How to Raise Cattle - 6 Tips You Can Start Off on Raising Cattle

Many people nowadays see the potential of raising cattle and have sought out numerous books, guides, and instructional materials on how to raise cattle effectively for profit. If you're one of these cattle farmers or cattle enthusiasts who is planning on setting up his or her own cattle farm, it is important that you have a very clear objective as to what type of cattle you're going to raise, how much are you willing spend/invest, what your available resources are and how you can cultivate them, and the like. Before anything else though, it is important to know what kind of cattle you will be raising before learning how to actually raise the animals. Are you planning on breeding and selling beef cattle, dairy cattle, or grass-fed cattle?

For this article, learning how to raise cattle, particularly grass-fed cattle, is going to be the focus of the article for several reasons. First, raising grass-fed cattle has many benefits on the part of the farmer, one of which is that it is cost effective and the cows are normally easy to handle since the staple food is the grass around them. If you have a ranch that is filled with good greenery, this type of cattle will surely do you well. On the part of the consumers, grass-fed cattle produces some of the best meat since they don't have any growth hormones in them, the cows are normally stress-free, and gather many nutrients from the food they eat. So if you are well-equipped and have learned how to raise cattle then you will surely benefit from your herd. To start off, here are some tips on how to raise cattle:

    Before learning how to raise cattle, make sure to look and select cattle breeds that thrive on grass.
    Once you have your starter herd, always make sure to provide fresh grass and legumes for lots of nutrients.
    If you think it necessary, you can supplement the cattle's food with plant proteins. Remember that cows normally need 11% protein in their diet.
    During the late summer season, you can add starch protein since plant proteins drop during this time.
    Cows can become ill once in a while, so when this happens, provide antibiotics that are of a low level to avoid any health problems for your cows.
    When feeding your herd/s, rotate pastures in order for the cattle to constantly eat fresh grass. You can also send out chickens (if you have) while the cows are grazing to help fertilize the area.