Karl Ebel in 2023: Low Input Cattle
Karl Ebel in 2022: How to Get Started in Meat Goats
Karl Ebel in 2021: How to Get Started in Beef Cattle
Resources for Beginner Sheep Farmers, Dorper Sheep for Sale in Texas!
by Harmony Shepherdess on Leave a Comment
Karl Ebel in 2023: Low Input Cattle
Karl Ebel in 2022: How to Get Started in Meat Goats
Karl Ebel in 2021: How to Get Started in Beef Cattle
by Harmony Shepherdess on 6 Comments
by Harmony Shepherdess on 3 Comments
15 products are what I call my ESSENTIALS BUNDLE (I talk about them in this video), the remaining 10 products are important to have on hand for the long term (scroll for what they are). Enjoy an overview of all 25!
I farm a small flock of Dorper Sheep on a pasture based system in Northeast Texas. I am running approximately 50 head of purebred and registered Dorper sheep on 23 acres. At lambing 50 breeding ewes will swell to around 100-150 sheep in total.
When my family and I started farming Dorper sheep, we had just moved from the suburbs. We had no farming experience beyond a few chickens. Our first 2 years of sheep farming were very difficult. In short: we had a lot of dead sheep.
Our biggest death losses were with lambs. Our lambs would be born healthy, bouncing, and beautiful; but between 12 and 16 weeks many of them would get sick and die.
It was a very discouraging 2 years, but in 2020 three things turned our sheep farm from dead zone, to profit center. Those three things were:
When we got the hang of these three things, the death rate on our farm dropped to 1/3 of sheep industry average in just 18 months and we began generating significant revenue through the sale of surplus lambs!!
This video is going to cover part 1 of this 3-part improvement with a list of the 25 supplies I use to administer the right care to my sheep at the right time. If you want to go deeper watch my FREE 1 Hour Class on the Basics of Raising, Grazing, and Marketing Sheep.
Extra Label Disclaimer:
A few of the products I use are FDA labeled for farm animals like pigs, cows, and goats. I use them all for my sheep under “extra-label” application. This means I have a good relationship with my vet who oversees my use of these supplies on an “extra-label” basis.
As a disclaimer, be sure you have the same vet oversight and approval when you are using products for sheep that are not FDA labeled for sheep.
(Each photo links to a product page for ease of purchase!)
2. Toltrazuril for Coccidia (extra-label): This is a product for horses. I use it for my lambs when they display symptoms of coccidiosis (symptoms typically look like persistent diarrhea and/or pot bellies with skinny hind quarters) I use Toltrazuril at a rate of 1 CC per 5lb body weight.
3. Drenching Gun: This is a tool for administering dewormer or other liquid supplements into the mouth of sheep.
4. VITA JEC B-complex Fortified: This is my most used vitamin shot on farm. I use it any time a sheep has been through severe physical stress (stressful lambing, high parasite load, etc).
5. ANEM X IRON (extra-label): This is a product for pigs. I use it on my farm for ewes that are very anemic. In instances of parasite overload I will follow up the deworming with both vitamin B and Anem-x to fast track the rebuilding of red blood cell count in the sheep.
6. Disposable syringes (with matching needles): These syringes are for the vitamin shots I just referenced. The two different sizes I use are 3 mil and 12 mil. The syringes also work great if you are giving an oral drench to a lamb that has a mouth too small for the drenching gun.
7. Colostrum Replacer: Colostrum intake is a life or death issue for young lambs. I always keep a high quality supplement (linked) on hand for orphans or lambs whose moms are not making enough on their own.
8. Tube Feeding Kit: This is for feeding lambs straight into their stomach. I like to use this for getting formula into the lambs stomach and will transition to a bottle once I know the lamb is for sure orphaned.
9. Lamb Bottle: This is a must for orphan lambs.
10. Nutridrench for Sheep: This is a great oral vitamin. I have not found it to be as potent or fast acting as the vitamin shots I just mentioned, but I have still found it effective, especially if you are not comfortable with giving shots yet.
11. Selenium Gel Oral Supplement (extra-label): This is a product for goats. I use it for sheep when I detect a selenium deficiency. This usually displays itself in weak legs in young lambs or white muscle disease.
12. Rubber Gloves: Important sanitary precaution.
13. Arm Sleeve Gloves: For internals at lambing.
14. TODAY (extra-label): This is a product for cows. Inter-mammary infusion for mastitis.
15. VETERICYN PLUS® WOUND & SKIN CARE: I don’t use it too often, but it is good to have a wound care product because wounds to happen sometimes.
16. VETERICYN® HOOF CARE: This antibacterial spray is a quick way to treat hooves. Limping is often not foot rot, but foot scald. However, the bacteria that causes foot scald can develop into foot rot. Quick treatment of a persistent limp is advisable.
19. Mineral Oil: Hand lubricant for situations of assisted lambing.
20. Eartags
21. Eartag Markers
Prescription Only Products:
These are 3 products I use that are available through a vet only.
23. General Antibiotic: VET ONLY. Antibiotics used to be available over the counter, but as of 2023 they are prescription only. Because I use antibiotics so infrequently and have a good relationship with my vet, the recent changes to prescription only have not made a significant difference on my sheep farm.
24. CD/T: VET ONLY A shot to guard sheep against bloat and tetanus.
25. BO-SE: Selenium-Vitamin E Shot.
I hope this info helps you!
-the Shepherdess
“Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, Make you perfect in every good work to do his will, working in you that which is well pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ; to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.” Hebrews 13:20-21
by Harmony Shepherdess on 1 Comment
FREE BEGINNER GUIDE to Raising Grassfed Beef
FREE BEGINNER GUIDE TO BROODING LAYER CHICKS
The price of eggs in the United States has skyrocketed by 543% in some regions with reports of an 18 count carton selling for $12 in Nampa Idaho.
Four primary factors are affecting this price spike: Residual supply chain issues from 2020, Culls from Avian influenza, Cost of feed Inputs, and seasonal production dips.
As we look at prices on the grocery store shelves, it is important to realize that the prices we see today reflect supply chain issues from not last week, but rather last year. It takes roughly 8-12 months for the full effect of a food crisis to make it from the front end of the food supply chain to our wallets.
In Light of this we go back to April and May of 2022, when enforced culling of flocks nationwide was taking place in an effort to eradicate avian influenza. In 2022, 50.54 million birds were culled from the US food supply chain and according to the USDA 43 million oft these were laying hens.
According to United Egg Producers, the total size of the US Laying hen population is roughly 328 Million hens. Which means that 12.35% of the total number of laying hens nationwide were eradicated.
An important note is that not every bird culled fro avian influenza was a carrier. According to the following quote by Reuters:
“Birds often die after becoming infected. Entire flocks, which can top a million birds at egg-laying chicken farms, are also culled to control the spread of the disease after a [singular] bird tests positive.” -reuters
TheGaurdian.com reported that in April 2022 Rembrandt Foods, “one of the World’s largest egg factories” “begun slaughtering more than 5 million chickens using a gruesome killing method after detecting a single case of avian influenza.”
While this is not the first time Avian influenza culls have swept the nation, what makes the situation in 2022 far worse than ever before is that the international food supply chain is still in recovery made from 2020. In 2020, we saw many farmers to euthanize massive flocks of laying hens rather than continue to feed them under supply chain disruptions and crashing demand there from (star Tribune).
According to the “Chickens and Eggs” released monthly by the USDA, egg production was down a cumulative _ in 2020. In 2021 production was beginning to recover, only to be hit again by the culls in spring of 2022 which caused another cumulative __ in production deficit. According to the USDA’s Economic Research Services “As a result of recurrent outbreaks, U.S. egg inventories were 29 percent lower in the final week of December 2022 than at the beginning of the year.”
All at a time when US per-capita egg consumption is on the rise. (https://unitedegg.com/facts-stats/)
A secondary factor is the skyrocketing cost of feed inputs. Grain prices in ’22 were triple in some categories from previous years. According to a study by the University of Florida’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Science: “Feed costs often represent more than 70 percent of the production cost of a dozen eggs”
A third factor, and likely the one responsible for bringing the former issues to such a severe head is the biological nature of laying hens causes a seasonal crash in production (USDA chart). This significant dip is not a result of national crisis, but rather the natural biological-rhythm of a laying hen, which involves highest production points in correlation with the Summer Solstice, and lowest production points in line with winter Solstice.
Given the unsteady nature of poultry production over the past 2 years, and increased consumer demand for eggs, and increased export demand, US production has not been able to amend for the seasonal deficit. Severe shortages and subsequent price increases are the result.
While those raising backyard flocks are in a much better situation, chances are that even backyard flocks are not producing very much at this point. As mentioned, the bio-rhythm of the laying hen, backyard flocks are also experiencing seasonal production slumps.
The good news is that rapid reproductive rate of chickens and their swift timeline to maturity will make the “egg shortage issue” a faster fix than many of the other food supply issues on the horizon. My estimation is that within 6 months, eggs will one again be within normal range… but you will likely never see eggs at the prices they once were.
At my local Aldi, eggs were $.79/dozen in 2022. The price is now $4.29/dozen. It will be the same as fuel and lumber: if we settle somewhere within 30-40% of normal range society will be happy.
