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Raising livestock has been the tradition of Americans since their ancestors found a nation. With the wide, fertile pasture lands in the American region, the livestock industry gets a boost and becomes a profitable venture.
Instead of raising livestock for just beef or pork, like the profitable dairy farms doing nowadays, you can move to the emerging profitable opportunity by starting a buffalo farm. According to FAO Raising, buffalo is a highly profitable industry as the protein-rich products of buffalo produces are in high demand.
It seems like livestock has grown to the full extent, but the reality behind is that farming is still in its infancy to become an industry. Today is the best time to get started on farming. Buffalo farming has many issues in the start, like other businesses, like pasture land management, shelter, feeds, and the cost to buy the animals.
The major issue found among farming lovers is the lack of knowledge about livestock raising costs. They do not have a clear image of costs i.e. How much does a buffalo cost, how much costs to raise a buffalo, and How much daily feed costs for a buffalo?.
That’s why I build this guide to let you know the reality behind the economics and the startup guide on buffalo farming.
Let’s get started!
How Much Does a Buffalo Cost?
A buffalo(bison) costs around $1500 to $5000 but the prices may vary by breeding, age, weight, and milk. A water buffalo costs around $1200$ to $2000.
A bull calf is priced around $700 while a heifer calf costs around $900 to $2500 per head.
Bison cows cost around $1400$ to $4000.
The price of a buffalo is based on the conformation, breed, and size of the animal.
Factors Impacting the Cost of Buffalo
These are described as some factors that impact the cost of buffalo. These facts imply the cost of animals both times selling and buying.
Conformation
Confirmation of the animal is the primary factor that attracts the attention of the viewer. Only the person having the clue knowledge of buffaloes and other animals can find the perfect animal having all the premium specs in an animal.
Breed
The breed of the animal is the major and the most impacting factor that affects the cost of buffalo. Not all buffaloes have the same qualities so they do have different milk and meat production capacities. Such factors imply a great impact on the cost of buffalo.
Like, the Murrah buffalo is somewhat expensive than water buffalo. Similarly, the cost can also vary in terms of maintenance and veterinary care.
Size of animal
The size of the animal shows the age and production level of the animal and it does impact the cost of the animal. As the adult animal having the fully grown body will cost more as the grower has invested to grow it to adult.
Feed Cost of Buffalo
A meat buffalo eats about 30 to 40 pounds of hay a day. While a dairy buffalo needs almost 100 pounds of hay for meeting body needs. In case of meeting the whole year hay need, it will cost around $1,000 in the feed. Check the cost of bull too which is similar to buffalo.
In case you have your own farm for feed or have land to grass-feed your buffaloes, then it will cost around $200 to $300 for a buffalo per year.
Land/Farm Expenses of Buffalo
The primary cost you have to face is in form of hiring a piece of land for a farm and fencing your land. The area of the farm is going to dictate how many animals you can have. It is commonly observed that a 5-acre land can support one to two buffaloes easily.
Fencing your lawn is the primary cost that is somehow included in the buffalo farm cost. You will need to install the fence around the farm to keep your animal in place and safer from the straying dogs. It will cost around $50-$100 on things to keep them in place.
Maintenance Cost of Buffalo
Raising a single or more buffalo will definitely cost maintenance and it is the necessary investments that will cash in the form of meat cost returns or animal selling returns. An average cost for maintenance costs around 2$ daily for a single buffalo.
However, a fully grown adult buffalo or bison costs around 800$ in terms of maintenance cost. This cost includes the feed, veterinary, and other animal care spendings.
Veterinary Expenses of Buffalo
Veterinary care is a crucial fact in terms of animal and bird farming. Reducing the costs of veterinary care and medicine is not very prudent.
After searching and going through the hundred of cash flow plans, it is concluded that the average cost per buffalo for vet and medicines is $105 to $110 with the range of $88 to $126/cow.
Other Annual Expenses
Generally, a buffalo costs between $500 to $1,000 per year. This cost included all expenses of the veterinary care and feed costs. Such expenses can be cut off too much less if you purchase heifers, and raise them at your farm, but if you have extra land to grass-feed them.
The actual land area suggested for keeping a buffalo animal is 2 to 5 acres of land.
Final Verdict
A buffalo costs between $1,500 to $5,000 but the cost may vary on the basis of breed, size, and age of the animal. Keeping and managing the expenses of feed and vet care is a good practice but never compromise providing the premium grade feed to animals for better health.
Raising the heifers and young animals will cost less in form of low cost per buffalo but the feed and other maintenance will cost you around $800 to $1,000 per year. So make sure to get the complete cost analysis before going to buy buffalo.
