Knob & Kettle Terrain

[sumdumguy]

Tomorrow is the last day of crappy weather.
Forcast looks great!

I planted an early garden. Peas and beets are
up. The late crops catch up pretty fast, look at
last year.

[farmaholic]

Freewheat: Grassfarmer is right regarding lower risk and way less capital intensive. I think you may have to actually work a little harder though(not saying you don't now). If done in some sort of harmony with nature calving/lambing may not be so labour intensive--when we were in cattle(never in a big way) we did it all wrong, we calved in the dead of winter and it took alot of work. Anyone with any amount of cattle would be crazy to calve outside the more "natural" timeframe. I am to old and LAZY to want to get back into cattle at this stage of my life but I do see the value in them. Just a thought--if you have trouble with too much moisture, won't haying or what ever method of putting up feed pose a problem as well. As far as income, I don't think you will hit the home runs with livestock as you MIGHT with grain but a steady string of base hits will keep you in the game longer than waiting for the home runs between striking out. Do whats right for you, your family and your farm. Good luck with what ever you choose.

[freewheat]

Hey, some encouragement is nice once in
a while! So yeah we would lamb in spring
on pasture, bale graze, stubble graze,
hay field graze to extend the season. I
have no doubt about hard work, and I am
game. I used to run a seed cleaning
plant all winter, and now that I sold
out I have freer winters. It was hell on
the family 16-18 hour days from January
to May!

We plan to start slow, grow into it.
Over say 5-10 years. Actually to be
truthful, we had been planning this for
about 6 years now, but between buying
land, poor/no crops, and trying to build
a grain farm, it has been put on the
backburner. But as the weather year
after year looks iffy, we gotta try
something else to stabilize things some.
Wife has no job, etc., home with the
kids, so there is more pressure than my
neighbors with their nurse wives, etc.

It is not like this is a whim, we have
been researching for years, it is tough
to find money to build fences etc..

Anyway, I liked the base hit analogy.
for so many years now we have been
fouling, and it is tiring!

Thanks guys for all the advice!

[sumdumguy]

On Environment Canada site, if you goto satellite,
hit play arrow, the weirdest two systems are
swirling on both side of us.

it seems that the Idaho Lows coming up from
Montana have been replaced by these circling
currents on each side of us. The jet stream
position may have something to do with change.

Anyone follow the jet stream theories?

[cottonpicken]

One thing you might want to look into is this
organic/free range/buy local type movement.


Its growth rate is off the map and some of these city
slick young hipster women are paying 6 bucks for a
dozen eggs.

You could just simply expand what your already
doing.

I think the only real problem would be product
distribution.Which a minimal solution would be a
refer truck and a once a week trip into a parking lot
of a big city.You would want to sell yourself with your
super duper wholesome products.

Pars would probably be able to add more than i to
this.

As you can tell i've fantasized,about leaving the grind.

[Mufferaw]

Freewheat. When looking at conversion don't forget about the Farm Stewardship Program. Lots of the livestock based initiatives have a 50% contribution - by the time you put your inkind into the application cash outlay for fencing, water, establishment really isn't that big. Cattle and sheep are as much work as you want them to be. Others are right that is takes time to get a system that works for you. Once you get to that point they are not really that much work. Cattle/sheep get a bad wrap based on management that thought cattle/sheep need to be pampered.

[fjlip]

Sumguy, check this link out.
Jetstream forecast till Thurs.
Looks better then.

http://www.weatherimages.org/data/imag192.html

[grassfarmer]

You are right cotton, demand is off the map. We have
names on a waiting list for grass-fed beef to be
delivered October 2013. 2012 pre-orders were sold
out a while ago. Direct marketing offers the biggest
opportunity in Canadian livestock agriculture today.

[newguy]

If you are looking at sheep you may want to check out raising goats. Have heard with the ethnic thing there is a very good return in raising goats now. I was going to quit the cows and just try and put money away in RRSP's. Now instead I am buying cattle every year for a tax expence and building my herd back up instead of rrsp's. Have lots of pasture and hay so it is just a matter of more labour this way.

[farmaholic]

newguy: you'll beat the shit out of most non-self-directed investments with cattle returns.

[wlc]

Young couple just setting up in sheep near Debden Sk .Up close to 1000 ewes so far .Cody Lockhart 724 4451
Freewheat check them out.