Beef cattle farming involves breeding cows to get calves, which are then raised and sold for beef. Beef cattle production is a very profitable business, and many farmers are making money all over the world by starting cow-calf operations businesses. However, to build a profitable, sustainable beef cattle ranching business, you require sufficient knowledge of how to efficiently keep the beef cattle, good business management skills, and a good beef cattle farming business plan. This article will outline how to start the cattle production business, and the beef cattle farming business plan – PDF, Word and Excel.
Beef cattle farming is a lucrative business project that is providing income for a lot of livestock farmers. There are some important things you need to consider before you setup a beef cattle production business. You need to gather the correct resources, decide on the size of your cattle farming project this includes the number of cattle; location of the beef cattle production business, as well as your target market. These decisions will be affected by the amount of capital you have, and the size of your target market. If you do not have a lot of capital, you can always start small and grow your beef cattle breeding project overtime. You also need to carry out market research (Who are you going to sell the cattle to? At what price?) and write a cow-calf operations business plan before you start the project.
Land for Beef Cattle Farming
Land is an important factor when you are starting a cattle ranching business. When selecting land for your cattle farm, some important considerations include: availability of good grass and pasture for grazing, availability of good, quality water supply, land size in relation to size of your cattle herd and soil type as it affects forage production potential. Other factors include availability of already made infrastructure like pens, sheds, buildings, as constructing new working facilities and buildings on a cattle farm is expensive.
A beef cattle farming venture requires huge tracts of land. This is because you will need spaces for grazing and other dedicated farm structures. You must consider the terrain; flat land that gently slopes is ideal. The soil characteristics are important as well – loam soil is the best. That soil type is best suited for consistent pasture and forage development. The availability of adequate pastures is yet another land consideration. You must ensure there are enough pastures. This connects to considering the quality of forage available. Ideally, you need pastures and forage mainly constituted of grasses and legumes. If the legumes composition is at least a third of the total, that would be great. Water availability is also a huge consideration. The best is to have a clean, fresh, and reliable water source. Preferably it should be within a 1 mile radius. This will be convenient for the cattle so that they do not have to go far to find water. It is advisable to check the quality of the water; especially if it is a natural water source. High salt and sulphur levels are detrimental to your cattle. Proximity of strategic road networks is of utmost importance for accessibility and mobility. Bear in mind that within the beef cattle farm, gravel roads are the best.
Housing for Beef Cattle Production Business
To be successful in the beef cattle ranching business, you need to provide proper shelter and housing for your cattle. Beef cattle can be negatively affected by mud, harsh winds, and extreme low temperatures. The design and type of beef cattle facilities should take into consideration the need to provide the required space, feed, shelter, water, waste management and livestock handling features. Beef cattle housing can broadly be in the form of cubicles, sheds, pens, corrals, barns, or open yards. However, it is important to ensure that there is enough shade for the cattle. That is why protection from the weather elements is a huge consideration in beef cattle housing. Protection from predators is also closely tied to that. Overall, the housing must be clean with good ventilation. Plus the beef cattle housing must generally be easy to clean. Ensure that there is dry surface, floor, or bedding. It is best to use dry straw on them; adding sand also helps in that regard.
The cattle housing must be big enough to allow free movement of the cattle. The housing must not be homogenous; there should be separate segments for different specific uses. For example, you need separate segments for calves, sick cattle, or newly arrived cattle. It is recommended that beef cattle housing must be set up on an elevated spot. This streamlines cleaning activities, drainage, and runoff. Take into account the prevailing wind direction in your chosen location – the beef cattle housing should be erected standing perpendicular to that. Other cattle handling structures include crowding pens, sorting corrals, working chutes & gates, squeeze gates and sick pens. However the necessity of the structures depends on the scale of the cattle farming business. The cattle ranch farm also requires good fencing. Pasture fencing for cow-calf operations business is a necessity, so as to contain the cattle and manage their grazing. This can be done by barbed wire, high tensile smooth wire or electric fencing. The costs of constructing the housing should be include in the beef cattle production business plan.
