe that you did well on your livestock sale. Keep the videos coming please.
One more thing what brand of pickup do you pull your aluminum gooseneck livestock trailer with and how does it perform pulling your trailer?
Good video about the reality of profit farming. It’s hard, takes a long time and decision along the way should be for long term farm care
Hello, I think the key to a small livestock farm is to have good animals like Angus. Quality sells itself. In Chile at least it works that way. I am in that process on my farm. I have had all the rasas and they are not that profitable. Unfortunately, the rancher depends a lot on the fairs where many of them are mafias and manipulate prices. I'm glad you're doing well. Greetings.
Have you considered selling , like in stocks, futures in beef buy now support feed and get beef later potentially you'll get recover more money in the mix but bypass slaughter packaging and that whole lot of stuff plus beef that you love to mature will get to be bigger & mature all allowing overarching goal and receive front end support they off haul beef and you avoid complications you are retrained by at present A win situation
Cattle prices are up, inventories are the lowest they’ve been in roughly 70 years and after the fires in Texas they are likely to go up a little more. Those bulls will get castrated and be stocker calves on pasture until they are a few hundred pounds bigger then they will be in a feedlot.
In eastern Va. we take our heifers and steers around the 5-550 lb. mark. Seems to always bring the best price. Prices now are at an all time high but I give it a little bit longer and it will come back down. I also sell 1/4 1/2’s on about 5 cows a year for family and friends. There is definitely a quicker turn around on cow/calf operation. That’s what I’m growing towards. I sell at 6.50 a lb. out the door for beef, could probably get 7-7.50 but no more than that.
6.50 is way too cheap my brother....you could easily get $8 per lb for farm fresh beef...look at local farm prices....we work way too hard to keep beef and raise animals to be paid pennies for it after we've done all the legwork. Good food costs more, we shouldn't even think of competing with costco or walmart prices. We've gotta be fair to ourselves when selling freezer beef for sure
@@StoneyRidgeFarmer The only problem is that everyone is that cheap or cheaper. Even the butcher that I go to sells there’s for I believe 5 or 5.50 a lb. Of course they are the butcher so they have the upper hand on that part. It would be hard to sell at 8 when everyone is 6.50 or less including all butchering fees. I do agree it is a lot of work to raise a cow up to butchering weight. Seems as 1000-1100 lbs is the sweet spot for us. Usually nets us a 600 pound hanging weight. I know closer into to town they sell for 8-10 a pound but that is a totally different market of people than the country folk I deal with. Keep up the good work buddy.
And yet you had a ‘substantial gain’ of $115 for a cow you had 2 years? Plenty of good farmers sell in tenesee for 6 dollars a pound,
This is so wild. I was just thing about doing some research on raising cattle on the land we are trying to buy this coming year. well maybe by end of year. Depending on the situation of the country. People are telling us to do the purchase now. But we are worried about getting into a mortgage upside down. But I digress. I was thinking about learning more about raising cattle and if it worth it or not. Then your video popped up. I wonder if this is a here's your sign moment. lol
If you know some need to go to the sale, it would be worth it to go ahead and band those bull calves. That 500 weight would’ve brought a lot more. I understand your theory about banding them later but if they are going to market they will bring more.
They will also bring more if they have all their shots and have been weaned for at least 30 days
we've done the math, there's virtually no difference in bull v/s steer calfs...and nothing at all is mentioned about any "shots" at the sale barn.....these cattle most likely go to a feed lot where they'll all be given vaccines as soon as they arrive as well as a dip for lice control. "Shots" make no difference at our sale yard...and nobody can tell whether weanen or not...they get off the trailer, go through the scale, onto the sale block and back onto another truck to head to the midwest I'm assuming
Thanks for the information. Have an amazing day. Take care.
Thank you too
@StoneyRidgeFarmer Your so welcome.
Check and see if theres any paper residue near you. We had it applied on our farm this year. Its free, has good OM and some lime value plus other micros.
Markets good for sure👍🏻 4 weight steers bringing over $4 a lb in northern ca!!
Thanks for the great info Josh!
Excellent job. We enjoy your videos.
In the first example you mentioned, that cow is not just sitting in the pasture "earning interest" at no cost to you. It takes constant inputs of feed to keep that cow around that costs you money. You would only know your profit margin on an individual animal based on how much it cost you to purchase the animal plus the cost of feed per year for that individual animal, then comparing the total cost of ownership over time to its final sales price.
If you only take purchase price into account when calculating your profit, and don't also take the cost of holding the animal on your farm into account as well (which, as you know, is not free), then you have no idea how much you made when you sold it, and you could be losing money on that animal. I would imagine you spent more than $150 in feed cost alone in order to keep that animal on your farm for two full years.
If you're considering the sale of this one cow as a loss leader and making the real money off of the calves she produces while breaking even on the cows sales price, that's fine, but you should be more clear about your numbers in that case. It's a bit misleading to compare an animal that has an ongoing cost of ownership to something like a bank account that earns interest without you having to do anything.
I can’t wait to purchase farm fresh beef from stony ridge farm. Been watching you for years
Ask him !!!!!
This year isn't a model year. With the shortage of cattle packers are contracting with feed lots at record prices. This will last for maybe a couple more months. After that who knows. I started a cattle operation 15 years ago and I've never understand why the cow calf farmer does the most work has the highest cost and risk while making the least money out of the 4 stages of beef production. Most profitable being the packer with the least amount of risk.
