I have to admit this is the part of Homesteading I am most looking forward to but also the part that has me the most nervous. I have wanted to do something with raising cattle since probably about 2000. At that time we were in Texas and various car salesmen I worked with had acreage and a few head so it was enough to pique my interest. Of course in Texas you did not have to worry about sub-0 temperatures when you thought about what kind of cattle to raise so when trying to put my plan together for Minnesota, well I did not have a lot of people I could turn to for advice so it has been a lot of research! On of the reasons I want to raise cattle is to put it bluntly, I like beef, but I do not like paying almost $5 a pound for hamburger, especially when I am not even sure what I am getting anymore!
From all the research I have done I have pretty much decided to primarily raise Galloway cattle. Galloway's are a heritage breed originally from Scotland . I decided on this breed for a lot of reasons but primarily because this is a cold weather animal with a double winter coat that makes it very hardy when it comes to Minnesota winters. On top of that of all the various cold weather hardy breeds the Galloway is a strong forager who does very well on pasture which goes very well for the type of sustainable farming I want to do. The thick coat also reduces the amount of excess fat leading to a leaner dressed out animal while still producing the marbling that makes steaks so good! Galloways also birth small leading to fewer birthing issues while putting on weight quickly. The fact that they are a polled (no horns) breed did not hurt either!
Galloways are a pretty rare breed meaning it is a little more to get started in them as they are not the easiest to find, on the flip side there is a strong market for the calves as the breed is gaining in popularity. To get started what I would like to find is two bred pairs (Mother who is bred with a calf at her side), preferably with the calves being female. I will probably also get one feeder to provide meat that first year while our herd matures. That should put us on our way!
As the land we will have is not unlimited and I intend to use a prescribed grazing management plan to ensure sustainability our herd will probably top out at six foundation cows plus offspring. We do not plan on running a bull at this time as it is more cost effective to purchase the semen and do AI for breeding. The plan is to bred three of the cows with a pure breed Galloway sire and sell the offspring to help offset costs. The other three cows will be cross breed with various other breeds in order to gain the advantages of crossbreeding as well as see what cross will give us the traits we desire most as far as growth efficiency on pasture as well as how they dress out. This is where we gain out beef for the freezers for us and family.
The one great difficulty I have in being a new rancher/farmer in Minnesota is it is almost impossible to determine the carrying capacity of the land until you do it for a few seasons, and even then it will only be a guess as for the first couple seasons out cattle will be just starting to grow. That being said I do need to put together a prescribed grazing plan in order to quality for USDA EQIP funding (here is where it really helps to be a veteran farmer!). What I really like about the EQIP program is they will pay (pretty much like the CRP program) for me to do what I was planning on doing anyway, practicing sustainable farming/ranching. The EQIP plan will help pay for my fencing, forage planting, as well as the livestock pipeline and pumps to get water to the various pastures
I plan on breaking the land down to at least six 3-acre permanent pastures and we will rotate the cattle from pasture to pasture every two weeks. In addition to the permanent pastures alfalfa will be rotated on at least one of the rotating farm fields and the cattle will also be able to forage after harvest on the remaining fields before cover crops are planted (more on that in a later post!). We will hay the fields before winter sets in to help provide winter food stocks.
We plan on wintering the cattle on about 7 wooded acres with plenty of wind protection from the elements. I will talk about the watering plan in a later post. Please anyone that is a SME please pipe in with suggestions!!
From all the research I have done I have pretty much decided to primarily raise Galloway cattle. Galloway's are a heritage breed originally from Scotland . I decided on this breed for a lot of reasons but primarily because this is a cold weather animal with a double winter coat that makes it very hardy when it comes to Minnesota winters. On top of that of all the various cold weather hardy breeds the Galloway is a strong forager who does very well on pasture which goes very well for the type of sustainable farming I want to do. The thick coat also reduces the amount of excess fat leading to a leaner dressed out animal while still producing the marbling that makes steaks so good! Galloways also birth small leading to fewer birthing issues while putting on weight quickly. The fact that they are a polled (no horns) breed did not hurt either!
Galloways are a pretty rare breed meaning it is a little more to get started in them as they are not the easiest to find, on the flip side there is a strong market for the calves as the breed is gaining in popularity. To get started what I would like to find is two bred pairs (Mother who is bred with a calf at her side), preferably with the calves being female. I will probably also get one feeder to provide meat that first year while our herd matures. That should put us on our way!
As the land we will have is not unlimited and I intend to use a prescribed grazing management plan to ensure sustainability our herd will probably top out at six foundation cows plus offspring. We do not plan on running a bull at this time as it is more cost effective to purchase the semen and do AI for breeding. The plan is to bred three of the cows with a pure breed Galloway sire and sell the offspring to help offset costs. The other three cows will be cross breed with various other breeds in order to gain the advantages of crossbreeding as well as see what cross will give us the traits we desire most as far as growth efficiency on pasture as well as how they dress out. This is where we gain out beef for the freezers for us and family.
The one great difficulty I have in being a new rancher/farmer in Minnesota is it is almost impossible to determine the carrying capacity of the land until you do it for a few seasons, and even then it will only be a guess as for the first couple seasons out cattle will be just starting to grow. That being said I do need to put together a prescribed grazing plan in order to quality for USDA EQIP funding (here is where it really helps to be a veteran farmer!). What I really like about the EQIP program is they will pay (pretty much like the CRP program) for me to do what I was planning on doing anyway, practicing sustainable farming/ranching. The EQIP plan will help pay for my fencing, forage planting, as well as the livestock pipeline and pumps to get water to the various pastures
I plan on breaking the land down to at least six 3-acre permanent pastures and we will rotate the cattle from pasture to pasture every two weeks. In addition to the permanent pastures alfalfa will be rotated on at least one of the rotating farm fields and the cattle will also be able to forage after harvest on the remaining fields before cover crops are planted (more on that in a later post!). We will hay the fields before winter sets in to help provide winter food stocks.
We plan on wintering the cattle on about 7 wooded acres with plenty of wind protection from the elements. I will talk about the watering plan in a later post. Please anyone that is a SME please pipe in with suggestions!!
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