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Most profitable livestock for small farm

187K views 43 replies 29 participants last post by  jimmy quinn 
#1 ·
I am wondering what are the most profitable animals to keep on a small farm (8-15 acres of pasture and another 4-5 acres of plantable fields). Are certain types of sheep more profitable such as sheep with finer wool? Is black wool better or more expensive (neighbors have a lot of black sheep, lol). What about alpaca or some other exotic animals.

Any suggestions here are appreciated. I don't really want to spend 10 hours a day with these animals or anything by a few is no problem.

This in in Lanaster County (Amish country) so the land is pretty good around here and can probably support most types of livestock.
 
#3 ·
Rabbits and chickens are easy to care for and dont take up much time or space. Get Hair sheep, you have the lawn mowing benifits with out haveing to worry about shearing. Its a loss of revenue from the wool but cuts down on the labor and hair sheep are more desease resistant. I have kadatin and dorper. My kadatins twin most of the time. I rotate a small herd of 4 ewes 1 ram around my small place (2 1/2 ac) I get about 6 lambs a year to sell or put in the frezzer. I only mow the front yard on a regular basis as the sheep dont get let out there. I only buy hay for them for 4 months during the winter. (cost me about 200 to feed in the winter) good luck with your place.
 
#8 ·
A good wool sheep that you can card and sell directly to home spinners will typically out return everything else. We are looking at California red sheep for this. Sheep are not as good as goats at climbing rock and chewing down brush, but lambs typically sell better than kid meat. I know that I much prefer to eat lamb or mutton over goat.

If the market price for Alpaca breeding stock would drop, I would suggest adding some to the herd. Right now they are the yuppie livestock and heavily promoted. I will wait.

Both are easy to keep if you have tight fences and you can control the wild dogs and coyotes in the area. Protective dogs are a big help as is a llama or two. Plus you will have to trap and shoot a few at first.
 
#9 ·
A few years ago I did a lot of research on starting a small farm with goats as a mainstay of income. With a growing Middle Eastern population in the United States and people finding health benefits in eating different kinds of meat (not just the same industrial farm raised chickens and cows) there is a lot of growth potential in them.

If you don't want to spend much time with them everyday, meat goats are the best. No milking required and most of them are hardy breeds, only needing their mandatory medical treatments and some help when it comes time for the kids to start being born. They eat much more of the plants that grow naturally in most places than cows but you'll need to feed just about anything at least once a day in the fall and winter. If you put out a couple of dogs (if you're worried about wild animals picking them off) they can be raised to live with the herd and protect it.

If I had a small farm like you're talking about, that's the way I would go. Talk to local restaurants (small ones, not chains) and see if their cooks would like to buy any animals locally and organically. I've read many a story of people selling common animals (turkey, chickens, rabbit) to local restaurants at premium prices because they're local (meaning fresh) and not hormone injected. Hope this helps.
 
#10 ·
id say go with smaller livestock as here also easier to deal with come time to butcher if you get stuck having to do the job yourself trust me a cow is a bitch if you have to do it yourself even with a few friends its a pain

goats
sheep
chickens
rabits
 
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#11 ·
Don't forget to look in to fish farming; especially if you're thinking of catering to local restaurants. Not a traditional livestock but if we're talking bees then...

My friend makes sausages from wild deer he hunts on his property. He uses homegrown garlic and onions and sells them to a fancy wild game restaurant. He grows lots of feed for them to forage. Not big money but he says it covers all his hunting expenses.
 
#12 ·
On 20 acres I'd throw in alot of different trees. Hard wood, shade trees, fruit trees, nuts etc,. Then I'd buy (or raise) a nice flock of dual purpose chickens that will feed you, and that you can sell people to eat or raise their own. Put the roost area in a movable trailer and rotate through your land. Weeding and feeding as you go. As the trees get bigger you can sell the extra to other folks for yards, homes etc. Also get a Great Pyrenee type guard dog to protect you and yours.

Good Luck
 
#15 ·
i'll pitch against goats or cows. they will cost you more for upkeep than what you can make. if your on a small plat of ground as i am enjoy having what you have. let them clean what they can and if they help pay for themselves good for you but your not gonna make money off of 15 acres. unless you hit a niche market and that will be short lived.
 
#42 ·
I have to second that. The current rule (unfortunately) in agriculture is "get big or get out." I would not plan on making much money on it. I did (on cattle) and it was a mistake for me.

