fathers friend wants us to feed lot sheep

[newton the goat]

We have a small flock of katadhin sheep ( only seven but will double in two monthw or so we hope) so far ive been happy with it but recently my dads friend (who is all about the money) wants us to basically get a loan and turn our newly built barn into basically a feed lot for lambs in the winter and sell them in the spring.... my dad is honestly putting some real thought into the matter and im not sure how i feel about it. Anyone have an opinion? im happy hes asking my opinion but ive never been a fan of feedlots, and will need pro and con facts before im willing to give him a proper answer

 

[farmerjan]

And what will this friend of your dad's have in this operation? Not to be a smart a$$ but what experience does he have, what will he gain out of it, and how can he be advising this type of operation? Does he have sheep/raise lambs/have a cheap source of additional lambs/have the time to do all the work if you have to go away somewhere??????? Are your sheep supposed to be some big money making operation or are they a project that you want and enjoy and want to realize some benefit from in meat and sales?
Bringing in outside animals can put yours at risk for diseases, and there is additional work and COSTS to make this a "feedlot" type operation. Then you add in the more confinement and you get into a whole 'nother type of management and all. Honestly, your personal flock will suffer if you are trying to just raise and enjoy and see a little benefit from your own animals.
Intensive confinement animal raising will take a whole different mindset and the emphasis will be only the money. It costs alot more to feed lambs out in the fall/winter and yes they do bring more in the spring as feeders, but you have more in them. And you are in cold country and that is going to take even more feed to get them fed out. Taking out a loan on most any livestock operation right now is a real crap-shoot....I would not go into much debt unless I was buying some good breeding animals that would be around for a good while. Not to try to make money on a 6 month deal.
So, increased costs.....purchased animals, purchased hay and grain, purchased bedding, increased time spent on taking care of the larger number of animals, increased risk of health problems in a confinement operation due to the close quarters.....VS.....
increased revenue upon sale...but the market is not guaranteed.
Not taking into account any illness and death loss.... and contamination of your facilities if any animal has any health issues when it comes to your place.

 

[Bossroo]

In any venture it is always about the money. This holds true even if one operates as a hobby farm, then you have to figure in the fact of how long can you operate at a loss or break even at best to pay all of your bills. Take a paper and pencil and figure out how much all of your true operating costs for your Katahdin sheep will be per year as well as the depreciation of their value that year. Then how much money you will receive from their produce to be operating at a profit. Next do the same for the feeder lamb operation . You will do better with this step by sitting down with your father's friend for the best advise for the money expenditure and potential profit in a much shorter 90 to 120 day time frame.

 

[Baymule]

Is this friend going to pay off the loan if it goes busted? I would not get a loan and go into debt on this unless I could afford to pile up the money and set fire to it.

 

[Baymule]

If this is such a great idea, why isn't "friend" already doing it? Or how many lamb feed lots has he ran himself? It's mighty easy to spend somebody else's money or sucker them into going in debt.

 

[CntryBoy777]

I never take advice from another that's not willing to put some "Skin" into the game....if it is my $$, my risk, and my work on my property....then I'll be danged if I am going to share Any profit with another that just thought it a good idea. Also, if that is the route with a bunch of new sheep....I certainly wouldn't be putting the existing herd in that situation.....I'd have to pass on that....or get a small "Test" group to just see if there was an inkling of merit to that idea, but I sure wouldn't get rooked into doing all the work....I can promise ya that.

 

[Sheepshape]

Why isn't your dad's 'friend' taking out the loan?

 

[newton the goat]

My dads friend raises steers he gets from auction and sells them for beef once.they are fully grown. My dad has been talking to him about how to make money pff our herd eventually, but his friend doubts we will bw able to get anything and has given us the feed lot plan. Honestly i dont want my dad to take out the loan because 1) how the hell are we- a small hobby farm operation- gonna pull this off 2) how will we afford the feed 3) where do we get the lambs? and so on and so forth. I keep going over the idea constantly in my head and i just cant find myself "liking " the idea. Hes asked me to think it over but as you guys have been saying, i just dont like the idea! Im afraid of the whole thing getting messed up by losing stock or even not being able to sell the animals and getting stuck with a boat load of debt!

 

[CntryBoy777]

A couple of other things crossed my mind since last night too...with the winter weather up there, there would be a bunch of water hauling.....and what would happen if ya had water next spring, like ya had this past spring? If memory serves me correctly it was difficult to handle just the few ya have.....of course that was before the expansion of the fence and pasture, but was all of that under water too? That would be a ton of work in severely cold temps and irregardless of the weather, the animals would have to be tended to.....just some things to think about.

 

[Bossroo]

As you know nothing in life is guaranteed. Farming is one of the most physical dangerous ventures according to OSHIA. As you know raising livestock is a risky financial business, but nothing ventured, nothing gained. You currently have 7 ewes and hope for more in a couple months. In the real world, over half of the lamb crop will not be at slaughter weight, so have to be either sold to a feeder or kept back and fed out untill they reach slaughter weight . So, why don't you dip your toe in the feed lot venture with your own lambs and all the while keep impecable true costs including your labor costs of keeping your ewe flock, then add in all of the entire true costs of running your private feed lot and see if you make a profit or loss on eather or both . ( Econ 101) Keep in mind that that is for that year only due to your learning curve, availability of facilities, feed, bedding and labor costs, weather, and market forces. See if you can make a deal ahead of time with a slaughter house or meat market to buy your fed out lambs when ready, make early sales to private individuals, or take your chances at the auction yard. You will have to make educated adjustments based on your records on an annual basis in order to make a profit or go in a different direction.