What will be a more pertinent issue to prepare and watch for is the price of red meat over next 6-9 months. And if you want an look at the crisis from 2022 that is setting us up for a crash in 2023, please watch this video next. (Ranchers rush)
Links for image credits and Citation:
ERS USDA
REUTERS
UNITED EGG PRODUCERS
UCANR
STAR TRIBUNE
THE GAURDIAN
AP NEWS
USDA CORNELL EDU
NASS USDA
https://www.ers.usda.gov/data-products/chart-gallery/gallery/chart-detail/?chartId=105576
https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/avian-flu-outbreak-wipes-out-5054-mln-us-birds-record-2022-11-24/
https://unitedegg.com/facts-stats/ https://www.nass.usda.gov/Charts_and_Maps/Agricultural_Prices/pricewh.php
https://ucanr.edu/sites/placernevadasmallfarms/files/102990.pdf
https://www.startribune.com/egg-demand-shifted-and-61-000-minnesota-chickens-were-euthanized/569817312/?refresh=true#4
https://www.theguardian.com/science/2022/apr/28/egg-factory-avian-flu-chickens-culled-workers-fired-iowa
https://www.nass.usda.gov/Surveys/Guide_to_NASS_Surveys/Chickens_and_Eggs/index.php
https://apnews.com/article/health-business-bird-flu-flu-animals-189a7c08d848047f00b3f7b5bec39e67
https://usda.library.cornell.edu/concern/publications/fb494842n?locale=en#release-items
https://www.nass.usda.gov/Surveys/Guide_to_NASS_Surveys/Chickens_and_Eggs/index.php
by Harmony Shepherdess on Leave a Comment
FULL 35 MINUTE PODCAST: https://bit.ly/CorbittWall23
Corbitt Wall: @cattlemarketsummary8392
Here is a summary of the Beef Cattle Market in 2023 after extreme drought and input costs caused a crash in July 2022.
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EMAIL: shepherdess (at) harmonyfarms.blog
the Shepherdess: All right. Joining me now is Corbitt Wall of National Beef Wires Feeder Flash We are speaking to those who follow the cattle market which crashed in July. Could you kind of give a month to month summary from basically where we left off in July to where we are now?
Corbitt Wall: Well, it came through July with extreme drought. in some of your biggest production areas. Mainly central Texas but also in the, in the northern plains and slightly in the Midwest too in your big cattle areas of, Missouri and Arkansas and places like that. A lot of producers had to cull their herds a lot more than they had planned to, a lot more than they wanted to.
Hay has become extremely high and not affordable to people that are just having to feed hay to keep their cows. So a lot of people had to get rid of their cows, which is resulting in lighter numbers. And our market has come to us in a big way.
In the last six months and is as high as it has been since 2015, and that’s when it was retreating from the all-time record highs of 2014.
the Shepherdess: So going into fall, has there been a category that’s pulled stronger?
Corbitt Wall: Our fat cattle market has, come up a bunch. We’re right in the $1.55 to $1.57 range right now, historically the highest your cattle market has ever been on direct basis is $1.72.
We’re nearing that. I have my doubts if we’re going to hit that. Our, our light calves are, are selling very well and they’re selling very well early. We normally see your grass grazers come into the. early in the year, maybe in January and February because they wanna avoid the rush of the March and April market.
And so they’ve already come into the market because they know that numbers are gonna be tight. They just have to find something to keep those calves alive until the grass turns green. And that’s basically what they’re wanting to do.
Our cow numbers are probably the tightest right now. And then that will lead to our calf numbers being extremely tight. We’re just gonna be a lot lower on our spring born calves than we have been
the Shepherdess: Has there been any behavior in the market from either the producer. Or the Packer side that has people scratching their heads within this last six months.
Corbitt Wall: I haven’t seen as many people looking to take advantage for the big demand that there’s gonna be for replacement stock, for breeding stock. We are just now in the last few weeks, Starting to see more producers keeping heifers back, but a lot of ’em couldn’t afford to, you know, they needed to sell those heifers to, to pay bills.
And the markets come up a little bit affording some producers the option to, to keep more heifers back to rebuild their, their cow herd.
But I thought that a bread heifer or replacement quality open heifer would be higher now than, than what it is. It’s just taking longer. And most of that’s due to your input and, and, and lack of feed. But normally we would see that.
I think our high market may last three years we might have a better window to make some money for a while because your producers weren’t able to reload as quick.
the Shepherdess: In your opinion with that longer window, are we just gonna see a continuation of pretty good prices rather than what we expected… you know, short blitz.
Yeah. within the last six or eight months people say, how good’s this thing gonna get, you know, how high is it gonna get? I think we’re in it now, you know, a a 500 pound steer calf, which is what a lot of people try to raise is bringing you.
$2.25 a pound. That, that’s pretty good. A lot of top quality 600 pound calves are bringing $2 a pound. As a rule of thumb, producers usually want to yield a thousand dollars ahead from their calves. they’re doing it now. But like we said several times already, the input costs and the lack of feed is, is taking fun out if it.
the Shepherdess: And a thousand dollars today would be. something like, you know, $800 two years ago with just the cumulative rate of inflation. Yes, exactly.
by Harmony Shepherdess on Leave a Comment
Here are some of the questions coming through about Monday’s Launch of the Shepherdess Masterclasss: a video led course for beginners on raising, grazing, and marketing sheep! I am excited to see you then!
How and where do I enroll?
Enrollment opens on Monday at 8 am CST at Shepherdess.com . At that time you will see a HUGE “ENROLL NOW” banner at Shepherdess.com… it will be hard to miss :).
Are there early sign up bonuses?
YES. First 20 students to enroll will receive 2 hard copy books on animal handling and husbandry. Temple Grandin’s Guide to Working with Farm Animals and Storey’s Guide to Raising Miniature Animals.
My schedule is busy, are these one-time only live classes?
No, these are on-demand classes. You can learn in line with your own schedule and replay each class if you need to. There are 3 student-only livestreams that I will be hosting at set times, but the classes are accessible 24/7.
Why limited enrollment?
I want to ensure a high quality experience. This enrollment window will close after 7 days. I plan to launch another enrollment cycle once the first round of students are taken care of!
I already have sheep, how will this help?
This course has a lot of marketing and business building info in it that will help you transition into a for-profit flock. Also, a lot of struggles emerge when your flock begins lambing. This Masterclass covers how to care for ewes at lambing and how to avoid common causes of death in lambs from birth to 8 months.
What does the Shepherdess Masterclass teach?
Alot. Here is the run down!
•LAMB FOR LIFE: How to avoid common causes of death on sheep farms. (With hands-on tutorials on how to give shots, medicine, etc)
•GRAZING SHEEP 101: How to setup a grazing system that only takes 1 HOUR PER DAY to maintain. (With Hands on tutorials on how to install charger systems, ground rod systems, what fencing to use, etc)
•MARKETING SHEEP+: How I market sheep (and more) for a full time income without leaving the farm.
6 Farm on the Web Marketing classes:
•How to setup a Newsletter for your farm.
•How to setup a Website for your farm.
•How to sell products on your website.
•How to advertise on social media without paying for ads (3 classes for Youtube, Instagram, and Facebook.)
In summary you receive:
9 One-Hour Masterclass Video Sessions
3 EBOOKS (80 pages each)
14 hands on TUTORIAL VIDS (average of 5 minutes each)
2 Supplies Lists (with links to best-price sources)
5 Worksheets
1 Shepherdess Photo Filter for professional quality iPhone shots.
Enrollment BONUS:
First 20 Students to enroll receive 2 hardcopy books.
All students will receive 3 student-only LIVESTREAM Q+A’s with the Shepherdess.
… a $985 value.
What are you charging for the Masterclass?
I am offering this info at a special price of $425 next week.
Will you offer a payment plan?
Yes! The payment plan is 4 monthly installments of $110.
What if I have already bought some of these classes from you in the past?
You can purchase the ones you don’t own a la carte on this page .
I’d like to share about your courses on my social media, do you have offer affiliate commissions?
Yes! CLICK HERE for info.
-the Shepherdess
“Know ye that the LORD he is God: It is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; We are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.” Psalm 100:3
by Harmony Shepherdess on 6 Comments
What is the Shepherdess Masterclass?
9 video-led training classes
(1 yr. access with e-books and worksheets):
•Raising Sheep (LAMB FOR LIFE)
•Grazing Sheep
•Marketing Sheep+
•Farm on the Web Class Bundle (6 step-by-step marketing tutorials for using Youtube, Facebook, Instagram, Newsletters, Websites, and E-commerce to sell products.)
-the Shepherdess
Thus saith the Lord, thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel; I am the Lord thy God which teacheth thee to profit, which leadeth thee by the way that thou shouldest go.” Isaiah 48:17
by Harmony Shepherdess on Leave a Comment
by Harmony Shepherdess on 8 Comments
1 HOUR SHEEP FARMING WEBINAR: https://bit.ly/Sheepx3Webinar
2021 LAMBING VIDEOS: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5qhe6…
By popular request, I am giving a full recap of Lambing in 2022. Most of my lambs were born in March and April, but I had a few surprises born here in November and December.
I am going to talk about how I prepare for lambing, the complications that popped up this season and how I addressed them, and then at the very end I am going to give you a complete look at my cast of characters for 2022 (this may or may not include a lamb with a strong resemblance to Barney Fife).
I am hosting a free webinar in January on the basics of raising, grazing, and marketing sheep. Spots are limited so reserve yours using the link below. If you are watching this after the live workshop, you will be able to watch the replay through that same link :).