I would primarily focus on what you like to eat and raise that you will think will be enjoyable. Keep in mind, that the more livestock you have, the more winter hay you will need. The cost of hay (and the cost of storing it so it does not spoil) can add up.

Even for something like the robo-chickens that can be had at the grocery for appx. $4.25 each. Well after you pay the $1.80 or so to get each chick, then spend the money on feed to raise a chick for several months, you will be lucky to break even (the meat will be more healthy though).

Focus on self-sufficiency - primarily on what you need to feed your family and manure your garden and things will take care of themselves. I would have the infrastructure in place to feed the family in case food costs double or triple. Good luck.
 
#16 ·
goats can be very profitable if you live near an urban area with a large ethnic population. or can transport them. time the kids for the holidays, and you can sell them directly from the farm or arrange with a meat dealer to deliver them in time for holiday celebrations... many people from other countries grew up on goat meat and they actively search for sources. I know of some people in this area who grow and sell meat goats directly from the farm. cash and carry, and they have regular repeat customers.
 
#17 ·
Goats are great at clearing brush, but do eat anything. any trees you want to keep they may just eat all the bark off even if they have lots of other food. They also are escape artist climbing over and under fences to get where they want. I had a few and got rid of them. sheep are much more fence friendly. If you do get goats, do electric fencing to keep them in control. jmo....
 
#19 ·
With upwards of 20 acres that you stated Id say (depending on were you are) Goats,sheep,pigs,chickens and a few cows could be done as well. Just depends if your willing to bring in some extra food (grass,alfalfa etc) I am rasing all of the above minus the sheep on a smaller patch than that. So it can be done. And dont forget the bee's and a nice orchard.
 
#21 ·
A lot will depend on your area, and the local markets. Go to a few of the livestock auctions nearest you and see what goes through, and what it is bought and sold for, and then check that against average prices on the internet for your region.

Also check out some not as common ideas, like bees. You could plant your fields in crops for the bees to make honey from.

There are some things that are easy, but not profitable, like rabbits. Rabbits would do me no good to raise because I can buy full grown rabbits for $1 at the auction, and so can everyone else. It may be the exact opposite where you live. Hell in a few years it may be the exact opposite here.
 
#23 ·
I was just about to post about this. It makes a good weekend money making deal or a side job for kids when they're not in school. A couple years back I read an article in a Florida newspaper about the state even hiring out goat farmers along the interstates and highways to clear out kudzu that was overtaking everything. They used mobile electric fences and only a handful of goats at a time. But hey, it's free grazing for your goats which you can sell when they fatten up and you get paid for it too.
 
#24 ·
All livestock is -arguably- profitable. If you're looking for what is the MOST profitable, you'll need to do a breakdown, although I'm certain it will come down to a difference of maybe 3 dollars per 100 lbs of protein.

Meat cattle require the most land and feed, but they net the most profit. Rabbits and chickens require the least amount of land, but don't net alot of protein(Although chickens net almost 8x their body weight in protein every year, even w/o slaughtering). Thats assuming you have a heavy laying breed, of course, that produces medium-sized eggs. Delawares are my personal suggestion :3

If you've got the land- cattle, definately. If you don't-chickens. Hogs are another great choice, but they smell TERRIBLE. But they're very profitable, so I hear.
 
#35 ·
Hogs are called "mortgage lifters". They really prefer to be clean and will be if given less crowded conditions. They prefer to use just a small corner of their pen for a toilet, for instance.

An Indian tribe here rents out their goats to the towns and other individuals to clear noxious weeds like Russian knapweed. Once a year 1200 goats totally clean an area out along the creek for the city...it looks like a moonscape after two weeks, although they don't always leave them that long! They have a shepherd with two border collies that keep them inside a short fence...the fence is only about 4 feet high but the dogs keep them inside it. The shepherd just seems to watch...the dogs are awesome and seem to have great fun working! The goats do kill some trees by debarking them, mostly young trees, and will eat blackberries and wild roses that grow back next year. I'm sure you could rent out fewer goats than that and profit both yourself and your goats when your own land needs a rest.
 
#26 ·
If you pick livestock that can feed itself without you needing to buy anything; I consider that to be better.

Goats are fine living on brush and trees. So your feed bill can be very low. However I do know some people who raise goats entirely on grain and hay.

So you see there is a wide spectrum with 100% store-bought feed on one end and 1% feed on the other end.

Bees will mostly feed themselves. They go out and forage. But when their foraging is done, then they eat their honey. So if you plan to take the honey, then you must also plan to feed your bees sugar-syrup.