Equipment For Beef Cattle Farming Business
Beef cattle farming equipment mainly comprises of feed and water equipment. For example, you need feeding bunks and, feeding bins (or troughs) or portable hay feeders. Water equipment can be in the form of or involve drinkers, tanks, canals, pumps, pipes, and the like. Other handy equipment is for handling the beef cattle. For instance, chutes are central to this. Chutes are narrow mechanisms or passages used to control and guide the beef cattle in certain spaces. There are several different types of chutes e.g. holding chutes, working chutes, and loading chutes. Headgates are also central to the use of chutes. Cattle guards or grids are important in controlling the movement of the beef cattle. Then there are general equipment such as protective clothing, wheelbarrows, buckets & pails, livestock trailer, manure spreader, tractors, and the like. Specialized equipment for operations such as dehorning and castrating are needed too. Your cattle farming business plan should take into account the cost of purchasing or renting the land, structures and buying the equipment.
Breeding Stock for Beef Cattle Production Business
To start a beef cattle production business, you require the breeding stock. The breeding stock consists of male cattle which are known as bulls, and female cattle/cows. Alternatively, instead of using bulls, you can use artificial insemination for breeding the cattle. The selection of cattle breeding stock is basically two-tier. The first aspect involves choosing the cattle breed you want. Then the second aspect is choosing the individual cattle. You can choose to start with calves and rear them to maturity. You could also start with cows or heifers at various stages of development. Another approach can be to start with fully grown cattle. Always remember that choosing purebreds is the best way to go. Your overall choice should be informed by personal beef cattle farming goals. That should also go hand in hand with climatic considerations of your chosen location. Availability of cattle breeding stock is also another huge consideration.
There are a number of specific attributes to note when choosing your beef cattle breeding stock. You should consider the age; young livestock is usually the best to pick. Consider fertility or reproductive rate, and mothering or maternal ability. In beef cattle farming, feed efficiency and quality of meat are important factors. What is cattle’s performance and health status? What are their behavioural profiles? For instance, aggression in cattle is not a good trait. All of these specifics must be ascertained with the backing of comprehensive records. You must also be diligent enough to make physical inspections of the cattle. The idea is to note defects or desirable characteristics. The cattle breeds you choose will affect the beef production potential of your cattle farming business. Some breeds are better than others at producing cattle with good beef quality. Other characteristics which vary among breeds include calving ease, milking ability, feed conversion, diseases resistance, longevity and average birth weight. The most popular breeds used in the the beef cattle farming business include Angus, Brahman, Limousin, Hereford, Simmental, Shorthorn, Texas Longhorn, Nguni, Gelbvieh, Charolais, Africander, Highlands among others. The beef cattle farming business plan should include the costs of purchasing the breeding stock.
Feed And Nutrition
Success in the beef cow-calf production business is also greatly affected by the feeding program. The feeding program of the beef production business should ensure that adequate nutrition is provided to both the cows and calves at all growth stages and during all seasons. This should be done while keeping an eye on the feed costs, as they greatly affect profitability of the beef cattle farming business. Failure to provide adequate feeding for the beef cattle results in low reproductive performance, poor growth of the calves and poor disease resistance. These factors all lead to reduced revenues for the beef cattle production business, thus lower profits. In beef cattle farming business, weight and grade of meat are the major goals which informs the feeding regiment. Feeding generally depends on the size of the cattle. The bigger the frame, the higher the grain content should be. Cattle feeding programs of beef farming are usually based on pasture grazing, in combination with supplementary feed. The supplementary feed for cow-calf operations include hay, salts & minerals, concentrates, silage, commercial beef feed, fodder, corn and grains. The most important dynamic is feed conversion or efficiency. Do not make the mistake of thinking overfeeding is a good thing. It usually leads to the build-up of excess fat thus lowering the beef quality. That is why it is important to seek guidance from experts on feeding using the right rations. The feed costs should be included in the beef cattle production business plan.
Capital for Cattle Ranching Business
The amount of capital required for the beef cattle breeding business depends on the scale of the project. When starting a cow-calf operations business, most of the capital goes to acquiring the land, building infrastructure, and buying the breeding stock. You can get a loan from the bank, or funding from investors, to use as capital to start your beef cattle farming business. If you plan to raise capital from investors and a loan from the bank, you need a good cattle ranching business plan. If you don’t have access to investors and bank loan, you can use your personal savings and start small, and grow your business overtime. Beef cattle farming is profitable, so if you reinvest the profits you get, you can grow over time. Even if you are not planning to get a loan, you should still get a beef cattle farming project plan to guide you in starting and operating the business. It is essential for you to have a beef cattle farming business plan before you venture into the cattle ranching business, so that you know all the costs involved and you make an informed decision.