I did a lot of prep in the two weeks leading up to my official lambing season. First was to make sure I had all of my supplies on hand. I am going to share with you the various supplies that I used throughout lambing. Some of these products are not easy to find on local level. In light of this problem, I spent some time getting distribution rights for these supplies and have bundled them all into what I am calling The Shepherdess Essentials Bundle which is available at Shepherdess.com. Having these supplies on hand is going to save a lot of money in vet bills and maybe even a few lives so no matter what phase of the game you are in, make sure to order this bundle of products on hand.
Second was to prep the lambing shed with fresh bedding, and run a pre-lambing inspection on all my ewes. Here I am primarily checking for parasites and deworming any ewe with a notable parasite load. A ewe’s immune system dips at lambing and during lactation so parasite loads left unchecked can become a major issues.
Issue #1 that cropped up this year was a need for assisted delivery. I assisted about 8 ewes and 6 of 8 were a result of malpresentation. A lamb presenting correctly will have two hooves pointing forward and the nose resting right on top. The problem that kept recurring was that my lambs were coming out with only one foreleg forward. This added a lot of bulk to the shoulders.
Now this is a pretty common malpresentation. Sometimes a ewe can birth a lamb that presents this way just fine, however there were two factors that did not make that the case for these 6 ewes. First, many of the ewes were first time moms and the lambs were very large singles, not the moderately sized twins that you want. For this reasons the ewe would pass the head and the foreleg but those big shoulders would get caught. Despite pushing for an hour or more, the lamb would not pass.
In assisting these ewes, I would give them some time to attempt to deliver the lamb on their own. Once it had been about 45 minutes with no progression I’d go in to assist. When I could, I would push the head back in to the birth canal and draw both of the legs forward. Most times however, the lamb was too far delivered to push it back. In such cases, I would take the leg that was coming forward and pull it out as far as I could (this frees up some space for those broad shoulders), then I would pull the lamb by the neck and leg in a sort of c-curve toward the udder.
If the ewe was still contracting, I’d pull with contractions, otherwise I just went for it.
For 2 of these malpresentated deliveries, the ewe went into labor overnight. When I did my check in the early morning I found the first ewe in some significant distress. I was able to deliver her lamb, but the ewe was really non-responsive as a result of exhaustion. I gave her a shot of Vitamin B, which is a great means of replenishing energy after a stressful situation. (Vitamin B and the needles and syringes to administer it is going to be in the Shepherdess Essentials Bundle I have linked below) She came to and followed the flock out to pasture, before realizing her maternal duty.
The second ewe had also been laboring overnight. The lamb was badly hung and had been for several hours. “Hung” means that the head had been hanging outside of the birth canal for a pretty long time. This typically results in the lamb being strangled. I caught the ewe and helped her pass this limp lamb with an extremely swollen head. I was so disappointed because to this point I had not lost any lambs. I pulled the lamb assuming it was dead. I put it up by the moms head so that she could at least see it and I just turned and said ” Thank you, Lord I am so sad this one died, but—” Then, all of the sudden the lamb let out a huge sneeze.
It turns out I issued a premature death sentence… and I have never heard a more beautiful sound than that sneeze.
She had a huge welcoming committee.
Again, I followed this birth up with a Vitamin B shot for the ewe as she was also pretty well paralyzed with exhaustion. Within just a few minutes she was up on her feet and nursing her lamb. It took a full 24 hours for the swelling in the lamb’s head to go down, but thankfully it didn’t keep her from nursing.
When it came to the mastitis I had 2 cases of mastitis I treated differently. Mastitis is an infection of the mammary glands that can inhibit the function of the udder and compromise the new lamb. The first case of mastitis I caught before the ewe gave birth. The udder was feverish and lumpy, it had a reddish-purple tint, and was almost sweaty to the touch. I made the decision to give the ewe a 3 day antibiotic regimen before delivery.
I want to make a note here about my opinion on the use of antibiotics, shots, modern medicine on the farm. When I start to talk about shots I sometimes get comments from very well-intended individuals who will say things like “healthy flocks don’t need shots” or “don’t baby your sheep”.
I welcome any opinions, but I’ll also feel free to be bold with mine: I hold to the principle that the judicious application of modern medicine within flocks is good animal husbandry.
This antibiotic regimen was finished about 9 days before the ewe gave birth. Once she raised and weaned the most beautiful set of twins. This ewe did die shortly after weaning. She was old and the mastitis was likely just a symptom of aging out. But she raised an amazing set of lambs before she left the farm.
The second case of mastitis was much more severe. I did not catch this case until the lambs were born. Her udder was rock hard on one side. For this ewe, I did an inter-mammary infusion. (which again, will be in the Shepherdess Essentials Bundle available a Shepherdess.com)
This process was really unpleasant, because I had to flip the ewe on her back and put this tool up her—- and squeeze the solution directly into her udder and then massage her udder for 60 seconds. She hated it, I hated it, we all hated it. But this allowed her to regain enough function to feed her offspring. Now this ewe was culled, but I did provide her with what she needed to get past this issue.
I also want to talk about my portable lambing jug. This little unit was a life saver! During lambing I continued my rotational grazing program. At certain points the rotation put me out of range of my main shed. The portable jug gave me a confined area to treat any issues that popped up. If I needed to treat a mom (such as in the case of mastitis) I would simply put her lambs in there and she’d follow me in for treatment. It was a little bit heavy, but I could pull it a short distance with my body weight, or an atv if the distance was longer.
Excellent maternal instinct is a Dorper breed characteristic, and the ewes in my flock are really living up to that. Once a lamb is born healthy, the ewes will do the rest.
One thing I did make sure to do this year was have supplemental colostrum ready as well as a lamb feeding tube with me at all times. (you guessed it, the feeding tube and colostrum replacer is in the Shepherdess Essentials Bundle!)
Colostrum or not really is life or death for a young lamb. If I have a ewe that is producing a surplus of colostrum, I will milk her and freeze that colostrum for a future need. Otherwise I use a good quality powdered colostrum replacer.
While a feeding tube can be intimidating, it is my go-to over a bottle. I can fill the lambs belly in 3 or 4 minutes. Once I am done the lamb hops straight back to it’s mom and resumes nursing with no problems. If you are supplementing because a ewe does not have enough milk, something to keep in mind is that the more the lamb suckles, the more milk the ewe will produce. We have found that bottle feeding can cause what is known as nipple confusion. The bottle’s will alter the sucking reflex of the lamb in such a way that it will have difficulty latching back on to the mom. The feeding tube allows the ewe and the lamb to maintain that nursing bond. I will use a bottle once I have deemed that the lamb is going to be a bottle baby for life.
The final issue I had was with a lamb that was born wobbly, weak, knock kneed, and had a curved spine. These symptons are commonly linked to selenium deficiency. I went ahead and administered .25ml of BOSE under the skin. BOSE is a selenium-vitamin E shot. The following week, I gave the lamb one more .25ml shot. BOSE is available by prescription only through your vet, so I have not included it in my Essentials Bundle, but have referenced it on the pamphlet inside of the bundle. This will give you the exact product to request from your vet.
Now for the cast of characters. As much as I try to play professional shepherdess, I always end up naming a few lambs. This year was a B theme. We ended up with… get ready for it: Bruce, the giant ram lamb. Betsy, with the black spot. Bandit with the masked markings, and Barney Fife. I’ll let you decide if there is any resemblance ;).
by Harmony Shepherdess on 4 Comments
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Today’s Livestream is intended to kick off season 3 of the Shepherdess.
THIRD LENSE:
Over the past two years I have used my videos to share my story through different lenses. In my first season I shared my day to day routine through the lens of a first time sheep farmer. In Season 2 I shared with you the data behind my decision to pivot from beef cattle to sheep as a primary enterprise for my micro ranching enterprise.
In season 3 I am going to share with you the real economics behind my decision to use sheep as a means of building wealth.
I am getting ready to share with you real information on how my sheep are a wealth building tool, but none of it is true unless you can keep a sheep alive. That free e book is going to walk you through basically the 13 things you need to hedge your investment in sheep.
As I kick off season 3 with this livestream, I am going to share a story.
THE UNTOLD STORY:
I have told you before that I am a digital marketer by trade. In May of 2020 my team and I had just finished one of our largest marketing projects ever. With the money I made there, I paid off my car, I put 10 months of rent and living expenses into savings. After I had done that, I had $11,000 leftover.
At the time, I was watching the US spend it’s way out of an economic crisis. I watched the government issue consent to put TRILLIONS of dollars into the economy through various means of stimulus.
I am not an economist, but I knew that under such conditions, money in the bank would quickly lose it’s value.
So I prayed. I asked the Lord if He would show me a way that I could invest this $11,000 and have it hold it’s value, or even increase.
Specifically my prayer was “for eyes to see an undervalued asset”.
From what little I knew of investing, I knew that the most successful investors were ones that saw value in something before anyone else did and took a risk by investing in that thing before anyone else.
Being from the digital industry, being that my jobs was in an office, I naturally expected the Lord would direct me toward a company to invest in, or precious metals, or possibly even real estate.
But He didn’t.
Instead He directed my attention to agriculture… and more specifically low-input agriculture with an emphasis on soil health.
This unyielding interest was a shock to me, this was a shock to my family, but it was something I could not shake. That interest segued into open doors. The Lord provided me with the education I needed to walk through those doors.
So long story short, I took that $11,000 and instead of buying silver or crypto, I bought 26 sheep and the fencing I needed to contain them on 30 acres.
