Homestead mailing list

[bobf <bobford79 AT yahoo.com>]

I wondered about the exotic animals bit.  I know, out here, ostrich and emu 
ranching went bust a while back and the ranchers donated their animals to the 
sheriff to serve inmates (cheaper to donate than to feed-  for some reason, 
no customers to buy them?).  Do you feed your cows any corn?  Why do the 
commercials and ads say "corn-fed beef"?

---------------------------------------------------------------


--- On Sat, 1/3/09, Lynn Wigglesworth <lynnw1366 AT hotmail.com> wrote:

> From: Lynn Wigglesworth <lynnw1366 AT hotmail.com>
> Subject: Re: [Homestead] Small farms Changing
> To: homestead AT lists.ibiblio.org
> Date: Saturday, January 3, 2009, 6:31 AM
> Bob; the first farm in the article may be small, but he
> thinks like 
> agribiz....stuff the beefies full of expensive grain and
> sell at wholesale 
> commodity proces.  My feed costs haven't gone up much
> in the 5 years I've 
> been selling beef...grass costs me nothing to grow. Hay has
> gone up a bit, 
> but I'm harvesting more of my own to make up for the
> price increase. I sell 
> directly to the consumer, so I can charge whatever I want.
> 
> I was amused to read about the alpacas. When I was first
> looking into what 
> animals to raise, cashmere goats were the big pyramid
> scheme. The only money 
> to be made is selling the babies to other farmers.(think
> emus).  The market 
> for any kind of fiber collapsed many years ago. You can
> still sell specialty 
> fiber if you have it spun and dyed, but selling fleeces
> doesn't bring enough 
> to cover the gas cost to take them to the wool pool.
> 
> Lynn Wigglesworth
> Tioga Co. PA
> 
> 
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "bobf" <bobford79 AT yahoo.com>
> To: <homestead AT lists.ibiblio.org>
> Sent: Saturday, January 03, 2009 5:46 AM
> Subject: [Homestead] Small farms Changing
> 
> 
> > In this am Washington Post, an article 'not'
> about big ag, but about 
> > regular small farms.  Soem stuff about USDA
> requirements like Lynn has 
> > mentioned.  'has a couple of photo galleries at
> the link
> >
> >
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
> >
> >
> >
> > Old MacDonald Wouldn't Recognize This Farm
> >
> > Bitten by Livestock Market, Owners Test Other
> Moneymaking Ideas
> >
> >
> > A Changing Farm
> >
> > Farmers across the country struggle to revamp their
> business as the 
> > average cost of meat sinks below the climbing cost of
> raising an animal. 
> > In St. Mary's County farmer Jim Moore decreases
> the number of cattle in 
> > his heard and begins raising alpacas to sustain the
> crunch.
> >
> >
> > By Jenna Johnson
> >
> > Washington Post Staff Writer
> >
> > Saturday, January 3, 2009; Page B01
> >
> > Jim Moore has slowly sold off the animals that once
> made up his St. Mary's 
> > County farm. First went nearly all of his 30 hogs.
> Then, late last year, 
> > he got rid of 17 of his 30 cows. In their place are
> more than two dozen 
> > long-haired alpacas, reminders that difficult times
> have forced him and 
> > other livestock producers to adapt.
> >
> > The alpacas eat less than traditional farm animals,
> and their 
> > cashmere-like wool can be harvested without hauling
> them to a 
> > slaughterhouse. Moore escorts them to dog-show-like
> conventions, where the 
> > quality of their wool is judged.
> >
> > "Here I am, a big, burly farm boy, in the show
> ring with an alpaca," Moore 
> > said. "I get razzed pretty good by my
> friends."
> >
> > The economy and other factors have forced many
> livestock producers to 
> > virtually halt or dramatically refashion their
> operations. Nearly all of 
> > the few dozen producers in Southern Maryland have cut
> the number of 
> > animals they raise by at least half or gotten rid of
> their animals 
> > altogether, agricultural officials said.
> >
> > Last year, feed prices shot up, mostly because of new
> demand for corn and 
> > soybeans to produce ethanol. Record-high gas prices
> during the summer made 
> > a trip to a slaughterhouse more expensive. Drought
> drove up the price of 
> > hay and made it scarce until late summer.
> >
> > And after livestock producers invested more than usual
> in raising their 
> > animals, they were met with lower-than-usual prices at
> market. Not wanting 
> > to lose any more money, many turned their attention to
> other sources of 
> > income: greenhouse-grown vegetables, grain, specialty
> animals such as 
> > alpacas, agri-tourism or jobs off the farm.
> >
> > "It's economics 101," said Mike Russell,
> a St. Mary's soil conservation 
> > engineer who works closely with farmers and livestock
> producers. "They 
> > have no other choice. They weren't making any
> money. They are not out of 
> > the business completely, but as the economy changes,