To make a profit with bees today; beekeepers commonly make a map showing who is growing what crops in an area. Then they will move their bees from crop to crop, to keep their bees 'working'. By doing so their bees are always producing honey and never stop to eat their honey. Ideally if you can work-out a route to take your bees, then you could have your bees working a crop every week of the entire year.

I live in a forest. There are no farmed crops within 40 miles of us. My bees forage from the forest shrubs to get their nectar and pollen. My bees produce far less honey. Their flow is only seasonal [to match whatever is flowering in this area]. We get a very small about of honey from our hives.

Chickens produce heavy if they are under timed-lights and fed estrogen laden feed with high protein. Take away the timed-lights and their egg production drops. Take away the estrogen and their production drops, take away the protein and production drops.

We have had chickens free-ranging loose in the forest. In this manner it costs very little to raise them. They are very healthy but their production is low.
 
#27 ·
We have had chickens free-ranging loose in the forest. In this manner it costs very little to raise them. They are very healthy but their production is low.
This is very interesting to me. Do you have a coup the chickens come back into the roost? Or do they just pick a tree? If they just pick a tree do you have to go out and find eggs? I had never heard of people raising chickens in forested areas until a few days ago - meaning, those people just letting them naturally roam in the area, I know of people who have coops in wooded areas :)
 
#28 ·
since were on this topic i have a related queation how many acres would four goats need for pasture were they can subsist in that pasture without having to rotate pastures
 
#31 ·
I have no idea. Pasture is greatly different from forest.

Forest is 100X more efficient than pasture in terms of producing bio-mass per square-foot.

A herd of goats will browse on trees, brush and ferns, and will be very happy. But not cover a lot of ground.

Some years I have let our goats wander into the forest; they may wander 100yards or more in any direction, and I call them back easily. But in doing so their diet never made a noticeable dent in the forest underbrush.

I have confined a dozen goats in a 1/4 acre paddock for a year and they have stripped it down pretty good. Going by that, three 1/4 acre paddocks, rotated annually would feed 12 goats.

Would 3/4 acre of open pasture do that? No. You would need grain and possibly hay.

How many acres of pasture would equal 3/4 acre of forest? I have no idea.

Grasses are not nearly as efficient as trees in producing biomass. Trees mine deep into the soil for their nutrients, whereas grasses do not.

Also grasses are better for grazing animals, not so much for browsing animals.

Cattle eat grass and digest it very well. Goats do not get enough roughage from grass, they need more. Cows and geese are grazers, they eat grass all day and are happy.

Goats are very close to deer; they will eat one mouth of fern, then one of tree leaves, and pull off tree bark and eat that, then back for some ferns. Actually they are constantly adjusted the pH of their stomachs by doing this. Carefully a mouth of this, then refusing a second mouth of it while they go find the right substance for the next mouthful. That is browsing.

I have seen goats digest black plastic bags, and they never passed. A goat can digest amazing stuff, and they are happy with tree bark.
 
#38 ·
im not muslim but halal and kosher are pretty much from the same source read the bible where it talks about prepping food in the old testement i think in exodus or leviticus same thing
 
#37 ·
A few more ideas...

Stay diversified. Don't "put all you eggs in one basket" If you are looking for a little extra cash you can do that. If you are looking to make a living that may be a different story.

Bees/Honey... with colony collapse and the unknowns I'd stay away from bee's we have 7 hives there is a lot more to bees than building a box and collecting honey.. even collecting honey is complex to do it right.

Meat goats are not a bad idea. I would keep them in your underbrush and weed areas. 37 of them will be plenty for the area and size you mention.

Have some chickens... broilers and layers there are benefits to both. If you free range them then all you need to do is supplement them with feed not sustain them on feed.

Large animals will be more of a challenge. They are hard on pasture.

We are moving into wools and mohair. I would look at angora goats. Our mohair was rated at $8 per ounce. They are sheared 2 X's per year. It is about $400-$500 per shearing per goat. We are now going to explore sheep.

Regardless of how big of an area you have you would want to rotate pastures. This is typically a good idea for several reasons. The most important is being able to work, maintain and supplement the pasture areas they are not it.

With your garden are... I would use most of it as a conventional garden and then I would build a green house.

If you move forward in the right directions... you could easily be self sustaining. Much to that. Add/figure what you purchase in food now... reduce that by half to 2/3 and then figure what you could make by selling vegetables, meat and wool... I bet self sustaining is more profitable.
 
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