Me again! 18 acres - how much work?

2 posts
Sun, 01/18/2015 - 10:53 #1

Member for

9 years 6 months
Mummyto4
Last seen: 03/08/2018 - 21:05
Joined: 09/21/2014 - 16:06

Me again! 18 acres - how much work?

Hello, me again. We've found another property we really like in the Northern Rivers area of NSW. This property is 18 acres of amazingly good pasture. There's currently about 20 full size cattle on it and the paddocks are so overgrown it's not funny! There's a lovely fresh creek that runs from a spring up the hill and a bore so water for the animals isn't an issue either. We could definitely get our pet cows plus run some steers to sell off for meat for pocket money (but mainly to keep the grass down!). How much work will 18 acres be? How much work will running 20-30 steers plus a few house cows be? My husband works full-time and while I'll be at home, we have 4 kids (2 in particular have chronic health issues and disabilities) so time to work on the property would have to fit around that. Are we crazy? Is this doable for a couple of city folk who are willing to listen and learn and get dirty and work hard?
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Sun, 01/18/2015 - 12:08 #2
barb
Last seen: 09/17/2019 - 18:07
Joined: 11/23/2011 - 09:38

Hi Me Again,

sounds like a mini paradise, especially if there is permanent water on the property. However, there are a few things to consider.

1. How long have the cattle been running on the property? It sounds like a lot of cattle to be running on 18 acres. It would by good if the property is divided into smaller approximately 5 acre paddocks, so that you can run it using cell grazing. That is, rotate the cattle from paddock to paddock so that the whole pasture is not allowed to get shorter than about 5cm-10cm long. Shorter than that and the soil is exposed and this can allow the roots to dry out. You would need to keep an eye on the pasture length and growth and sell off surplus cattle while you still have good pasture, because at certain times of year pasture growth slows right down. Selling early means that you will not have to buy in hay or grain for feeding.

2. It is usual practice to sell off your steers approx. every 12 months at 18 months to 2 years old. Then, buy in your weaner steers at the weaner sales and start the process all over again. The advantage of buying in weaner steers togrow out, is that they have already had their first vaccinations, have been tagged /branded and have already been castrated and de-horned if necessary. I believe on a smaller acreage such as this, then it is better to be growing out steers for sale, rather than breeding. Why I say this is because lactating cows eat a lot more feed than dry animals.

3. Does the property have a decent set of yards and a crush to carry out the necessary things you may need to do, such as  annual vaccinations, or treating wounds?

Last but not least, I believe bringing up kids with a disability in the country is a great idea.  I don't know what your childrens's disabilities are, but in my area, I know three families with kids with asperger's and this is the reason they moved out of the city. It has been the making of these children. They all have their own horses and a couple of them have quad bikes. Two of the children are having distance education, as they cannot mix with other kids in the class room because of behavioural issues. However, they are not isolated because their parents have them enrolled in little athletics and so on. Gives them a chance to mix with other kids outside the controlled environment of a class room.

Hope that some of this is useful info for you.

cheers,

Barb

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