If you are interested in what happened after that, the 100+ videos on this channel are chapters chronicling various aspects from that moment in 2020 to today,
but….
Since that moment in 2020 when I prayed for an investment opportunity for that $11,000, the United State’s cumulative rate of inflation hit 15.1%, US National debt increased by 30%.
Should I have left that that $11k in the bank it would only be worth $9,500 today.
But by investing it in sheep and zeroing in on my marketing of them, that $11K has seen an increase of roughly 40%.
Through the sale of surplus ram lambs I have sold enough livestock to cover 1/2 of that initial $11,000 investment all while my flock size has increased by 40% through the ewe lambs I have retained.
While some are pushing silver, or gold, or real estate; it is my goal in my third season of content to encourage you through what I have seen firsthand THE VALUE of using livestock as a means of building wealth.
You have to be wise about how you build your farm and you have to know how to care for sheep, or you’ll end up like everyone who invested in FTX last year.
But the dollar alone is no longer a valid measurement of wealth. We all need to be considering alternative means of storing our wealth. Even if it is small. $11,000 is not a lot of money, but I want to encourage you that even if you only a small
If you have debt, you don’t have wealth; so do everything you can to pay it off. But if you have any cash, you need to make sure you have enough in the bank to cover 6mos-1 year of expenses, and pray for ways to invest whatever is leftover.
HISTORICALLY DURABLE FORMS OF WEALTH:
Land (REAL ESTATE), Livestock, and precious metals. Sheep are DYNAMIC, precious metals are static.
One thing I want to bring to light is that modern America has severely undervalued agriculture. In fact we have shot ourselves in the foot with this.
America is about to lose 1/3 of it’s farmers. The average age of the American Farmer is 54 years old. 1/3 of farmers in America are over 64 years old. Within the next 15 years we will lose 1/3 of our farmers through either retirement or death… UNLESS.
UNLESS people like you and like me take up this mantle and on whatever scale we can and begin growing food. First taking responsibility for our families needs, then branching out into our community, and beyond.
IF you have no land, find your local farmer. Eatwild.com is a good place to start. You are going to pay more with your local farmer than you will at the grocery store where all of the food on the shelves is the product of industrial agriculture, but view the extra money as an investment in your future, your children’s future, and food security. You do not have to buy all of your food local, but try and replace one item on your grocery list with a local source.
I want people to understand that agriculture is a historically proven means of building wealth.
I want people to begin investing in it with the same energy and innovation that we give to tech startups Silicon Valley.
Because our need for real food is growing faster than our need for software development.
Our reliance on GMO’s and industrial agriculture is killing our bodies and depleting our natural resources.
We are self-destructing and I believe that those with eyes to see agriculture as an undervalued asset, and the bravery to invest in it when no-one else will will be greatly rewarded.
THERE IS SOMETHING THAT I UNDERSTAND HERE:
I UNDERSTAND A VALUE IN WHAT I AM DOING THAT GOES BEYOND DOLLARS AND CENTS. And this is what you need to get into agriculture… because there will be months and years where you make very little of either one. We need to diversify as farmers, we need to be extremely creative with the revenue streams we build on farm, and the markets we pursue and establish ourselves in.
While I intend (should the Lord allow) to make a significant amount of money off of what I am doing, I would do this whether I made money or not. I know too much to do otherwise.
We need more farmers.
-the Shepherdess
by Harmony Shepherdess on Leave a Comment
Free Sheep Farming E-books and Worksheets.
Join the Shepherdess Newsletter.
I want to remind you that the first LAMB FOR LIFEⓒ workshop is tonight!
Here is what you’ll get out of LAMB FOR LIFEⓒ:
“He will feed His flock like a shepherd; He will gather the lambs with His arm, And carry them in His bosom, And gently lead those who are with young.” Isaiah 40:11
by Harmony Shepherdess on 1 Comment
Link to receive 1 hour interview with Joel Salatin
Link to the Book Salad Bar Beef
2 years and 4 months ago I decided I wanted to raise grass fed beef beef and I wanted to make a profit at it.
I had zero experience with livestock, zero agricultural background, and to top it off my full time job was at the opposite end of the occupational spectrum: I was a digital marketer in the retail apparel industry.
Despite all of this I knew I had to do something.
So I went shopping for a book about how to raise grass fed beef and found Salad Bar Beef by Joel Salatin. At that point in time I didn’t know Joel Salatin from the next guy… but because there were cows and dollar signs on the cover (two of my primary interests) I immediately fell in love with this book.
And I started reading Salad Bar Beef:
Not knowing anything about farming.
Not knowing anything but that I had 23 acres of grass and I wanted to raise cows.
It was Salad Bar Beef that introduced me to the concept of rotational grazing and regenerative agriculture for the first time.
But Salad Bar Beef appealed to me more on the basis of economics than ecology.
What caught my attention was that this was a system of raising and grazing beef that I could launch with just a few hundred dollars in electric fencing supplies.
I read about a direct marketing mindset that made a way to earn an income off a small herd, despite nosediving live cattle prices.
I read how that with a small amount of money, and a little time every day I could earn 300% more than the average rancher by way of increased feed production on pasture… essentially turning my 23 acres into 69 acres.
So I put these methods to the test. And what you have watched on my channel over the past two years has been me, as an absolute beginner, just doing it.
And it has worked!
Two years almost to the date of reading the first chapter of Salad Bar Beef, I was in Virginia moving cattle with Joel Salatin. I was seeing firsthand the fruit of 40 years of consistent stewardship, unconventional marketing methods, and radical diversification within a farm business model.
I met his staff and his stewards and was so encouraged by both.
There are a lot of people that don’t like Joel Salatin.. and I’m not here to make you like him… But I am here to say that what he preaches in that one book works for me. His model encouraged me to start small… And his model allowed me to go from never owning livestock, to harvesting 1000lb of my own grass fed beef in just 18 months.
I met so many of you at the Polyface Stockman Grass Farmer event. It was such an incredible joy to look into the faces of a lot of the names that have been just names on a screen for the past two years.
The best thing was just seeing in your eyes the way I feel about this work.
I also want to thank my friends Bill and Judie Croft at Meadowcroft Farm for hosting me at the Meadowcroft Inn while I was at Polyface. The Inn at Meadowcroft is just 7 miles down the road from Polyface. Meadowcroft is hands down one of the most beautiful Inn’s I have ever stayed at.
Cindy and Aletha were the amazing chefs at Meadowcroft and served us fresh fruit parfaits and a hot breakfast (made with farm sourced ingredients) every morning. Chicken lady got really spoiled… like we came home and she was demanding yogurt parfaits and bread pudding every morning.
In addition to the Inn, Bill and Judie raise a large herd of grass fed beef cows and meat sheep that are organically raised and marketed through a unique supply chains. As if that wasn’t enough diversity, Bill and Judie run the Meadowcroft Cannery and I am going to link to the sandwich spread, the German pickles, and apricot jam that were my favorites… I actually bought 12 cans of jelly and spread cans before I left. All of the ingredients are organic and they are made with pure cane sugar no synthetic flavors. Their cannery website Website is linked HERE and you get free shipping when you buy 12 or more cans!
Thank you for “traveling” with me!
-the Shepherdess
“A man can receive nothing, except it be given him from heaven.” John 3:27
by Harmony Shepherdess on 4 Comments
by Harmony Shepherdess on 1 Comment
by Harmony Shepherdess on 1 Comment
Here is a report from the courtroom on the United States v. Miller’s Organic Farm case.
EMAIL: shepherdess (at) harmonyfarms.blog
Credits to @Fox News and @Rebel News for footage.
The “Amos Miller” story has gained momentum around the web as the USDA has restrained and raided his organic farming operation in Bird in Hand, PA. Amos miller produces chemical free grass fed beef, pork, chicken, dairy, and fermented foods; distributing to his customer base of 4,000.
Here are 3 facts that reveal what is really happening at Miller’s Organic Farm. 1. The USDA is specifically targeting Miller’s Organic meat processing operation, not his entire farm. Amos Miller processes and distributes beef, poultry, and pork which he processes in one of his self-made processing facilities. Animals are processed under the inspection and oversight of Amos Miller and not the USDA. According to USDA regulations, meat must be processed under the direct oversight of a USDA agent if it is going to be distributed direct to consumer. This regulation give the USDA direct control of the farm to consumer meat supply. However, setting the element of control aside, processing at a USDA facility poses problems for Miller’s customers. USDA processing facilities spray meat carcasses with citric acid, a chemical compound that produces allergic reactions in some of Miller’s customers.
2. MIller’s operation is healing not harming the public.
3. Miller is not being allowed to choose his own attorney. Federal Judge Edward G. Smith ruled that in the USDA vs. Amos Miller case “Amos Miller does not have the right to choose his own attorney”. Miller is taking his appeal to Third Circuit in Philadelphia. Miller states: “we have come to realize that the only way to save our hard working farmers and healthy foods is to legally challenge the government”. In the United States the US constitution is regarded as the highest law of the land. It was authorized in 1787, but 11 years earlier on July 4th, 1776 (a date we celebrate to this day) another document was signed which may be more relevant to us as individuals under our current administration. It is from the Declaration of Independence that I quote: “We hold these truths to be self evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness…. Whenever ANY form of government becomes destructive of these ends it is the right of the people to alter or abolish it…. Accordingly, all experience has shown that mankind are more disposed to suffer while evils are suffer able, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed.” I urge you to subscribe to my newsletter below for uncensored updates and please click on this video for a more in depth look at the regulations governing our meat supply chain.
