This is what I have been up to lately. This is the first time that I believe I have placed some of the chevre in molds. I am going to let some of it ripen and see what happens.
Then there’s taxes. I have been organizing our receipts, tallying up farm income and expenses, and shredding what I do not need. It is not that I need to shred, but it is find of fun and makes great fire starter.
The farm was not profitable last year. We had limited animal breeding, limited meat available, and our garden did not produce as much as we would have liked. Tom received his last unemployment check a couple of days ago, and there is little hope of a surveying job in the near future. The last two companies he worked for went bankrupt. So we are making plans to improve our farm profitability by breeding more animals and making meat of the ones that do not sell. We are increasing the amount of hens we have to increase our eggs sales. We took down the cottonwood trees that were shading our garden. If the weather cooperates we should have a much better harvest this year. We will participate in the farmers market more regularly and perhaps add a second market. I have a greater variety of fibers to sell now (fleeces, rovings and yarns). And we need to try and minimize our expenses. Let’s hope for a more profitable farm year.
Good luck with everything…we’re facing similar problems on our farm! We hope to increase income by adding hard cider sales along with apples.
Thanks Jan! We have looked into hard cider sales, but the regulations are intimidating. We are still talking about this as a venture too. I wish you well in yours.
At least you have a plan as it gives you a starting point to make progress from. Good luck!
Thanks Chai! At least we learn from our mistakes.
Best of luck in your farm ventures this year. I pray they will be more profitable. I hope this economy turns around SOON! I do one of the farmer’s market in our area (I sell my crafts and recycled and embellished kid’s clothes) and actually made enough to pay for 2 and a half tons of hay! The produce vendors do way better than I do. A lot of them sell out after only an hour, especially if organic. You will probably do well.
Jackie
Thanks Jackie! It sounds like you did quite well. I hope we do too.
It is so hard to turn a profit on a farm with so many unknowns. The weather around here the last two years have not been good, and the vet bills have been pretty steep too. Hope you have a good year for the farm.
Thanks Teresa. It is hard. A few years back we had a small profit. This last year our equipment rental expenses were higher too, partially because we took down the cottonwood and chipped them for the barn. We need to try to keep expenses down while still keeping everyone healthy and reasonably happy.