Grazing and pasture ground can be difficult to obtain these days, especially when you’re ready to expand your herd. That is just one of the reasons Sam and Dierk Halverson decided to put up a cow/calf facility outside Coon Rapids, Iowa.
The Decision to Move Cattle Under Roof
Typically, a cow/calf pair needs 1.5 to 2 acres of pasture to feed for 12 months. There are multiple locations where your cattle cannot graze year round, even when you rotate them, like Iowa. You need to provide feed and hay in the colder months when pastures go dormant for the season.
Dierk and his son, Sam, had a desire to expand their herd but did not have access to enough pasture to do so. Sam did a lot of research and pitched the idea of a cow/calf facility to his father. Together, they toured Chad and Amy Wilkerson’s operation near Linden, Iowa. They were impressed and decided they would give it a go.
“We wanted to expand our herd and with the price and unavailability of pasture ground we went this route.”
In addition to the pasture obstacle, one of the biggest challenges the Halversons faced year after year was the inclement weather during calving season. “The last few years, it seems like there hasn’t been a hard frost to speak of so we’ve been calving out in the mud and we’ve been having all sorts of troubles. I think this is going to be a huge benefit.”
Accu-Steel’s Cattle Building
The Halversons put up a 60’ x 400’ Cattle Advantage series building in the summer of 2017. When we caught up with them, they just released their fall calves and brought in the spring. At the time, they had 103 head in their 200 head capacity cow/calf building.
“We’ve applied some of the advice that we got and set things up as efficiently as we can for this 20-30 year commitment. Efficiency is what we strive for and we are happy with our layout so far.” Within the building, there are eight pens and individual calf playpens and creep feeders in each pen. The heifers have plenty of space and the calves have a safe place to go.
Moving Forward
Dierk and Sam Halverson are enjoying the benefits of their cow/calf building. “Sam came back and wanted to get involved with the farming operation.” Expanding the herd allowed him to do that. Now, they have over a year of experience with their new cattle building. It is making their now larger cattle operation much more efficient.
If you are considering a cattle building, do the research and ask the experts. That’s what Dierk and Sam did! “When Vincent (Glassmaker Construction) was putting up the building he mentioned a few other competitors but he really bragged on Accu-Steel, so I feel confident that we made the right decision.”
Contact Accu-Steel today to get your free quote!