Articles Cited in Video: https://lancasteronline.com/news/loca…https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/conse…
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About this Channel: This channel chronicles my journey as a sheep farmer from the very beginning. My primary occupation is in business management. In 2020, I discovered the principles of regenerative agriculture and embarked on a journey with the end goal of building a profitable small farm on 23 acres by 2027. Thank you for joining the journey!
by Harmony Shepherdess on Leave a Comment
EMAIL: shepherdess (at) harmonyfarms.blog
Until 1998 the hog market functioned similar to today’s live cattle market:
A host of independent hog ranchers, both small and large scale, would grow pigs and haul them to auction. At the auction house, processors and packers would bid against one another for the supply they needed to satisfy consumer demand.
This meant that large or small, each producer would receive a fair market price for their pigs.
And this is because of the competition on the buying end. Buyers bidding against one another will drive the price of the goods up according to consumer demand.
However, in the pork market, the large packers began to bypass the open market and establish private buying contracts with select number of pork producers. With fewer buyers in the public market, live hog prices began to decline.
This monopoly finally culminated in 1998 when the large pork packers no longer needed to bid on the open market. They had secured a sufficient supply of hogs via contract and as such, they were no longer bidders.
What happened next was a dark and final chapter in the history of independent American hog farming. The absence of buyers drove the price of hogs on the hoof down from 56cents per lb to 8cents per lb in just one weekend.
Being that a “breakeven” point for hog farmers was 32 cents per pound, nearly all of the independent American hog growers went out of business in just a matter of weeks.
The beef market is following suit, but on a timeline that is lagging 30 years behind. In fact, 70-80% of the beef that is funneled through our food supply chain is already being purchased via private contract. And the reality that live cattle prices are down 50% from 1990-2022 reflects this fact.
We are truly on the brink of history repeating itself.
Mr. Wall advocates for measures such as the Cattle Price Discovery and Transparency Act to preserve what remains of the free market. I have put a link below to where you can contact your senator to endorse the act.
And I am looking at you the consumer: go to Eatwild.com and find your local farmer. The monopoly that is destroying the American rancher will soon destroy the American consumer, and I would argue that it already is. In 2020 there were no food shortages. Price spikes and empty shelves were caused by the fact that the processing facet of our meat supply is too big to operate under the pressure of national emergency.
What we have experienced over the past few years is a drill, a taste of what is coming down the pipe. And it is going to get really ugly.
Find your local farmer. You do not have to buy 100% of your groceries from them, but I challenge you to buy one of your grocery items from them on a weekly or monthly basis: whether it’s beef, or pork, or veggies… start small and source at least one food item from your local farmer.
And if you are interested in growing your own meat, tap this video on how I grew and locally processed 1000lb of beef as an absolute beginner… I’ll see you there!
-the Shepherdess
by Harmony Shepherdess on 1 Comment
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45 MINUTE PODCAST WITH CORBITT WALL: https://bit.ly/CorbittWall
Channel Guest: Corbitt Wall, FEEDER FLASH, NationalBeefwire.com
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EMAIL: shepherdess (at) harmonyfarms.blog
In 2014 the live cattle market saw all time record high prices, with steers at 550lbs going from $1.63per pound in 2012 to $2.95 in 2014. What lead up to these record high prices?
In 2011, a red hot drought across the Deep South drove many ranchers to liquidate and herd sizes were reduced. Once precipitation returned to these drought stricken areas, ranchers began restocking, and prices went up for a very brief period of time…
Here in 2022 we are facing the same set of circumstances and possibly the same opportunity to cash in on our beef cattle, but there are 3 things we need to pay attention to:
#1. Any upcoming price spikes will be very short term. The 2014 price spike ended as quickly as it began. If there is an upswing in 2022-24 it will follow the same pattern and will not be a long term increase in prices. With the control that the 4 major meatpackers have on the commodity cattle market, the system is rigged. For more information on why American beef is endangered, click here.
#2. The upcoming opportunity in the conventional cattle market is for established ranchers and not for newbies. If you have extra grass resource and can buy good cattle out of these drought zones, go for it! But do not, as a beginner, build a herd in hopes for return on the commodity cattle market in 2023.
#3. Grass-based operations will benefit the most from an increase in commodity cattle prices. The price of corn has tripled over the past 2 years, going from $3/bushel to $9/ bushel in some areas of the country. In systems where grain is the primary means of putting weight on cattle, input costs will eat up any increase in margins. #4. Buyer beware that a portion of what we saw in 2014 may have been artificially stimulated and here is some insight.
For me personally, I am right here in the thick of east Texas drought conditions. I believe that if you have a little bit of beef, it might not be a bad idea to hang on to it. I am spending a little bit more than I normally would to retain the small herd I have. Not because I am planning to sell conventionally, but because I know that trying to rebuild a herd over the next few years may be more difficult and expensive than what I am feeding in hay at the moment.
And I want to continue to drill it in, If you are a beginner in beef, do NOT establish career in beef cattle chasing the ups and downs of the conventional market. Start you herd with the goal of direct to consumer meat sales… buy Salad Bar Beef at shopshepherdess.com. This book will lay out a direct to consumer marketing plan for your small beef herd.
Focus on becoming a marketer as much as you are a farmer. If you learn to market direct to consumer, prices on the conventional cattle market will have very little affect on you.If you are intimidated by the concept of marketing, I have a 6-step formula for building a full fledged marketing program for your farm. Click on the link below and I’ll send you a video on the topic absolutely free.
-the Shepherdess
“So then neither he who plants is anything, nor he who waters, but God who gives the increase.” 1 Corinthians 3:7
by Harmony Shepherdess on 2 Comments
When I shared the video of a 3 mile line of trailers dropping off cattle at my local sale barn, the question came up: why are so many ranchers selling at the same time?
The short answer is : they all ran out of grass at the same time. If you can find it hay is costing $85-100 per 1000lb bale. This means feeding a cow costs $2 per head per day. While this may not sound significant, many of these rural ranchers are raising 200-300 cows at a time. This means to feed their way through a summer drought would cost $54k on a herd of 300 cows from June to September… Only to turn again and spend the same money to feed again through winter.
What’s more is that it even IF a rancher wanted to feed his way through a drought, the hay is difficult to find this year.
Fertilizer costs have nearly tripled since the beginning of 2021. Urea, went from $320/ton in January 2021 $920/ton in January 2022. Urea is a widely used chemical nitrogen, and nitrogen is a means by which the grass plant absorbs sunlight and converts It into new growth. Without application of nitrogen, grass will grow, but the growth will be extremely slow.
Because of the cost of fertilizer many ranchers did not fertilize their hay pastures, opting to harvest whatever would grow naturally. Unfortunately, things went from bad to worse when the rain did not come. Low rainfall turned low yields, into no yields in some cases.
So the only option is to sell, there’s no other way out.
One of the practices I have been in throughout this period of extremely low rainfall if performing a regular pasture inventory. I began liquidating stock while I still had 30 days worth of pasture left. Throughout this drought period I have been taking regular pasture inventory. The concept of taking pasture inventory is explained in detail in Jim Gerrish’s book, Management Intensive Grazing and book which has been a toadmap for me as a beginner in rotational grazing. Please buy the book at shopshepherdess.com and you’ll be supporting my work in a huge way.
But pasture inventory is a simple process. As rainfall began to slow down, I spent my evenings walking my pastures. Because I use electric fencing to create small grazing cells within each pasture, I would look over the pasture and estimate how many of these grazing cells I could fit into each one.
Right now each grazing cell lasts me 5 days, so if I could fit 6 of them into a 10 acre pasture, I knew I had 30 days of grass left.
I told myself that if I dipped below 30 days and still had no rain in the forecast I had to start selling animals.
And that’s what happened last week. While it wasn’t easy to realize I was 30 days away from having zero feed, I was able to make that decision to sell with a solid buffer between me and starving animals.
I am going to be posting a video on how I sold my cows and how much money they brought at my small town sale barn during this crazy time period.
by Harmony Shepherdess on 2 Comments
The drought hit a turning point in Texas last weekend as ranchers made a mad dash to the sale barns, liquidating unprecedented amounts of beef cattle. Cattle industry leader Corbitt Wall, host of the FEEDER FLASH at NationalBeefWire.com gives an update on drought conditions across Texas. In his words, the effects of this drought combined with economic factors (fuel and fertilizer prices) are “unbelievable” with 3 mile line of trailers for the dropoff line at Emory Texas sale barn. The sale barn received such a surplus that they were auctioning off cattle through 5am the next morning.
This sale barn was 30 miles south of me and I was an eyewitness to these unbelievable lines. My local sale barn was packed. It is real.
As far as I am finding, hay bales are at minimum $85 for 4×5′ rounds (if you can find them). $100-125 per bale by fall will not be out of the question. For reference, 2021 prices in my area were $50/bale for 5×6′ rounds.
“Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord,
And whose hope is the Lord.For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters,
Jeremiah 17:7-8
Which spreads out its roots by the river,
And will not fear when heat comes;
But its leaf will be green,
And will not be anxious in the year of drought,
Nor will cease from yielding fruit.”
