Chris Teutsch and Kevin Laurent

Profitability in beginning ruminant livestock operations is often illusive.  In 2018 and 2019, we worked with a beginning farmer to design a profitable stocker operation.  We used cool- and warm-season annuals to provide high quality forage for 45 stocker calves that were purchased in December and sold in August.  Annual ryegrass provided early season grazing and was transitioned to sorghum-sudangrass in late spring and early summer.  

The lender working with this beginning farmer was hesitant to approve a stocker system.  However, in the first year of operation, this beginning farmer covered his farm payment and all variable costs associated with the stockers.  We will continue to work this beginning farmer to transition some of the annual forage acreage to novel endophyte tall fescue in fall 2019.