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Financing Beef Cow Herd Building For Beginning Ranchers, Abby Shalekbriski, Eric A. Devuyst, Cheryl S. Devuyst, Roger Sahs, Matt Stockton, Katlin Ramy

Journal of Applied Farm Economics

Intensive capital requirements relative to cash flows available inhibit the entry of beginning producers into the cattle industry. Here, we propose and analyze a strategy for beginning ranchers to build a herd. Over a three-year cycle, new producers borrow cash needed to purchase 450- pound heifers in the first year, breed heifers, sell open heifers and bull calves, retain heifer replacements, rebreed the two- year-old cows, and eventually sell bred two-turning-three cows 27 months after the initial heifer purchase. The goal is to retain a group of debt-free heifers. Analyses conducted over 14 cycles of 27 months each across three …