This drought-induced cattle liquidation is going to disrupt our meat supply chain in previously unforeseen ways… which says a lot given everything it has been through in the past two years. The cows being sold at these sale barns are ones that would, in normal circumstances, be producing calves for 4-5 more years. Instead, they are going to feed lots. With so many productive cows heading to slaughter and not producing calves, the US is going to face a major beef cattle deficit in 2024. The price of beef will go down for the next 12 months as we eat through the cows that are being liquidated now, but I predict one or both of the following will take place by the end of 2024:
And this is where I am looking straight at you right now: If you have 3-5 acres, one of the best things you can do for both personal and national security is to go buy one of these cows. The book: Salad Bar Beef will be your roadmap will give you step by step instructions on how to raise your own grass fed beef as an absolute beginner. Please bypass Amazon and purchase at shopshepherdess.com, it would really support my work!
It’s exactly what I did (with no previous farming experience) and I outline the whole process of raising 1000 lb of beef as a beginner in this video: Raising 1000lb of Beef as an absolute beginner.
-the Shepherdess
by Harmony Shepherdess on 11 Comments
Last week I brought home over 1000 pounds worth of grass fed beef. This is beef that I grew myself… with absolutely no previous experience in agriculture… Today I am bringing you all the details: from all the costs that went into growing 1000lb of beef, to a step by step process on how I did it.
When I had this crazy idea back in 2020 to raise grass fed beef, one of the first things I did was buy this book: Salad Bar Beef by Joel Salatin, which is available at ShopShepherdess.com. I’d love it if you would buy it there and support my farm. But I bought it knowing nothing about cows, or farming. And to be honest, I bought it because it had cows and dollar signs on it, whispers which are two of my primary interests right now… and sheep of course. But overall, the Lord had a bigger picture in mind by directing my steps to Salad Bar Beef because it not only gave me a complete 101 on how to raise Grassfed beef… it was also my first introduction to the concepts of regenerative agriculture, rotational grazing, and it ultimately was the book that laid the foundation for much of what you see on this channel.
The best way to get started in Grassfed beef:
For my first go at raising Grassfed beef I purchased three 7 month old steers from a local rancher. There are two HUGE reasons that I went with steers instead of a breeding cow. First I penciled out the timeline. If I was to buy and breed a cow it would be 33 months before I had beef on my plate. Buying a 7 month old steer would put meat on my plate within 18 months. Huge reason number 2 is that maintaining a breeding cow entails the expense of not only buying, but carrying the mama-cow indefinitely and potential for complications at and after birth. Any rancher will tell you that if you are going to have complications with livestock, most of them are going to happen in the birth to weaning time period. You also have the hassle of either buying or renting a bull to breed to your cow.
With all of this swirling in my head, the weaned steers became an easy choice. These steers came vaccinated, dewormed, acclimated to grazing, and ready to go. The only thing I did was deworm them with Ivermectin each of the two springs they were with me, but beyond that I just grazed them across my 23 acres for 18 months.
I bought these 3 beef Steer from my friend and local cow-calf rancher Karl Ebel. He was (and still is) a primary resource for me as a beginner in ranching and you can click on this video for more about him.
I had no livestock trailer, so he delivered the steer straight to my pasture. He charged a 10 cent per pound premium for buying the steers off pasture. This included delivery and was honestly, an exceptional favor to me as a friend.
BREED:
2 Herefords
1 black baldie (an Angus-hereford cross)
How Much land do you need to raise grass fed to finished beef? You need 3-5 acres per steer to raise and finish it on all grass. 3 acres per steer if you have fairly dense grass are moving your cows to a new paddock every day. 5 acres if you are moving your cows once a week or once every two weeks. I want to note here that running a grass-finishing operation does requires more land than a seasonally-synced breeding operation. So keep that in mind! You need more acreage for a finishing operation.
The way I grazed these steers was that I allowed them to go into every pasture and graze first. I gave the 3 steers large 3-5 acre paddocks and let them graze for 7 days. Then, I would bring my sheep and breeding cow herd through and pressured them graze the leftovers by putting them in smaller 1 acre paddocks. This ensured that my finishing steer were always eating the cream of the crop. I maintained this “finishing steers go first” program through to the very end and it worked great.
**As a sidenote, you will need more acres per animal for a grass-finishing operation than you will for strictly a breeding operation.
Costs:
I had 3 costs: cost of the animals, cost of feed overwinter, and cost of processing.
**Some are going to cite the cost of land should apply here, but I have-not done so. I worked out an arrangement with my family that would supply them with a certain amount of Grassfed beef at-cost in exchange for the use of the pasture to graze on. If you don’t have your own land, I want to encourage you to think creatively like this. Maybe someone in your family, your church, your local community has underutilized land… tell them you want to use it to grow beef, give them your plan, and give them a generous cut of the action once your harvest comes in.
**This is family property, but the land owner that I am working with was initially REALLY apprehensive about me raising beef cattle on his pasture. He agreed, but was afraid of having a bunch of wild cows running around. He was concerned they’d be unmanageable due to their size. However, as I grazed them for 18 months his mind was completely changed. He watched me handle them daily, he watched them come at my whistle like a couple of puppy dogs, and he watched as they grew fatter and fatter on grass that he would have otherwise had to pay to have hayed or mowed. When it came time to open up a box of the richest red grass fed beef, this landowner was completely won over and said that the doors are wide open for whatever I want to raise on his pasture.
So be encouraged and maybe even share this video with someone who is on the fence about leasing their land to you.
Cost of Steers:
I paid $1.83 per pound for these steers and they weighed 490lb when they arrived on my pasture. The total cost per steer was $909.51, or $2728.53 for all three.
Cost of the first overwintering the first year:
Beyond that initial investment of $2728.53, overwintering was the only time I pulled money out of my pocket to raise this beef. My first overwintering cost $525 and the second overwintering cost $168. You read that right: The first overwintering, I overdid on inputs simply for lack of experience. I didn’t understand the concept of stockpiling grass (click this video for more info), so I completely disregarded the acres of warm season stockpile as “useless” and fed the steers 7 round bales. Despite the fact that the steers were twice the size in their second winter, feed input costs were almost 1/2 of the first overwinter. Here is a breakdown:
1st overwintering for 3 yearlings:
7 round bales @ $50 each (free describe the agreement): (could have gotten away without, link to the 50c cows video)
9 bags of Cattle Cubes @ $15 each (150 lb each)
2 Bags of beef mineral mix from my local farm store
Total cost for the first overwintering: $525
2nd Overwintering for 3 full grown steers:
8 bags of cattle cubes @ $16 each (3/4 lb cubes per day from November 1-April 15th (Or 165 days))
2 bags of beef minerals.
Total cost for the second overwintering: $168
**A note on these cattle cubes: You may be thinking: “Wait, cubes for Grassfed beef is cheating!” The AGA, which is the American Grassfed Association has a list of approved supplements that can be fed to beef cow and still retain a 100% Grassfed label. The cubes were given not as a dietary baseline, but as a tool to maintain optimal rumen function while grazing winter pasture. Supplements of this nature are permitted under AGA guidelines so long as they do not pass a certain quantity. I don’t give a lot of merit to labels or regulatory standards… I urge consumer to educate themselves on where they buy from rather than relying on govt. labels. HOWEVER, if you want a complete list of AGA guidelines for Grassfed beef I have put the link to it below. https://www.americangrassfed.org/standards/AGA_Grassfed_Standards_Sept_2010-Final.pdf
Processing cost for 3 steers:
Processing fee for 3 steers at a STATE inspected facility: $1,695 or $565 per steer.
Bumper pull trailer rental: $75
Gas for Hauling: $90
Paying my brother to do all of the driving for the day: $200
$2059.76
Total cost: $5481.29 or $5.48 per pound of Grassfed beef.
I think the bottom is that you can do this. If you have a way to get ahold of the land… YOU SHOULD DO THIS.
I can’t explain the feeling of looking at 27 boxes of the highest quality food that can be produced and knowing that, by God’s grace, I produces it on 23 acres that was laying largely dormant. I had a flashback to when I stood right here and said “If I can take a resource that I have and convert it into a desirable finished product, that can be a very profitable situation.” And it’s really overwhelming to be here two years later. These cows were a major tool in a bigger plan than I could have come up with for myself and to be here looking back is humbling.
I’d love it if you would leave e a comment below if you’ve been following since the beginning. I want to thank you personally for it. If you haven’t been following since the beginning my whole entire farming history is documented here on YouTube, so just start from the beginning for the story.
by Harmony Shepherdess on 9 Comments
In the sheep arena there are 3 hair breeds that are both well developed and well known in the USA: the Dorper Sheep, the Kathadin sheep, and the St. Croix sheep. Today I am going to talk about why I raise Dorper sheep instead of St. Croix sheep, despite the fact that St. Croix would seem to be a better fit for my climate.
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Of the three breeds I just mentioned, St. Croix boasts the highest level of parasite resistance and the Dorper sheep the lowest, with the Kathadin sheep falling somewhere in the middle. Being that internal parasites are one of the top 3 profit killers for sheep farmers (right above predators and hoof rot) it is presumable that, as a farmer in a highly parasite prone environment, I would choose the breed that struggles the least with parasites.
But there are 2 major reasons why St. Croix is not a good fit for my goals, and I am going to outline them in the upcoming video.
First off what are my goal?: Goal #1 is to convert my grass resource into a highly desirable finished product. I am raising pure Dorper stock with an emphasis on a high carcass yield. “Carcass yield” refers to sale-able meat that comes off the animal.
Which brings me to the first reason I do not raise St. Croix sheep.
The carcass weight on a pure St. Croix sheep is not suitable for commercial
(meat sales) production.