Market for Beef
The market for beef cattle is very huge and is ever increasing, annual beef global demand exceeds 72 million tonnes. You can sell live cattle or slaughter and sell as beef. The market for cattle/beef includes supplying to butcher shops, abattoirs, auctions, schools, companies, individual households, farmers, restaurants, organisations, supermarkets, events etc. It’s important for the beef cattle farming business plan to include a proper marketing plan to use in your beef farming business.
The export market for beef is also very huge! As you grow your cattle farming business you will be able to export the beef to other countries. The largest importers of beef are Russia, United States of America, Japan, China, South Korea, European Union, Hong Kong, Egypt, Canada, Chile and Malaysia. Currently, the top producers of beef are United States of America, Brazil, European Union, China, India, Argentina, Australia, Mexico, Pakistan, Turkey and Russia.
Pre-Written Beef Cattle Farming Business Plan (PDF, Word And Excel): Comprehensive Version, Short Funding/Bank Loan Version and Automated Financial Statements
For an in-depth analysis of the beef cattle farming business, we encourage you to purchase our well-researched and comprehensive cattle farming business plan. We introduced the business plans after discovering that many were venturing into the beef cattle production business without enough knowledge and understanding of how to run the cattle ranching business, how to keep the calves, lack of understanding of the financial side of the business, lack of understanding of : the industry, the risks involved , costs and profitability of the business; which often leads to disastrous losses.
The StartupBiz Global cow-calf operations business plan will make it easier for you to launch and run your beef cattle farming business successfully, fully knowing what you are going into, and what’s needed to succeed in the business. It will be easier to plan and budget as you will be aware of all the costs involved in setting up and running the cattle ranching business.
Uses of the Beef Cattle Ranching Business Plan (PDF, Word And Excel)
The beef cattle farming business plan can be used for many purposes including:
- Raising capital from investors/friends/relatives
- Applying for a bank loan
- Start-up guide to launch your beef cattle farming business
- As a beef cattle farming business proposal
- Assessing profitability of the beef cattle production business
- Finding a business partner
- Assessing the initial start-up costs so that you know how much to save
- Manual for current business owners to help in business and strategy formulation
Contents of the Beef Cattle Production Business Plan (PDF, Word And Excel)
The beef cattle farming business plan include, but not limited to:
- Marketing Strategy
- Financial Statements (monthly cash flow projections, income statements, cash flow statements, balance sheets, break even analysis, payback period analysis, start-up costs, financial graphs, revenue and expenses, Bank Loan Amortization)
- Risk Analysis
- Industry Analysis
- Market Analysis
- SWOT & PEST Analysis
- Operational Requirements (Including technical aspects of how to keep the cattle, feed requirements etc)
- Operational Strategy
- Why some people in beef cattle farming business fail, so that you can avoid their mistakes
- Ways to raise capital to start your cattle farm business
The Pre-written beef cattle farm business plan package consists of 4 files
- Beef Cattle Farming Business Plan – PDF file (Comprehensive Version – 121 Pages)
- Cattle Farming Business Plan – Editable Word File (Comprehensive Version – 121 Pages)
- Beef Cattle Farming Business Plan Funding/Bank Loan Version- Editable Word File (Short version for applying for a loan/funding – 51 pages)
- Beef Cattle Farming Business Plan Automated Financial Statements – (Editable Excel File)
The business plan can be used in any country and can be easily edited. The financial statements are automated. This implies that you can change eg the number of cattle, selling price of the cattle etc, and all the other financial statements will automatically adjust to reflect the change.
Click below to download the Contents Page of the Beef Cattle Farming Business Plan (PDF)
Get the Beef Cattle Farming Business Plan (PDF, Word And Excel)
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We wish you the best in your beef cattle farming business! Check out our collection of business plans , and more business ideas.