> they are cutting 
> > back."
> >
> > It could be a while before the cost of raising animals
> evens out with the 
> > income that can be made by selling them. Adding to the
> problem: The 
> > recession has pushed many people to cut back on steak
> dinners, said Mike 
> > Brannon, director of operations at Roseda Beef, based
> north of Baltimore. 
> > Although Roseda did not cut back on production last
> year, the farm is 
> > considering doing so in 2009.
> >
> >
> > "Everyone wants bargains right now," Brannon
> said. "Anytime you see 
> > something agricultural on sale, someone somewhere is
> losing money. And 
> > it's usually the farmer."
> >
> > In recent years, demand for locally raised meat has
> grown, driven by meat 
> > contamination scares, the trendiness of buying local
> and ethnic groups in 
> > search of mutton and goat meat.
> >
> > "Plus, there's the taste," said Donna
> Sasscer, St. Mary's agriculture and 
> > seafood development manager. "Once you've
> tasted local meat, you can taste 
> > the difference."
> >
> > But the logistics and expenses involved in raising
> animals for slaughter 
> > in Southern Maryland are daunting. Federal regulations
> require any meat 
> > that is to be sold to be processed in a facility
> certified by the U.S. 
> > Department of Agriculture. Maryland's few
> USDA-approved slaughterhouses 
> > are in the northern part of the state, and some
> producers find it easier 
> > to travel to Pennsylvania or Virginia.
> >
> >
> >
> > Producers who don't sell their meat to a
> wholesaler at the processing 
> > plant must transport it back to their farm and store
> it until they can 
> > sell it to a grocery store, restaurant or other buyer.
> >
> > Farmers sometimes attempt to sell an entire live
> animal directly to the 
> > end consumer. The buyer is then responsible for having
> the animal 
> > slaughtered and processed for personal use, losing the
> need for USDA 
> > inspection and increasing the number of available
> slaughterhouses.
> >
> > But, not surprisingly, finding a buyer interested in
> purchasing an entire 
> > cow -- or a group of friends willing to purchase one
> together -- is 
> > difficult.
> >
> > "If a cow was just New York strips, we would have
> no problem," said 
> > Brannon, whose company sells cuts to grocery stores,
> restaurants and 
> > individuals. "Today's consumer wants to buy
> what they want to buy when 
> > they want to buy it."
> >
> > For years, the Southern Maryland Agricultural
> Development Commission has 
> > advocated for the creation of a USDA-certified
> processing plant in 
> > Southern Maryland, perhaps even a mobile one that
> could travel from farm 
> > to farm. But it has yet to find funding or adequate
> support for the 
> > project.
> >
> > The commission had been slated to receive grant money
> from the Maryland 
> > Cigarette Restitution Fund Program -- settlement money
> from tobacco 
> > companies -- to help livestock producers with smaller
> aspects of their 
> > operations, such as renting a refrigerator truck to
> haul meat. But that 
> > money was cut late last year, and the grants were
> canceled, said Christine 
> > L. Bergmark, the commission's director.
> >
> > Moore, the Bushwood resident now raising alpacas, said
> farmers have to 
> > adapt to the market and select crops or animals that
> can make their farms 
> > profitable.
> >
> > Moore also drives a dump truck and does excavation
> work, but he hopes that 
> > someday he and his wife can cut back on their jobs off
> the farm and live 
> > off money made selling alpaca fiber and baby alpacas
> to other farmers. 
> > They also hope to attract more tourists and school
> groups to their farm, 
> > an effort they began years ago.
> >
> >
> > "We struggle every day to keep this farm
> going," he said. "I couldn't live 
> > on the [income from the] farm alone. Would be nice,
> but can't. Not yet."
> >
> >
> http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/01/02/AR2009010202260.html
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > _______________________________________________
> > Homestead list and subscription:
> > http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/homestead
> > Change your homestead list member options:
> >
> http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/options/homestead/lynnw1366%40hotmail.com
> > View the archives at:
> > https://lists.ibiblio.org/sympa/arc/homestead
> >
> >
> > 
> 
> _______________________________________________
> Homestead list and subscription:
> http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/homestead
> Change your homestead list member options:
> http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/options/homestead/bobford79%40yahoo.com
> View the archives at:
> https://lists.ibiblio.org/sympa/arc/homestead