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Does buying meat from the store these days make you cringe? Raising your own grass fed beef can save you money and deliver peace of mind. In today’s episode we’ll discuss:
• Reasons for Grass Fed Beef
• Difference between grain and grass fed animals
• Amount of pasture needed per animal
• How to raise cattle if you don’t own land
• How much beef do you need for a year
• Fencing options and tips
• Do you need a barn?
• Shelter options
• Breeding options- Do you need a bull?
• When to butcher your cattle, time of year and age
• Danger of breeding too young and how to avoid it
Resources:
Pros and Cons of Raising Grass Feed Beef (including tips on how to purchase beef if you can’t raise it yourself)
This post is featured on The Prairie Homestead Barn Hop.
I listened to your podcast with great interest as we are hoping to raise our own food as well. We’ve been fixing up a 40 acre homestead during the last few years. Could you explain more on the cycle of your cows? If you butcher at 2 years but the cow needs to be 2 years for breeding. I assume that you’re also using some of the milk. Do you slaughter just one cow at a time?
Hi, Lisa,
Ours aren’t dairy cows. They’re not tame enough to milk and I don’t have a barn or milking shed at the moment. We have our two mamma cows that we breed back each year and we purchased at an age they could be bred. We butcher 2 cows each fall. So we’ve always got a pair of babies, our breeding cows, and then a pair of yearlings to butcher the next year. Does that make sense?
Thanks so much for clarifying for me! Makes sense now.
Thanks for the great info. We are just starting out with the end goal of being completely self sufficient. Our biggest concern with raising cattle is the start-up cost. I noticed in the comment above that you raise yours without a barn. Do you have some kind of shelter or do cows not need one in the winter? Looking forward to more of your podcasts!
We’ve never provided a shelter for our cattle during the winter here and neither do most of the other farmers. When it’s really snowy or rainy out, we feed under a large evergreen tree. If there’s a bad wind storm, we’ll feed in our bottom field where there’s a natural wind break. If you watch the cattle, they’ll find the best natural shelter’s on your property on their own. One thing to remember is when it’s colder out, they’ll need more hay for fuel to keep warm and fresh water is very important, even more so in extreme cold than during the summer. Congrats on taking the first steps towards self-sustainability!
Melissa,
Great podcast! We have been raising a heifer and steer mostly on pasture/hay and some grain. My daughter showed the heifer at our county 4-H show this past weekend and it was amazing how much larger the other cattle were compared to ours. They were about 30% larger and fed mostly corn. Do you think that is typical or are our pastures simply not containing the proper mixture of grasses to give them the energy needed to grow. We have only lived in our current location for about a year, but have raised livestock the same way previously. The pasture seems to be fine though. Those also were considerably smaller, but the taste was outstanding. I have only been able to compare it to Kobe Beef. What kind of weight are you seeing when you butcher yours?
Thanks, Chris. Beef cattle won’t get as large as corn fed at the same age. The corn puts fat on the faster. I much prefer the taste than extra layers of fat personally. We typically butcher ours at 2 years old and average about 650 to 700 pounds. We have a Hereford and Angus mix right now. Congrats on your cattle.
This was so good. I have a question. How much beef do you get back on a whole cow vs live weight? My hubby and I want to raise our own beef and are hoping to be able to in the not so distant future. I am trying to figure up all of the logistics and such now. 🙂
Jenna,
So glad you enjoyed it. I’ve never really weighed it out. I get the hanging weight from the butcher but I’m not sure the difference in what we get back… I already tossed the tickets from this year. I’d say probably about 15% less than hanging weight in actual meat weight.
Thanks! Our neighbor has 4 Hereford cows that he used to breed every year. His mom is aging and he was keeping the farm going for her. They haven’t been bred in a couple of years but the neighbor on the other side of him has a bull and will let him breed them. He isn’t interested in farming so we might be able to purchase his 4 cows once they breed back. We don’t know yet if it will work out but we are hoping and praying. 🙂
[…] 2. Consider the end game. This will help you decide which livestock animals to start with. Do you want dairy animals? Then a goat or cow will be your choice. Do you want enough meat to feed your family for an entire year with one animal? Then beef cattle will your choice. Read Pros and Cons of Raising Grass Fed Beef […]
[…] Learning how to raise your own pigs for meat is a great option for any homestead or farm wanting to become more self-sustainable and without the level of commitment of raising beef cattle. […]