Am I crazy?

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Anonymous

I've been doing some serious thinking in the last few months. I'm considering starting a small dairy operation. Does anyone on the board know where I could look to find funding sources? I've done some research and could make a decent living with 40 to 50 cows for starters, then expand later. My biggest drawback is lack of acreage. I own 2 acres and have access to another 15 or so. Wondering if I could manage 50 head of cows (plus any calves that are born)on that small amount of land. Thanks, Tim
 
First, check with some of the small dairymen in your area. Have you milked cows? Are there any small dairys in your area for sale? Finding reliable help is hard. Will you buy all your feed? You could maybe talk with your local milk buying co-op, your local NRCS farm advisor. Spend a week with a dairyman that is succesfull, see if you can live with the no vacation, little sleep, little money, excessive work and hours. You might try joining the yahoo group grazers edge "http://groups.yahoo.com/group/grazersedge/" and ask your question there. Most of those folks are dairyman (sorry, and dairywomen).

dunmovin farms

> I've been doing some serious
> thinking in the last few months.
> I'm considering starting a small
> dairy operation. Does anyone on
> the board know where I could look
> to find funding sources? I've done
> some research and could make a
> decent living with 40 to 50 cows
> for starters, then expand later.
> My biggest drawback is lack of
> acreage. I own 2 acres and have
> access to another 15 or so.
> Wondering if I could manage 50
> head of cows (plus any calves that
> are born)on that small amount of
> land. Thanks, Tim
 
Thanks, Dunmovin. You are probably right, I'm probably crazy. I have spent some time at the dairy, watching the milking process. I have a couple of Holsteins. One calved last June. I trained her to be hand milked or milked by machine. The second calved in April. She has also been trained to be hand milked or machine milked. She is raising a fine brangus/holstein bull and my crippled holstein heifer. So, I do have a little experience. I know the hours are long, the work is hard, but I'm really interested in it. I have been teaching elem. school for almost 9 yrs. There is definately no money in that....and the benefits stink too lol. Anyway, thanks for your reply.

Tim
 
I think you would be better off teaching school, but that's a selfish reason on my part. There are plenty of dairyman but not near enough school teachers. I know that teaching is a difficult, underpaid and usually unappreciated vocation. But we need teachers, especially those that have a grounding in the rural way of life. In this area, on all of the dairies there is one outside income member. The exceptions being old pharts that have there places paid off. Just my unwelcome two bits worth!

dunmovin farms

> Thanks, Dunmovin. You are probably
> right, I'm probably crazy. I have
> spent some time at the dairy,
> watching the milking process. I
> have a couple of Holsteins. One
> calved last June. I trained her to
> be hand milked or milked by
> machine. The second calved in
> April. She has also been trained
> to be hand milked or machine
> milked. She is raising a fine
> brangus/holstein bull and my
> crippled holstein heifer. So, I do
> have a little experience. I know
> the hours are long, the work is
> hard, but I'm really interested in
> it. I have been teaching elem.
> school for almost 9 yrs. There is
> definately no money in that....and
> the benefits stink too lol.
> Anyway, thanks for your reply.

> Tim
 
Also, you need to check your state laws on CAFO - pertains to animal units per acres for manure spreading. Huge dairies out here buy up land just so they have an acreage base to cover the number of cows they milk. Jeanne <A HREF="http://www.SimmeValley.com" TARGET="_blank">http://www.SimmeValley.com</A>
> First, check with some of the
> small dairymen in your area. Have
> you milked cows? Are there any
> small dairys in your area for
> sale? Finding reliable help is
> hard. Will you buy all your feed?
> You could maybe talk with your
> local milk buying co-op, your
> local NRCS farm advisor. Spend a
> week with a dairyman that is
> succesfull, see if you can live
> with the no vacation, little
> sleep, little money, excessive
> work and hours. You might try
> joining the yahoo group grazers
> edge
> "http://groups.yahoo.com/group/grazersedge/"
> and ask your question there. Most
> of those folks are dairyman
> (sorry, and dairywomen).

> dunmovin farms

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You may be crazy for wanting to get involved with the cattle industry, but I think crazy on the small amount of acreage is a definite...yes. Of course not knowing where you live, maybe seventeen acres would handle fifty cow/calf units, but the place I grew up on had moderate climate, plenty of green, almost everything in grass that wasn't a barn, hay barn, or fence... a some slab/manger areas at the hay barn. Seventeen acres barely sustain twelve head of cow/calf, one bull, one steer, and a free martin that dad kept just to see what she would look like in two years. Maybe I am silly.... lots of dairies run cattle that never touch the real earth... but, think of how much money you will spend on the feed it takes to keep a good milker, milking!

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