Investing in Cows for Our Kids: A Hands-On Lesson in Money, Responsibility, and Real Life
When our first 3 kids were born, we bought them 5 heifers to be their opportunity fund while teaching them about money using agriculture.
After baby number 4, Kyle half jokingly said, “let’s put this money in an account instead of cows,” and I realized how strongly I felt about the way we chose to invest in agriculture. Choosing to help our kids start a herd was strategic and thoughtful. We have a Roth IRA, savings accounts, and a few other investments. We’ve seen what those options can do. Here’s what we were thinking when we chose cows as an investment:
Why We Invested in Cattle Instead of Stocks for Our Kids
- Cows are tangible. The kids can count them. For now, it seems so much easier to grasp the concept of having something that they can see. When we put their money in their savings accounts after selling steers, they have no idea if the check is for $1 or $5,000, but when we drive through the field checking cows they can count on many, they each have.
- There are skills they can learn that give them some control over the outcome. We show up to check and we save a sick one. We pick a bull out of a catalog that determines future generations of their herd. We choose to cull and keep heifers. There are so many decisions for them to make that help them practice being decisive plus also living with their choice.
- We’re in this together. When I say we have a family business, I mean we all have skin in the game. I wanted to give them the chance to feel how special it is to be part of something bigger than themselves.
- To be real frank — I wanted them to fail. I knew those kids would pour their heart and souls into these cows then still have the possibility of failing from factors outside of their control. More than I wanted them to fail, I wanted them to learn how to get back up, to pivot, and to roll with the punches. My hope is they can embody the phrase, “you’ll never fail if you never quit,” because they’ve had practice in the years that form them.
It might look like we got our kids 5 cows so that they would have money to start their life at 18. What we’re really working on is a lifetime financial capstone project. This is about teaching financial literacy for children—learning to manage money, adversity, decision-making, and personal responsibility. It’s one thing to do the work, as they get older, they’ll see it’s another to be the one making decisions that impact income.
This is one of my favorite family traditions we have started. It’s been such a ride to see the project unfold already. The first year we were going to calve them, right before calving the only heifer pregnant with twins got tipped and died. Kid 3 has had the worst luck. We bought her 5 open heifers like everyone else and at age 2 she is down to one bred cow left. We’re crossing our fingers this cow calves soon and does a good job with her calf to stay. Otherwise, we’ll be using kid 3’s savings to replace those heifers. There’s also been so much goodness with this project in all the little moments — it’s my favorite to drive through the field and have them light up when they see their own tag color!
Like I said, this project is near to my heart, so we love to talk about it. Got questions about raising kids on a farm or investing for their future? Drop them in the comments or DM me on Instagram—I’d love to chat more about our family’s journey.
