Getting Started with Beef & Dairy Cattle

Raising a cow for milk or beef can be a satisfying, rewarding, and even entertaining enterprise. Veteran rancher Heather Smith Thomas helps you develop your cattle-farming vision, providing expert advice on choosing the appropriate animal for your needs and budget. With detailed profiles of breed attributes and in-depth coverage of issues like conformation, disposition, and milk or meat yield, this guide will give even the newest farmer the knowledge and confidence to start a successful cattle-raising operation.

“will help inexperienced farmers select the breed that is best-suited for their goals. Angus Journal With the information in this book you can reap the pleasures and rewards of using your land to raise healthy, happy and productive animals. American Small Farm”

"...will help inexperienced farmers select the breed that is best-suited for their goals."

- Angus Journal

"With the information in this book you can reap the pleasures and rewards of using your land to raise healthy, happy and productive animals." - American Small Farm

Heather Smith Thomas has written extensively on animal health care, authoring thousands of articles and 24 books on the subject. Her books include Storey s Guide to Raising Beef Cattle, Essential Guide to Calving, Getting Started with Beef & Dairy Cattle, The Cattle Health Handbook, The Horse Conformation Handbook, Storey s Guide to Raising Horses, Storey s Guide to Training Horses, and Stable Smarts. She raises cattle and horses on her family ranch in Salmon, Idaho.

With nearly every supermarket now featuring an ?organic? section, the demand for organically grown meat and dairy products has risen rapidly in recent years. Small farmers have taken note, and many more beginners are considering cattle as a viable farm commodity. Getting Started with Beef & Dairy Cattle is the essential handbook for this growing audience. Heather Smith Thomas, a lifelong cattle rancher and author of several previous books for more experienced farmers, offers a succinct layperson?'s guide to the basics of raising a small herd of cattle, whether for meat or dairy products. She outlines organic and natural farming methods and covers all the information needed to get started and be successful. Getting Started with Beef & Dairy Cattle encourages new and beginning farmers to start small, and start right. Thomas explains as simply as possible the basics of selecting and raising a calf, along with feeding, shelter, and care guidelines. She also covers breeding and calving, as well as tips for managing a herd throughout the seasons. There?'s basic health care information for preventing disease and addressing common ailments. For those raising beef cattle, Thomas offers guidelines for butchering; for those raising dairy cattle, there are step-by-step guidelines on milking. With a whole new generation returning to the farm who don't have a family history of farming, Getting Started with Beef & Dairy Cattle is a much-needed resource. Heather Smith Thomas has devoted her life to passing on the knowledge, understanding, and attitudenecessary to become a successful farmer.

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