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There is no definitive answer to this, as it contains many, many variables that have to be considered before realizing which type of cattle or which breed is best to raise for profit. There is no "BEST breed" nor "BEST cattle sector", because the people that raise cattle and where they live, the climate, vegetation, topography, soils, etc. differ from farm to farm and ranch to ranch, and so they type of cattle they raise also varies. It all depends on what YOU want to achieve, what your "dream herd" should look like, and how you want to raise your cattle. Maybe you shouldn't raise Angus; maybe they won't work for you like, say, Beefmasters will, or Red Polls or even Dexters. It also depends on what markets you want to aim for, whether you're more looking at selling your beef through direct sales to consumers looking for a healthier product, or you want to go the route that most everyone takes and sell your cattle at the auction or salebarn.

It also depends on how hard you want to work for your cattle, or if you want your cattle to work for you. There really is no best way to raise cattle for profit, because there really is no profit in raising cattle. Most folks nowadays are raising cattle just simply for the enjoyment as a hobby and have an off-farm job to help deal with the added expenses. If you're in the cow-calf business end of things, you still have to sell cull cows and bulls and 80% of their calf crop, but don't expect get a profit off them like you could 20 or 30 years ago. Actually, it's the same for all sectors: backgrounding, feedlot, commercial cow-calf, seedstock cow-calf.

You can get a bit more $$$$ in seedstock operations, but for a beginner it is not really ideal to start there. You have got to have a good reputation to sell your bulls and heifers, as well as know much more marketing techniques than you need if you raise commercial cattle. As a beginner you won't get much or any sales on your purebred bulls and heifers because your potential customers won't know you, nor can they trust you because you are "just starting out." You're better off going commercial if you want to raise cows & calves.

As for breeds, this is your choice. If you don't want to get on the black bandwagon, nor want to or can't get into dairy, have easy calving mothers, cattle that have great forage convertibility that will do well on just grass and hay with absolutely no grain or bread or other high-CHO supplementations, good mothering ability, good milking ability, etc., etc., you have a LOT of breeds to choose from besides Angus or Red Angus. In the commercial cow-calf sector, don't be afraid to choose crossbred cows as well. They often do better and meet your expectations better than most purebreds.

The sky is the limit. I suggest you check out the following related questions below for more information on what you want to go for. But keep in this mind: If you want to raise cattle for profit, you're better off making money off of selling quilts and baby blankets or fixing cars than you are raising cattle. But all the same...good luck cattle shopping!

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Q: What is the best cattle to raise for profit?
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