Jerry,
Trust me on this one, if you are thinking about raising a single calf/cow for personal beef, spend the money and get two, to keep each other company, sell the second calf to othersin your area as home-grown beef. this will easily pay for your calf and probably have some left over for next years model.
Look! It's Leonardo da Vinci! And he brought a tiny ad!
grow your own garden and build your own home in the gardening gardeners program