Animal, Vegetable, Miracle

[bee_pipes]

This book has been mentioned a few times, but I'd like to bring it up again. If you need a game plan, or would like to tighten up how much stuff you buy outside the homestead, this is a good place to start. Not only does it have good advice for self-sufficiency, coming from experience, it tells a story about a family removing themselves from consumer food. It got us started with cheese making. Now we're looking at adding dairy to our homestead. This is an outstanding book and I can't recommend it enough.

I was chatting with OzarkMountainDaredevil in the chat room this morning. He mentioned asparagus and talk got around to fruit trees and such. It reminded me of this book. My wife turned me on to it, and we lent it to a friend to read. Doesn't look like we'll be getting it back any time soon, so I ordered another copy. You can find them on AbesBooks.com for about $15 a copy.

Regards,
Pat

[Deberosa]

Yes, I got the book. THe cool thing is they started from scratch, and they weren't all that experienced but still were able to accomplish alot! I've just started to read it.

I need to focus on growing feed for the chickens and cows. I put in more garden areas today by putting down feed backs and covering with mulch - next year they will be perfect for gardening. But when I started laying out that mountain of feed bags it's occuriring to me I've got to come up with a better way because each one of those bags is at least a dollar more expensive than it was a year ago....

[hillbillygal]

I've read this book and found it very interesting. *I wish we had a farmer's market in our county that we could go to on a regular basis like she had available. *One thing I did become obsessed about was morel hunting. *That part of the book has me determined to at least try this in the future. *It probably won't be this year as I am not willing to try a new mushroom just yet. *(Had a horrible experience with some Chicken of the Woods that the road department had apparently sprayed with chemicals a few years back. *The mushrooms grew right off the road and we had them the year before with no ill effects. *Thought I was dying that night.) *I have saved mesh bags for the hunt. *I also loved hearing about her youngest daughters exploits. *Definitely a good read.

[bee_pipes]

We don't have a farmer's market here, either. We do have farmers, and many of them sell from their property. Some go so far as to build a little stand by the road and trade among themselves so that each stand has a little of everything. There is also a new marketing strategy called consumer/comunity supported agriculture (CSA) where the farmers actually agranize and market to consumers. We found an outfit in the next county that does it. They are affiliated with a larger CSA organization - maybe there is one near you? http://www.localharvest.org/csa/

Regards,
Pat

[Deberosa]

We don't have a farmer's market here, either. We do have farmers, and many of them sell from their property. Some go so far as to build a little stand by the road and trade among themselves so that each stand has a little of everything. There is also a new marketing strategy called consumer/comunity supported agriculture (CSA) where the farmers actually agranize and market to consumers. We found an outfit in the next county that does it. They are affiliated with a larger CSA organization - maybe there is one near you? http://www.localharvest.org/csa/

Regards,
Pat


CSA's are a great idea, but be careful because I've heard of their abuse also. The idea is that people "subscribe" and pay up front a monthly fee. In return they get a seasonal delivery of product - depending on what is in season on that farm.

THe farmer gets the money up front so you can see where the abuse comes from. If the crop fails - then the customer is out of luck for that item regardless of what they paid in. There is also word that some are actually purchasing product off farm to fill out their CSA's so when you purchase make sure it's from a reputable farmer or someone you trust. Personally I didn't want to go the CSA route because I could not be certain how much I could reliably produce so didn't want to make the commitments... I would rather go with a weekly order basis and sell what I have that way.

[homesteadingnky]

I've thought of doing a CSA because I love gardening soooo much. But that's the very reason I'm probably not going to do one. I wouldn't want to take that kind of a chance with other peoples money. We may do an onsite market however. I'll have to check out that book!

Homesteading Dad

[bee_pipes]

The guy we deal with is an interesting fellow. He has his own farm - employs three or four fellows. He was selling to restuarants in n'ville. He sold to a few households, and was going into the Amish community for stuff when he was short. He saw how much and how well they produced, and has since turned into more of a broker. He collects products from the Amish farms, breaks it down into units and redistributes through his customer base. He has made quite a business of it.

The drawbacks of being a customer:
As Deberosa said, you are sharing the risk - bad season means small return on your money, likewise a good year means getting more than you paid for.

You do assume the risk up front - there is a discount for paying in full, up front; otherwise you are assuming a debt to be paid off during the season.

There are no real bargains, price wise, but the quality of the food is excellent. This isn't bargain food - you can get that at Wal-Mart.

As Deb also pointed out, there is a real potential for abuse - you could be paying good money for the same crap they sell in the stores.

As for a business:
Our guy works like the devil to run his farm, make pickups from his farmers, and deliveries to his distribution points. He has two refrigerated trucks, bot in a constant state of hunger for diesel. He has assumed the risk on those - they break down either he repairs them or pays to have them repaired. It is a gas/fuel intensive and labor intensive business, but so is any enterprise where you are the boss.

If you look at it as what you can produce - you will never be able to grow enough to cover meat, eggs, vegetables, fruit and dairy. If you go at it as a broker - you could make it work.

Now, if you're going to sell to rural folk, they'll want a good price or they will grow/buy their own from the farmers. The real profit margin would be in selling to urban dwellers where the stamp of organic or natural can command top dollar.

We are not rich, and can't throw money around for stuff we produce, so we used this guy during the winter. He sold what were called "protein packs" Meat and eggs. The chickens had stopped laying, so we needed the eggs, and we don't raise beef or pork, so we got meats that we would have otherwise had to buy from the retail channel. The stuff we get is not fancy - just basic, unpretentious food. The meat is excellent - has a good flavor, and is subject to all the flaws of good meat - some cuts are lean, some fatty, some perfect.

Here's a link to the guy we used, if you want ideas for potential business opportunities:
http://www.avalon-acres.com/

As for me, I have no desires to start an intensive business at this point in life. I'm enjoying working on the homestead too much and have the luxury of a small pension.

Regards,
Pat

[homesteadingnky]

I hear what you're saying! You make a lot of really good points! We have a lot of thinking to do about it all. I love hard work and can work from sun up to sun down. But I don't won't to bite off more than we can chew. However, I'm more than willing to take a calculated risk if we feel that we can make it work! Thanks for the info.

Homesteading Dad

[Deberosa]

You have to keep in mind to that growing your own food IS paying yourself - it's that much more you don't have to buy. And with the prices going up you are giving yourself a raise each year!

The way I have a friend that works it and the way I was going to get into it was to create a group of customers on an e-mail list. Each week mail out to the list what you have available, take orders over e-mail or phone and then on one day do all the deliveries of orders. That way I would sell what I had available, no commitments in case something failed, and would have no time involvement in selling and marketing. She has done this for years. You can also grow a business like this as slowly as you want, no pressure and really no risk.

[Diamon_Girl]

Ooooh! :D Oooooh! :D Oooooh! :D
Thanks for the recommendation! I got my copy today!