We’ve always fed out calves to 700 pounds but with prices now we sell at 500 pounds
really happy for you! I was playing a hunch with that previous video comment. Do you get a different rate/price b/c they are on your place with your measures? Glad you got a hunk of change, and the summer season, rains, temps, humidity's, sun, work out to your favor! I'd be best off fishing every day! ha! You can actually vegetable garden here. Lots of Ranchers about here! The Governor is escared of them. With his 'Cows and Rocks' comment. That was shocking to me, I took the time, and looked it up. Wooooo! 🔴⚪🔵 that's my latest thing! ha
I'm shocked at the prices you got , awesomeness.
We buy farm raised cows ! The meat has so much more flavor !
I love the transparency
You said the sales will cover your hay costs. But does it cover all the other expenses (equipment, that new road you just put down, your sunk costs like fencing, the watering system and electric fencing)?
And if you made $150 on a $1200 purchase after two years that’s around 5% per year.
yep....I've spent a million dollars building the farm brother....make no mistake about it...you should watch this vid..it details how I've earned a living for the last several years th-cam.com/video/jkupcoZb6ag/w-d-xo.html
@@StoneyRidgeFarmer why the sarcasm to an honest question? Did I say you spent a million bucks?
@@StoneyRidgeFarmer so to be fair I went and watched the video. You haven’t really built a ground up farming operation you’ve built a social media brand with farming as the subject matter. Similar to Clarkson’s Farm. Which apparently has paid for most of the infrastructure. Which is not how life goes for most farmers. You don’t have to depend on good market rates for your cows to be able to survive to the next year. You apparently don’t have any loans on your equipment from what I’ve seen you say.
And not everybody running a farm can create a social media business. There are thousands upon thousands of small farms. If they all had TH-cam channels they’d saturate the market and wouldn’t make the money you make now. And that’s if they had the time to even do it.
Have fun with the farm, more power to you, but it’s not really a realistic representation.
I’ll be interested to see if you can actually create a livable profit solely off farm activities over the next few years.
@@franciscodanconia4324 I think you're reading his reply wrong, just saying.. As I tell everyone, typing words are too often misread, as in text messages..thanks
Little victories as the singer Chris Knight would say. Keep up the good work josh
Thanks!
Thanks so much Brian! I appreciate it brother
❤I can’t do to much❤I can help❤
if you are buying the hay, somebody is doing the wrong way. buying or doing that way, looks like the same. congratulations on the farm, it looks very nice and healthy
Thanks for the info. Good luck and prosperity
Thank You Josh for telling it like it is. I still don’t see where I can buy beef from you on PATRION
What about lime? It's natural. I wonder what the ph is? If you can get lime lay about three tons to acre you should see a difference. Thanks for the nice videos!
yeppers.....we're putting down lime this year as soon as the land dries a bit
Excellent video, thanks.
Great Information...thanks for sharing.
up in Canada ( as i have cow calf operation as well) the best price up here is between 400 and 550 lbs. then there another window around the 700 - 800 lbs ( but that time of year dependant ) if you are intending to grow chickens for meat or eggs unless you grow your own grain it a very low margin. sheep not worth the effort in my opinion , goat can be okay as they have strong meat market currently but you would have to live near a community that has alot of middle eastern population
I would say you need to find out exactly why that 315 pound bull brought so much money. You need more of those!
Could that young bull have been seen as good potential breeding stock? Could that have been the reason for the high sale price?
Farming in most cases makes very little money. It's the lifestyle that is so rewarding.
Wouldn't it be nice to make just a bit of profit. Then my friend it would be a little more "rewarding".
Very informative thank you josh!
That's the way to do it,
Wish this type of farming was the standard!! Love your videos! Keep them coming!
Glad it is paying off for you. Hear in Ohio there where some 700 pound calves that brought 3.30 per pound
WOW!!!
You’ve gotta get ‘em around 1400 pounds. That’s were the high money is.
Good job so far. It’s only gonna get better and more efficient.
So that is my understanding of cattle farming or at least the way we did it and the way the farmer I did some work for did it. My father had a set of brood cows, let's say twenty, and one bull. Our cows were Brangus which is an American hybrid breed of beef cattle derived from cross-breeding of American Angus and Brahman stock. If one of the cows lost a calf she likely would go to market. Or if there were other issues with her she'd go to market. We could replace her with outside stock or keep a calf cow to add back to the brood stock. More often we would increase our brood stock by purchasing outside stock. To me the outside stock was a better option as it diversified the genetics of the herd. The bottom line was that the calves (all of them) would be separated out of the herd after a certain time and sent to market along with any of the brood cows that needed to go. It is how the cows paid for themselves and helped us with some income to cover other cost like hay which we also purchased.
What about the hay you import to your farm, is it made with chem fertilizer?
Thank you for sharing all these valuable information about farming. I can use your knowledge and incorporated in to future farm.
Might check the buyer of that small bull. It may be heard building and was willing to pay a bit more.
I've been watching a ton of your videos cause your style is awesome and makes it believeable that I can raise cows one day. I've a couple questions that I came up with.
1. How do you handle calf births?, can they handle it on their own or do you have to pull the calf out (I've never understood why that's nessecary).
2. Do you inseminate or let the bull make the decision
3. Have you had any mastitis issues and if so how do you handle it?
Thanks for all you do. God Bless
Thanks for sharing this information!