Tea Posted October 20, 2008 Report Share Posted October 20, 2008 How many of you folks out there make your living from sheep? (Or cattle, or goats...I have one friend that makes a very good living from goats.) Pay your morgage, insurance, groceries etc? Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stockdogranch Posted October 20, 2008 Report Share Posted October 20, 2008 I don't make my living strictly from the stock, but "the business" supplements the 2-day-a-week day job. The business is training stockdogs--both weekly lessons with students and outside dogs in for training. I also get a bit of income throughout the year by doing setout at sheep trials--they pay my fuel and a decent wage (and usually feed me quite well). So the sheep and calves are part of that, certainly, as without them I could not train my own dogs or any others. Of course, I have a lot more expenses because I have the business--leasing the pasture, buying feed, medications, etc., etc. But I find that for the most part, the business pays for itself--the lambs and sheep I sell each year pretty much pay for hay for the year, etc. The business also has a lot of write-off, of course, and so the taxes I pay with the day job usually come back to me in the spring. So, in the long run, it really nets me a fair amount of income. This "extra" income allows me to travel quite a bit to trial the dogs, which helps the business, and so it goes... A Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lenajo Posted October 20, 2008 Report Share Posted October 20, 2008 The average number of ewes required to support a US farmer at the *poverty* level is 200. Since I don't care to live at that level (though some days at work I'm not so sure...) I run about half of that in ewes. That's what I find I can manage plus lambs (we grow out all our own lambs for custom sale). I also run a small herd of goats for meat and brush control. That doesn't mean I can run the whole thing as a cute hobby. We operate and manage this as a business. That said, farming for us, and many family farms, is a circle The farm provides the lifestyle we love, and the money made feeds back into what's needed to keep that lifestyle supported. Basically because of the dogs I can run sheep economically, and because of the farm I can enjoy training the working dogs I love. We even get to trial a little on the side Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sue R Posted October 20, 2008 Report Share Posted October 20, 2008 Our small cow herd is managed as a business but certainly doesn't support us in any way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tea Posted October 20, 2008 Author Report Share Posted October 20, 2008 Thank you for your answers. All good ways to live. How we make it around here is Locker lambs, Breeding stock Very occassional sheep rental Brain tan hides Soap Yarn Clothing Batts and roving and fleeces Browsing loose makes it possible because it cuts down on my hay. I do not feed grain. We do the above ourselves, including shearing. We prepare and spin, knit, crochet, weave all our own wool. We live very simply. The interns do help that makes it easier for us. But not unlike having alot of your own kids around! We use our own products and milk our sheep and goats and make cheese etc, but as of yet I cannot sell it, but soon. We slaughter our own and only use the state guy for locker lambs. Our farming co-op is getting the USDA Mobil slaughter unit which will really help us, we all are members of this group. The milk sheep operations I know, do not have 200 head. However the equitment and buildings are very pricey as you get started. We are members of our local farming and ag programs. They are going great guns around here to support local slow food. I hope we survive this down turn in the economy. Good luck to you too! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mona Howard Posted October 20, 2008 Report Share Posted October 20, 2008 I do not make my living from the sheep. They are just a hobby flock kept mainly to work with the dogs. However, the sale of the lambs pays for my property taxes each year and also for the food they eat as well as supporting an old gelding. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tea Posted October 20, 2008 Author Report Share Posted October 20, 2008 that is still very good! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TAC2 Posted October 21, 2008 Report Share Posted October 21, 2008 I don't know about making a living from it, but my current goal is to make the farm self-sustainable. That is pay taxes, provide food, pay for seedstock/plantings, pay for animal feedstuff, etc. Not expecting to give up the day job anytime soon, but hoping it will be a nice retirement asset since SS may or may not be around by then and pensions/stock markets may also prove unreliable in today's world . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Fosher Posted October 21, 2008 Report Share Posted October 21, 2008 I've had sheep 18 years, made money three, lost money 12, and broke even three. I don't consider the flock as "making money" until I have paid myself a reasonable wage, covered cash and non-cash costs, and still have some money left over. I have usually worked a "day job" at least part time. But I do consider the sheep flock to be part of my livelihood, and run the flock as a business. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JLP Posted October 21, 2008 Report Share Posted October 21, 2008 My wife and I make our living on a Dairy Farm. Pretty good life I would have to say. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tea Posted October 21, 2008 Author Report Share Posted October 21, 2008 Yeah it seems that dairy is the way to go. In the beggining we did not make a profit. We would not now but as you see we expanded to do everything ourselves and include alot of diversity. We also are thinking about processing other people's wool. I have other sheep dairy friends that have done that and are doing well. But we are breeding for certain things and its is of course a slow process. I am taking everything I learned as a young person and apply it now. Its amazing how much my Pop and Grandpa knew! It is a great way to live. Thanks for sharing Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Fosher Posted October 21, 2008 Report Share Posted October 21, 2008 Tea, Do you consider wool processing part of the sheep flock, or a separate value-added business? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lenajo Posted October 21, 2008 Report Share Posted October 21, 2008 I don't know about making a living from it, but my current goal is to make the farm self-sustainable. That is pay taxes, provide food, pay for seedstock/plantings, pay for animal feedstuff, etc. Not expecting to give up the day job anytime soon, but hoping it will be a nice retirement asset since SS may or may not be around by then and pensions/stock markets may also prove unreliable in today's world . At least with farm land and livestock available we might not starve eh? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tea Posted October 22, 2008 Author Report Share Posted October 22, 2008 Yes I guess we will not starve! A joke around our house is. Whats for diner. lamb? lamb? or Lamb? My husband always says, well I would like lamb! Lamb stew Lamb kabobs Lamb roast Lamb pocket pies Bill I consider anything made out of our sheep part of the buiness. (We have alot of wool!) (However if its other peoples sheep I don't know!) ( Grant you, the interns help alot with this during shearing, and making things. But we are teaching them too!) So the wool and yarn, clothing etc Brain tanned hides- Soap- made from tallow we render and home made lye. But on a serious note- I have already been asked to donate lamb to the food bank, which I have done. And I have people now, sadly that are willing to work for food. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjk05 Posted October 23, 2008 Report Share Posted October 23, 2008 We actually farm for our living (along with my partner's family). He does some off-farm contract stockwork, and I've recently started working part-time (for career reasons as much as income) but we can and have lived entirely off the farm. We run merino ewes for wool and produce crossbred lambs for meat. We're cropping too, especially in the current markets, but if we had a choice, we'd be almost entirely sheep. The average number of ewes required to support a US farmer at the *poverty* level is 200 Wow. The sheep industry in the US must be significantly different from the Australian industry, because over here you'd be borderline viable on 10 times that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NorthfieldNick Posted October 23, 2008 Report Share Posted October 23, 2008 I make my living from "stock" of sorts... the sheep pay for themselves plus some with lamb and wool. Most of the "stock" that makes my living are shellfish... clams & oysters aren't so much fun as sheep (no dog required), but a million of them (literally) don't take up much space We buy almost zero produce- we eat out of the garden- raise our own poultry & fowl for meat & eggs, and have diary goats. The useless goats' feed is certainly more expensive than what we save from having our own milk & cheese, but the rest of the stock pays for itself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjk05 Posted November 6, 2008 Report Share Posted November 6, 2008 Wow. The sheep industry in the US must be significantly different from the Australian industry, because over here you'd be borderline viable on 10 times that. And it's just got even harder over here, with the wool price having dropped almost a dollar since last year. We're just about to start shearing, and it's fairly demoralising to hear the price has dropped even further every week. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.