Does anybody here have a farm? Need guidance

[LegendforLife]

I have this desire to move to the country and raise animals. I know it's a huge undertaking and want to consider all that goes into it before I go all in. Any farmers out there that can help a guy out? Raising goats and selling goat meat is what I have been fired up about.

 

[Mountainmanbob]

We are on our 2nd pair of goats and find them to be the nicest of critters.

They are just pets for us and we do not milk them.

As a hobby I think you would do well but, when it comes to making real money it's a hard farmer's life out there.

PS -- Country living is the best.

M-Bob

 

[LegendforLife]

It really does seem tough for farmers! Goats seem just great! What breed do you have? I have done a bit of research on Kiko and Boer goats.

 

[Mountainmanbob]

We have the miniture noobian goats.

Maybe over fed a little because, they do not look miniature.

The sweetest pets.

M-Bob

 

[visionary]

It is a labor of love, or it is a labor in futility and frustration. This "career" is a world of its own and learn it like you want to have a "phd" in it, for the information you need to do well in it is vast and necessary to be successful at it. Entrepreneur, veterinarian, accountant, builder, crop specialist, etc etc.. the list goes on.

 

[Greengardener]

Having a herd of goats is something my family did starting about 1998, but we picked a dairy breed and used the milk. We did eat the culls. I had thought the kids were going to be all "Bambi" about it, but they were fine. They were great with the animals (enjoyed them, were kind, that kind of thing. As to making money, we didn't, but at that same time, we heard about a lot of people in the western NC area making a good living off meat goats and I believe the markets were primarily Muslim folks up toward New York City. Since I didn't participate (dairy goats are too lean to make money on their meat), I can't speak from experience. Goats in general area a pretty easy project, guaranteed to test any fence you put up, very personable (all our goats would respond to being called by name). Keep us posted on how it goes!

 

[Tolworth John]

I have this desire to move to the country and raise animals. I know it's a huge undertaking and want to consider all that goes into it before I go all in. Any farmers out there that can help a guy out? Raising goats and selling goat meat is what I have been fired up about.

Cost it out, how much money do you need to live simple, that is food, power, water, medical and other insurance?
How much will you get when you sell a goat, pig, cow or chicken?
What will it cost you to buy a farm?

Add up the income and deuct your expences if you still have money left, re check your figures by going to where ever you buy farms from, to an animal auction to check out the prices.


If you can't do this a farming life is not for you.

 

[Hank77]

I have this desire to move to the country and raise animals. I know it's a huge undertaking and want to consider all that goes into it before I go all in. Any farmers out there that can help a guy out? Raising goats and selling goat meat is what I have been fired up about.

My suggestion would be to get in touch with the state Cooperative Extension Service where you want to live. Ours is connected to a state university. They'll be able to answer all your questions about raising any farm animal, what they cost, eat, land needed for grazing, etc. They also can help with cost analysis, profits, etc. They'll have a field office staffed with knowledgeable people. Where I live they are awesome, if they don't know something they will find out. They also work with the ag. 4-H groups and Future Farmers of America.

I don't know what state you are in, someone said something about NC so I looked up NC's website so you have an idea of services provided by the CES.
NC State Extension

 

[LegendforLife]

Thank you so much everyone! These are great suggestions! They will come in very handy!

 

[Shane R]

To sell them for meat, the margins are very poor and goats are still something of a niche market in the US. If you are going to make a go of it selling the meat you really have to get a connection with a Muslim or Caribbean retailer. However, artisanal cheese has exploded in popularity. Anytime I go to a farmer's market there's someone peddling little rolls of goat cheese.

 

[LegendforLife]

It being pretty niche is why I would want to ease in. Find a restaurant or something that would be interested and scale up from there. Your suggestion is really good though. I hadn't really thought about it much. Thank you!

 

[ChristianGirl_96]

A farm is a lot of work.
It is a huge commitment too. What state do you live in? Contact the state for advice and support. What do you wish to know about farm life?
I was reading a article on farm life and lessons learned today it was in a magazine I bought. Be prepared to work hard for many hours possibly in the dark as well. What kind of farm do you want? Will you plant anything on it or not? How much land is there?

 

[morse86]

Very nice. Only thing I can recommend is reading about Joel Salatin and his rotational grazing method.

 

[~Anastasia~]

I missed this thread.

I grew up on a farm, and we built and ran a little hobby farm for some years.

Yes it's a LOT of work. Especially the way we did it. The more different kinds of animals you have, the more work it is. I had a rancher friend with cattle who worked less than I did - just dump hay bales and keep stock ponds full. I spent 6 hours a day just caring for animals - feeding, watering, milking, gathering eggs, moving pastures, securing at night.

I absolutely loved it though. And goats are fun. They can get into every kind of mischief though - if there's a way to get hung up or hurt they will find it. So you need to proof your pastures. You need to be aware of predators - including people's dogs - and deal with that somehow. In most environments worms are a thing that must be dealt with.

They have very narrow margins as meat animals - among the poorest. You do better if there's a way to market them as premium product. Basically the price for meat, the amount of meat per animal, and the rate of reproduction govern how much you can make off meat animals. Feed is often an important factor too. If you have good pasture and enough rain that cost can be less (goats are browsers though - not primarily grass-eaters, so good pasture for them is different than for cows). But they don't reproduce as fast as poultry or rabbits or swine, and they don't have the butcher weight of cattle or swine.

Those are the main factors I can think of for your questions. It's hard to consider it a primary business/income. You never know ... a late storm, a predator break-in, a drought year ... many things can suddenly affect your business, costing the lives of your livestock or their reproductive year or making them too expensive to feed. We had several setbacks due to things beyond our control. You have to be able to bear it and not lose everything.

But it's a great life. I'd do it all over again if I was strong enough. I still kind of dream of having a larger farm with two living quarters - like if ever my daughter with her family or someone else could move in and do some of the heavier work. I like the way it used to be done generationally.