Managing a Small Cattle Herd

There are many tricks to managing a small cattle herd, especially if you don't have a lot of land to work with. In this video I walk through how we manage 35 head of Dexter cattle throughout a typical year. This includes:
1. How much land is required per head to graze and provide hay
2. Our breeding schedule
3. How long it takes to grass finish beef going to the butcher
4. How we separate our 2 breeding bulls and make sure they are placed with the right cows to prevent inbreeding
5. The pros & cons of keeping bulls vs. artificial insemination
6. How we keep stable herd numbers via the selection of cull heifers

Note:
-We do not offer farm tours
-We do not ship our farm's products

[westwoodcoronado]

You need to offer workshops for people that want to start farms. I ran 20-30 Beefmasters here in Texas for years, and the younger generation is starting to show interest in farming/cattle.

[joshc]

Pete, in this video you mentioned cull heifers and making decisions about sending certain animals off. If you make another video about herd management or such could you describe what your looking for in breeding stock and also cull animals?

[dianasteele]

Thank you for answering all my questions about cattle.

[scrotiemcbogerballs]

Thanks for sharing buddy god bless you and your family
Thanks to all service members thank you for everything you have sacrificed for our freedom

[lsweeten]

Coco would like one of those giant cow brushes. Looks like she is using you as a scratching post. =D

[naimr.]

I really like these informational videos I'm interested in starting a farm because has about 70-80 acres of land that is unused. I've always been interested in this career field. I'm 14 by the way I just wanted to say that so you know you have young fans out there.

[anthonybarton]

Have a great Memorial day weekend and Thanks for sharing the Cow 🐄 being Baptized as well.

[vannor]

Every now and again, a You Tube recommendation thows up a gem. I work in IT and live in about as town environment as possible (London, UK) but this channel is wonderful. Pete, you have a wonderful way of explaining things that is rare. Great channel.

[phoenixrising]

Perfect timing! I so enjoy your channel. Y'all have a Happy and safe, Memorial Day🇺🇸🇺🇸

[rosalieroku]

Just came across your channel.
Thanks for your excellent work.

You've done an amazing job creating a comprehensive, rigorous, and definitive guide to small sustainable grass-fed livestock farming.

But the most important part is your sharing the heart, the love, the culture that is farming.

I was in school in the early 80s when waves of family farms were "failing" (financially).
My right wing roommate coldly said "If they can't compete in the free market, they shouldn't be farming. "
While I thought to myself "Farming is the very foundation of civilization. If a farmer can't support their family farming, we are all in trouble. "

[stephenglendenning]

Dad is tell you did a great job 👏.? Have a great week and be safe. Thank you from us.

[creative]

I'm happy you made a book pete ! Looking forward to it 😃

[bobhostetler]

We already feed the bull in Washington, plus the bulls on the farm.

[ebudrow]

We end up leasing a bull every year for breeding purposes. With our more mild climate we get them in the off season so our calves are born early spring. We only have 2-3 to be bred. And not enough space for a bull anyway.

[spoolsandbobbins]

This is so helpful to know how to move forward with our sheep and cattle. Thanks Pete!

[azimus]

I think a great "Small Farmer Sunday" video would be a discussion on where to go for help and support, particularly if you're starting out. You're a great storyteller and I'd love to hear that story (admittedly you may have covered this I haven't seen 100% of your videos yet). I don't know what kind of farming your dad did, is he one of your resources? This sort of info would be particularly helpful to families with no farm roots on where they can go beyond family to get questions answered if they're stuck.

[cameronh]

Hi im new to your channel. I may be obtaining a few acres 10+ for my personal home and im considering raising some livestock either for both breeding and selling or selling directly to butcher. 🥩What do you recommend would be a good starting point for someone in my shoes thats new to the game. Thanks! By the way i live in Texas!

[servihomestead]

Great video, Mr. Pete. You always explain things in an understandable way that gives me confidence to try new things. We raised a few goats and sheep for a couple of years and harvested our own calf once. We are considering buying a bred cow or two calves. Thanks for sharing this.

[WorldsBestWatcher]

Excellent primer on raising cattle on a relatively small farm.
Continued success. 👍

[wm-fmts]

Great video! I love how informative your channel is :)
I also love how tiny your Dexters are! My neighbors keep very large Herefords and the other farms around me primarily raise Angus. I'm concentrating on sheep at the moment, but one day I'd love to get some dairy cows.