A NEW DIRECTION FOR THE OLD RAM

[Latestarter]

So sorry to hear the news of the tests for your wife. I've witnessed the results of that disease with neighbors as well as family and it's a long drawn out affair with a terrible ending. Wishing you all the best. Enjoy every day that the two of you can share.

 

[The Old Ram-Australia]

G'day ,do you think there would be any value in an ongoing discussion about the outcomes and the decision making process with regard to this new endevour? It would require me to post a couple of times a week and use photos where possible to illustrate what I am attempting.T.O.R.(aka Frank).

 

[Mike CHS]

More discussion might do more to help others rather than yourself but it can only benefit everyone.

I'm happy for your change in direction and the positives that could come from them.

 

[Baymule]

I would love for you to post what you are doing. You have so much experience to share, it would great to read and discuss the changes you are making. I can't help but wonder, all the years of breeding the fine sheep you have, is someone snapping up the genetics of your sheep?

 

[Bossroo]

Frank , I am so sorry to hear of your wife's health issue and hope that she and you remain happy. if you would be so kind as to post about your decisions for breeding rams and ewes and their conformation for meat production, labor and faciliies time saving practices, pasture management tips, etc. and their outcomes as this would be of great benefit to others. Many of the sheep that you mentioned I have never seen or heard of, so information on them would be of great interest to one and all. I sold off all of my sheep when the wool market crashed in the US and sad to say that the vast majority of my sheep whent to slaughter and as a result was the loss of great genetics. What I see of the conformation of most of the sheep on small farms today , I would have sent to Campbels' canner soup production at first oportunity. They may be cute and colorful , nice horns, too old to produce a lamb profitably, or a freebee rescue, but they do not put food on one's table without great financial outlay in terms of extra time, labor, facilities, feed , medication / vet bill, and dollars. Definately not the husbandry practices of our fore-fathers. That goes for the rest of the livestock being kept today too. Thank you for your past postings and I hope that you continue to open other's eyes wide open.

 

[The Old Ram-Australia]

G'day and thank you for your kindness and support,I think (with the approval of the administrator) if would be wise to keep all of the discussion in one place,so people new to the "chat" have the history and the context in one place. Initially we may start at the very beginning of a farming endeavor and look at what needs to be considered at the very start,but for now I have to go and check the new lambs that are being born on our place at the minute...T.O.R.

 

[mystang89]

I know nothing about any of this but I hope everything goes well for you on your different move.

EDIT: Just finished reading the rest of your posts. I'm sorry about the diagnosis. Really am. That is one of the things I fear happening in my life. Please keep us posted so people new to all this can learn.
Thanks.

 

[The Old Ram-Australia]

IN THE BEGINNING: Was there a plan? Evan if you have already purchased the farm, do you have a plan?

Farms fall into one of three types 1.Strictly a hobby in which there is no financial pressure.2.The objective is to reduce your cost of living by growing the majority of your own food.3.A semi commercial operation where the object is to realize a “profit” from the project.

The first Law of farming is that you are going to “eat them”.

1. I suspect that 4h projects fall into this category, the return bears no resemblance to a real life farm because in “real life” the purchaser would never pay that sort of money for an animal.

2. In this case your initial selection of the farm and its capabilities determines what sort of animal production you can reasonably aim for. Most farmers in the initial stage are constrained by the availability of funds to both purchase and to build the necessary infrastructure to manage their livestock.

3. This option is when you have been “bitten by the bug” and you decide that this is the life you wish to lead into the future, but beware this step is “fraught” with pitfalls; there is a saying “How do you make a small fortune from farming?”Answer.”You start with a very large fortune”.

Let’s examine the options a litter deeper. Option 1.Your young teen decides to enter a lamb into the completion and you purchase an animal of “good breeding” and invest a “small fortune” in feed and its care, in the hope your teen will be rewarded with the Blue Ribbon ……Option 2.Because the amount of land and its ability to produce and grow an animal to feed yourselves at a “price” which is less than the price from the local butcher or supermarket. The temptation is to buy a couple of ewes and a ram to produce the young animals you will eat. On our first farm we had all “manner” of livestock and we “ate” all of them, goats, lambs, pigs, calves, chickens and ducks. There were no pets in the male dept and all of our children understood this. Our farm was not a” retirement home” for old or un-productive animals…. Option 3.When we purchased our 2nd farm of 25acs we were intent on producing livestock for a profit and had already identified a target market we could concentrate on, which was the production of” farmed goat meat’ for the local ethnic and restaurant trade….Option 3.Is a huge leap and should not be entered into lightly, ensure you can survive for a couple of years with “no farm income”. If your family has a history in farming, how far back is it? You may be surprised just how much Grandpa knows about how to run a livestock operation. Keep your day job if at all possible until you feel confident with what you are doing .Offer to work on a neighbor’s farm for free to gain knowledge and learn shortcuts on stuff like fencing and undertaking the thousand other jobs you will have to become skilled at. If you can get an “old retired farmer” to mentor you so much the better.

ANY QUESTIONS so far? Next time we will examine Option 2 a little further.

PHOTOS.1. these twins are about a week old now and considering the feed conditions she is doing a good job on them…Photo.2 .The mothers shown were the result of a BH Dorper ram over a Suffolk ewe and the lambs are the result of putting then back to the Suffolk.

 

[Sheepshape]

Sorry to hear of your wife's diagnosis,TOR. Just as an observation, an Alzheimer's diagnosis is usually much worse for the family than the sufferer who frequently has little insight into their failing mental prowess. Having worked with Alzheimer's sufferers, I would suggest that you try to maintain a routine in all matters as far as is possible. Change is difficult to handle with cognitive decline.

Try to keep your wife involved with as much as you can. As past memory is relatively well preserved (when the memory circuits worked well), reminders of the past will often be well received.

I hope your new venture works out.

 

[The Old Ram-Australia]

G'day and thank you SS,9 months ago it was "just a word",so you can imagine my learning curve in the ensuring period.
T.O.R.