Misfitmorgan's Journal - That Summer Dust

[Baymule]

Buying your place is one of the best things you two have done for yourselves. Hearing about your plans, the market you have for what you raise (on YOUR farm) only serves to bring it home, that y'all did the right thing.

4Her's and AAFer's around here are conditioned to buy club lambs, which are Suffolks. They command ridiculous prices. Kids used to hit up my husband at his work (because he NEVER turned a kid down) for donations so they could purchase their animals.

 

[misfitmorgan]

Buying your place is one of the best things you two have done for yourselves. Hearing about your plans, the market you have for what you raise (on YOUR farm) only serves to bring it home, that y'all did the right thing.

4Her's and AAFer's around here are conditioned to buy club lambs, which are Suffolks. They command ridiculous prices. Kids used to hit up my husband at his work (because he NEVER turned a kid down) for donations so they could purchase their animals.

People do the same thing up here with all livestock. It's not unheard of to see lambs for $300-500, piglets for $300-350, and kids for $600+ That's part of the reason we got into livestock....to offer lower prices on better stock in our area. The high price livestock are all a 3+hr drive as well, our area $150-175 4h piglets are common and $200 lambs/kids. We beat everyone elses prices, so kids have more options.

Not much new around here, we had a good christmas. The warm weather is giving us some problems, like parasite load. We were not to concerned about the drylot size because everything was suppose to freeze and stay frozen, and nice clean snow, etc.....thats not happening. We still have places with green grass and its suppose to be 45f friday. Means we will likely have to worm again soon. The young kids/lambs are looking rather thin thru the hips so are probly needing wormed.

 

[Baymule]

Worms. I hope you get the cold weather you need to shut the worms down for the winter months.

 

[Bruce]

Nice that you want to give people a better product for a lower price.

 

[misfitmorgan]

~~~~~~GRAPHIC PICTURE WARNING~~~~~~ IF BUTCHERING BOTHERS YOU GO TO A DIFFERENT PAGE~~~~~

Worms. I hope you get the cold weather you need to shut the worms down for the winter months.

Your wish came true. We had 10 inches of snow dumped on us on new years eve to new years day and another inch last night. Before that came freezing rain and the temp yesterday got down to -3F and the high was 14F. So anything on the ground should be dead now and is covered in a lot of snow. It's suppose to be in the mid 30s to low 40s the next 7 days so most of the snow should melt off.

We need to build jugs/kidding pens in the shop, maybe today we can work on that. We have enough hay until the first few days of February atm. We are hoping to get a round bale mid-january and about 20 square bales and then another couple rounds and 60 square mid-febuary. We should be good on hay then depending on spring and ability to fence.

No other news really to report atm. Oh DH did let the new chickens loose to free range...hopefully they survive.




DH helped kill some potbelly pigs at our friends house to make room for some meat pigs. This is DH and the pigs they got done.

 

[greybeard]

If it came down to it and we used the sale profits from 2020 spring kids/lambs to buy a decent size trailer we could haul down to the eastern market about 4hrs away and sell all goats/lambs without a problem in a couple hours for $150-200 each. Last year adult meat goats were selling for approx $600/each in the eastern market...in the fall/winter.

What's the 'eastern market'?
Eastern Michigan?

 

[misfitmorgan]

What's the 'eastern market'?
Eastern Michigan?

The eastern market is the largest public market in the united states and is down by detroit michigan.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eastern_Market,_Detroit

 

[greybeard]

The eastern market is the largest public market in the united states and is down by detroit michigan.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eastern_Market,_Detroit

Interesting economics and historic aspects...two things I like to read about.

There used to be a similar market in Houston (I forget exactly where it was)
The property became too valuable to be used for that and was sold back in the 70s or 80s to developers and no single/all under one roof replacement has been established that I know of.

There is a small one every Wed in what used to be the local salebarn, but it's all live poultry with an occasional pony being for sale, and really not much of anything there at all. Someone will usually have a utility trailer parked there with way over-priced horse hay for sale...small sq bales.
Fri-Sun it becomes a regular flea/junk market.

 

[misfitmorgan]

Interesting economics and historic aspects...two things I like to read about.

There used to be a similar market in Houston (I forget exactly where it was)
The property became too valuable to be used for that and was sold back in the 70s or 80s to developers and no single/all under one roof replacement has been established that I know of.

There is a small one every Wed in what used to be the local salebarn, but it's all live poultry with an occasional pony being for sale, and really not much of anything there at all. Someone will usually have a utility trailer parked there with way over-priced horse hay for sale...small sq bales.
Fri-Sun it becomes a regular flea/junk market.

I love reading about the same topics and find my self looking in insane things i will never need to know lol.

The eastern market does so well i believe because of the ethnic population and cultural diversity in detroit and the surrounding areas. It really has everything from flowers to ready made food, to livestock/sale for butcher. They have goats, sheep, poultry, christmas trees, its really unique.

 

[Latestarter]

Sounds like purchasing a used/serviceable trailer would be a huge benefit as you'd be able to get much better profits by trucking your sale animals down to the Eastern Market. A couple trips ought to pay for the trailer plus expenses with some to spare. Actually, down here, you can rent livestock trailers for ~ $50-75/day. Not sure of cost for a week. Even doing that might pay off big for you. Do you have a friend or family member with a trailer they could loan you?