When it comes to sheep, meat market buyers want lambs to weigh 100 lbs before slaughter and they want the lambs to reach this weight by 6-8 months.
A mature Dorper ram tops out at 270lbs and a mature St. Croix ram tops out at 170lbs. These are top weights for each breed, meaning you can deduct 30-50lbs for rams on the low end. Within a standard grazing program a ram will reach half of its mature weight by 12 months. Using grain or a highly specialized pasture-finishing program, half mature weight can easily be achieved by 6-8 months.
On an expedited finishing program a pure Dorper lamb will reach 135lbs and a pure St. Croix lamb 85 lbs (or 115 and 60lbs on the low end).
This means that a pure St. Croix, even at its best, will not reach an adequate finishing weight within the industry standard 6-8 months, whereas a pure Dorper (even at its worst) will. When it comes to Dorper sheep, they are literally born with muscles built in. These are photos of newborn, 3 week old, and 10 week old lambs from my farm this year.
But this information is not based solely on personal evaluation. I interviewed two for-profit farmers, Luke Groce and Austin Troyer, both of which started a sheep operation with the St. Croix as their foundation: Luke Groce cited that the carcass yield on a St. Croix was not enough to justify labor inputs. Austin Troyer, who purchased his seed stock from Greg Judy at Green Pastures Farms, cited that he could not sell commercial meat buyers on a pure St. Croix carcass. The former removed sheep from his meat sales program and the latter introduced Dorper bloodlines to improve his existing St. Croix flock.
The second reason I chose Dorper over St. Croix is desirability. Demand for Dorper breed, and specifically the black head Dorper, is experiencing an unprecedented surge here in the USA. Sales at the 2022 mid America Dorper Show nearly broke $1 MILLION with the top Dorper ewe bringing $20,000 and ram $12,800. https://dorpersheep.org/newsite/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/2022-Mid-America-Dorper-Sale-Report-1.pdf?fs=e&s=cl
This level of notoriety makes the Dorper sheep incredibly marketable.
To approach this from strictly in numbers perspective, the St. Croix is 37% smaller than the Dorper sheep. When it comes to making a living off of livestock, 7/10 ranchers are selling based on a liveweight price. This means if you have 37% less liveweight in an animal, you have 37% less income. And to double back to industry standards, meat buyers will be naturally avoiding animals with small carcasses. This means that in a conventional market, you will likely see more than a 37% percent decrease in the price received for St. Croix lamb.
This is not to say that the breed does not have it’s place. Pure St. Croix are a great fit for homesteaders and entry level sheep farmers, but if you are going into a hard core ranching for profit situation, you will need to cross your St. Croix with a larger breed (like the Dorper) to bring your carcass size up to market standards.
But just how much time does it take to manage a more parasite susceptible breed in a highly parasite prone climate? No matter how valuable a Dorper sheep is, it’s worthless if it dies of worms. How long does it take me to keep parasites under control in my system?
Once a month I run the flock through my Lakeland Handling system for general health maintenance. During this time I FAMACHA score and deworm any sheep that needs it. For my flock of 48 sheep, this process takes 4 hours per month, or 48 hours per year. This breaks down to just 1 hour per sheep per year in health and parasite management. Because most of the time is spent getting the sheep to and from the pen for treatment, and not actually treating the sheep, this timer per sheep will only decrease as my flock size increases.
To be honest, every breed has it’s pros and cons, and Dorper vs. St Croix is not different. The St Croix is very parasite resistant, the Dorper is not. The Dorper is extremely desirable in the conventional market, the St. Croix is not. With my goals in mind, spending 1 hour per animal per year to manage parasites is a much smaller con than a 37% (or more) decrease in income potential per animal.
Another important thing to note is that if you are running St. Croix just so you never have to deworm, you may be disappointed. As you watch Greg Judy keep in mind that he grazes his flock across several hundred acres of pasture. His stocking rate is roughly 1 sheep to 2 acres. If you are like me and are running 2 sheep to 1 acre, the parasite load on your pasture is going to be heavier.
Another topic I want to address is cross-breeding for increased parasite resistance. Cross Breeding is a great option, but it is not one I am considering yet. Pure Dorper offers too many advantages right now to deviate and I am extremely pleased with the product so far. What’s more is that with my parasite management down my losses are little to none. Last year I lost only one sheep to the Barber Pole Worm over summer, this year I have lost none. And with each successive generation born on farm I am seeing more and more natural parasite resistance. We are approaching the 4th generation born in my moist and humid micro-climate and I believe parasite resistance within my Dorper flock will keep getting better and better.
-the Shepherdess
“But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.” Isaiah 40:31
by Harmony Shepherdess on Leave a Comment
Here is a complete tour of my Lakeland Farm and Ranch SG200 Sheep and Goat handling system and advice on when you should buy a handling system for your own sheep farm. Also included is how I trained my sheep to the handling system.
Lakeland Sheep Handling Systems: https://bit.ly/LakelandSheepSystem
Join my Newsletter: http://bit.ly/ShepherdessNWSLTR FOLLOW MY INSTAGRAM: http://bit.ly/ShepherdessIG
LAKELAND SHEEP HANDLING SYSTEM 1:05
SYSTEM TOUR 7:14
MAKING A CHICKEN COOP OUT OF A WOODEN CRATE 9:02
HOW I TRAINED MY SHEEP TO THE HANDLING SYSTEM 10:18
WHEN TO BUY HANDLING SYSTEM FOR YOUR SHEEP FARM.
In this Video I talk about:
Lakeland Delux Spin Trim Chute
Lakeland Crowd Tub and Alley System for Sheep
Lakeland 3-way sort gate
Lakeland Easy Panels
Working Dorper Sheep without a handling system
Handling system for sheep and goats
Lakeland Farm and Ranch Direct Tilt table for sheep
Flip Turn Table for sheep
Micro Ranching for Profit
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About this Channel: This channel chronicles my journey as a sheep farmer from the very beginning. My primary occupation is in business management. In 2020, I discovered the principles of regenerative agriculture and embarked on a journey with the end goal of building a profitable small farm on 23 acres by 2027. Thank you for joining the journey! Thank you MaxkoMusic.com for the music!
by Harmony Shepherdess on 4 Comments
SUPPLIES LIST FOR Watering and Grazing System
I took one one month off of youtube, installed $2484 in electric fencing and watering systems, all in hope of $225K return. I am grazing a flock of 30 ewes-lamb pairs, 6 cow-calf pairs, 6 beef steer for grassfed beef, 2 rams, and a bull… all on 23 acres of pasture in North East Texas. That’s 75 animals on 23 acres.
To me, this sounded like too many animals for 23 acres… so overwinter I pursued a lease agreement for my neighbors 15 acres… with no success.
In the midst of my pursuit of MORE pasture I was reading the book “Quality Pasture” by Allan Nation.
BUY THE BOOK AT SHOPSHEPHERDESS.COM
On page 93, Allan Nation talked about 2 men who achieved a stocking rate of one beef cow per acre through intensive pasture management… these men ran their ranches within 60 miles of my exact location. This stocking rate included all the land necessary to produce supplemental hay over winter. To quote “The financial success of these men’s enterprises spawned 2 dozen imitators in the men’s home county….”
At that point I decided I wanted to try my hand at becoming the 13th success story.
So I put a pause on my quest for more land, and shifted my focus to further increasing the potential this 23 acres held.
My Goal: 1 Cow Per Acre
Over the past 2 years of grazing I had seen enough production capacity in my pasture to know this stocking rate was a reasonable possibility for me.
7 sheep equal the weight of one beef cow, therefore the 75 animals I just mentioned is the equal to 18 beef cows. My current stocking rate is the equivalent of .8 beef cows per acre.
I am going to give you some climate specs that make this stocking rate a possibility for me.
Specs on my climate in North-East Texas:
North-East Texas: | US. National Average: | |
Precipitation: | 46 inches | 30.28 inches |
Days of Sunlight: | 227 | 205 |
Snowfall (included in precipitation): | 1.2 inches | 28 inches |
Avg Winter Low: | 32 Fahrenheit | varies. |
In my previous rotational grazing program I would move my animals daily 4 months out of the year, and once a week for the remaining 8 months. I have a full time job and my old infrastructure made daily moves a chore. Every time I moved animals, I was also moving a handful of portable charger elements, manually toting water to 1/2 of the paddocks, and frequently troubleshooting a solar charger outage. This meant that 8 months out of 12 I was only moving my animals once a week.
Knowing the daily moves were essential to reaching my cow per acre carrying capacity goal, I bit the bullet and made the following upgrades….
Think big, Start Small.
Before I dive into all of the upgrades I made with $2500, I want to say this: I started with a $250 system which included a solar charger I found in my parents garage, a 4′ ground rod, polytape on a $10 plastic reel, and a handful of $1.50 step in posts. Some would call this a mediocre setup, but guess what? It worked. That $250 setup was the springboard for everything you see in my videos.
Starting small is better than not starting at all: get started with whatever you have and don’t be ashamed of it. Take the smallest possible step toward your large scale goals and see where the Lord takes it. It’s what I did 2 years ago and I have never regretted it for a moment.
My Upgraded Electric Fencing System:
If you would like a detailed list of all of the supplies I used for this project, click on the link below and I will send you a PDF with electric fence supplies, watering system components, and where to buy them.
Primary Electric Fencing Upgrades:
I made $1942 in upgrades to my existing perimeter fence. This cost includes 5000′ of high tensile wire, hand tools for tensioning and splicing wire, wraparounds for corner post, insulated tubing for under gate passes and areas where I will lay the hotwire under ground rather than on the fenceline. I reused existing 6′ ground rods by removing previously sunk rods from the ground (which was possibly the hardest 6 hours of the whole 40+ hour process… haha!).
But the biggest upgrade (and portion of the cost) was my 12 JOULE* cyclops AC* charger.
Major credits to ValleyFarmSupply.com for having the BEST selection of electric fence chargers. They carry every brand from cyclops to speedrite to gallagher, so whatever your preference they are your one stop shop!!!
*Joules refers to the power output of an electric fence charger. The more joules output, the more shock it will give to any animal that disrespects it’s boundaries.
*AC means the charger is powered by a plugging in to a wall outlet.
My Old fence charger vs. my New fence charger:
Last spring I upgraded from the charger I found in my parents garage to a 1.2 Joule Speedrite charger attached to a 12V battery. This was a much needed step up from the .25 Joule solar charger, but still didn’t quite pack the punch I needed for long term. I would routinely find my battery had drained, the charge weakened, and the sheep escaped.
You guys might look at the $530 pricetag on the 12 Joule charger and say, “never!!”. But #1 (if you are going to use polytape over netting) sheep need this kind of power, and #2: the price of the 12 V battery ($100), the speedrite charger ($224), and the automotive battery charger ($350, which was not an expense for me since my dad let me use his) is about $674 total.
If you are working on 10-20 acres and don’t plan to grow, you could easily get away with the Cyclops 5 joule unit for $246.
Once it is installed the Cyclops charger is 10x more powerful and 10x less work on a daily basis. This 12 Joule charger system will service 30-50 acres, giving me room to grow (I’m still praying for access to that 15 acres next door).
Solar vs. AC Fence Chargers
The advantage of solar (or 12V battery powered) electric fence charger is portability. These chargers allow you to power a paddock with almost zero infrastructure in place. You can move the charger unit from paddock to paddock and plug it straight into the poly wire, tape, or netting. This means you can bypass the time it takes to install that infrastructure and begin grazing immediately… which is what I did for 2 years.
The advantage of an AC electric fence charger, is lower cost, durability, and reliability of shock once it is properly installed and connected to a perimeter wire. A 12 Joule solar charger costs $1400 and my 12 Joule AC charger is priced at $530. As long as you maintain the fuses, an AC charger will last for decades, whereas the panel on solar units have a shorter lifespan. A properly installed AC unit powers fence all day every day, whereas solar chargers may lose their juice on a cloudy day.
This $1942 also included the following Rotational Grazing Supplies:
My Upgraded Watering System:
Primary Upgrades:
My new watering system is simple but effective and cost $572 . For my small acreage watering system I used three 500′ lengths of polyethylene tubing with plastic hose fittings on one end and Plasson quick couplers on the other. I attached these 500′ lengths to existing hose access points at farm HQ. I have 3 cross fenced pastures and these 500′ hoses reached, roughly, to the middle of each of each pasture. My daily rotational grazing paddocks are setup in a pie configuration. With my water at the middle, each paddock has water access without me moving the trough once! The 100 gallon trough has a Jobe float connected to for auto refilling.
But what did I mean by $225K return?
The cost of land in East Texas is going through the roof. That 15 acres I had hoped to gain grazing rights to has a market value of $225-300K in 2022. By investing $2400, 45 hours and subsequent intensive grazing management, I am setting my 23 acres up for an additional 15 acres (or $225K) worth of productivity.
And THAT is it! I have been grazing with these upgrades for a few weeks now and it is amazing the difference it is making. I am able to perform the daily moves between dinner and dark, moving all 75 animals within 30-45 minutes with no heavy lifting. I can quickly plug in to 12 joules and fill a 100 gallon trough from a hose… no matter where I’m at on the farm!! It feels like a dream and was so worth the nearly crippling exhaustion that was 40+ hours of brush clearing and fence installation… haha!
Still in Test Mode:
Will this work? I plan to keep you updated with the ongoing answer. If all goes well, I plan to give this project with a monthly grazing update here on the channel. The first update is in the works and will cover March and April and the challenges brought on by a winter drought… Ironically, it was an extreme drought that hit my county right after I had committed to doubling my animal units via grazing this cow herd. There were some adjustments I had to make going into spring grazing in light of the drought and I look forward to sharing them with you.
In all, this experiment goes deeper. If you watched this previous video (link), you will know that my primary enterprise is Dorper sheep… they are the money maker in my farm business plan. In order to get my micro ranching operation to significant income levels, I need to raise 80-100 purebred Dorper breeding ewes. 80-100 breeding ewes is a 12-15 beef cow equivalent. This experiment will give me an idea of whether or not the carrying capacity of my 23 acres will support my business goals.
The Cattle in my grazing program were undertaken in a custom grazing arrangement. I will be retaining the herd through at least September to put some of the practices in this book, “Quality Pasture” in place. Things like sowing winter pasture and keeping grass vegetative over summer. This herd accounts for 7 of the 15 animal units in my grazing system. If at any time I see this project is not doing good things for my land base, they will be destocked and my primary focus (sheep) remains unaffected.
I hope this information helps!
-the Shepherdess
“For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not sit down first and count the cost, whether he has enough to finish it?” Luke 14:28
by Harmony Shepherdess on 1 Comment
Despite the term “sovereign nation” the United States, and nearly every other nation on the globe, has become a puppet on the strings of a global economy. The true power belongs to the producers, the exporters, and their allies. Today we are going to evaluate Russia’s foothold in the global food supply chain, what it will mean for Americans, and how we can insulate ourselves from the impending shock wave.
Russia and it’s close partners are responsible for 51.2% of global rice production, 40.6% of global wheat production, and 25.7% of global corn production. In addition to these figures, Russia is the largest global exporter of both fuel and fertilizer, two elements essential to global industrial food production.
When I cite “Russia’s close partners” I am referring the Belarus, China, and India. We cannot evaluate Russia’s position in the global food supply chain without considering the extremely close ties between these 4 countries. Though small, Belarus is joined to Russia in the “Union State” and together they supply 40% of Potash fertilizer supply worldwide. While there is no formal alliance between China and Russia, these two countries “currently enjoy the best relations they have had since the late 1950s… they have an informal agreement to coordinate diplomatic and economic moves, and build up an alliance against the United States.” (wikipedia). As for India, it cites a position of neutrality between Russia and the West, however India draws heavily on Russia for it’s arms and fuel supply, and just 3 days ago hosted the Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov .
(insert aljazeer clip)
Rice, wheat, and corn are the three primary global food crops. Russia, India, and China produce 40.6% of the global wheat supply. In fact, when Russia began it’s bombardment of the Ukraine, the price of wheat hit historic highs and, for a short time, a wheat based ETF (Teacrium) ran out of shares to sell. (Business Insider) According to an article by Business Insider: “Combined, Russia and Ukraine are responsible for more than 20% of the world’s wheat production.” China and India produce an additional 31%, meaning that half of the world supply of wheat is hanging in the balance as war rages in the Ukraine.
China and India are responsible for 50% of global rice supply. While Russia does not produce significant amounts of rice within it’s own borders, it’s relations with India and China make Russian access to the commodity far more secure than that of the Western world.
When it comes to Corn, China produces 22% of global supply. While a minimal amount of corn is harvested within Russian borders, this is where we pivot to Russia’s control of fertilizer supply.
Crops (whether wheat, corn, or rice) will not grow without a sufficient amount of the fertilizers nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium (otherwise known as potash). According to fastcompany.com: “Russia’s biggest exports are oil and gas. But the country is also the largest global exporter of fertilizer” The Union State (which I previously mentioned is Russia and Belarus) is the worlds largest producer-exporter of potash. In fact, their production accounts for 40% of global supply.
According to an article on Bloomberg.com: “Replacing [the Potash supplied by Russia and Belarus] would take nearly half a decade at the very best, and in some cases prove nearly impossible as Russia is a large source of mineral deposits found in few other global locations,” Maxwell said.”
While I advocate for organic over chemical fertilizer, our reliance on chemical nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium is severe. Completely removing this chemical fertilization from our food system would trigger a worldwide famine.
Touching fertilizers very briefly: Nitrogen, Phosphorus, and Potassium are essential to producing the crops we rely on for food. Chemical version of these elements artificially stimulate natural processes, producing plant growth while depleting the soil of minerals and organic matter. Using chemical fertilizer is like spending money on a credit card. You can get a lot with it, but eventually have to pay for it. Our soil is going deeper into debt every year. Like paying off a debt, the process of restoring true soil health will take years, if not decades.
The bottom line here is that chemical inputs remain a necessary evil to maintain status quo in the global food supply chain.
But to transition into a third global foothold, Russia is the world’s largest exporter of natural gas. Russia exports an equivalent of 53 million gallons per year. The US falls second at roughly 40 million gallons per year. In modern agriculture, fuel is as essential to farming as fertilizer. Without it the machinery that drives industrial agriculture (tractors, combines, etc) become obsolete. Additionally, “Russia accounts for about 40 percent of the European Unions entire gas consumption.” (aljazeera). Unlike the US, many of these EU countries do not have the capacity to replace Russian fuel supply with their own natural gas.
In an article from CNBC German Finance Minister Christian Lindner stated:
“While some nations are supportive of banning Russian energy, other EU countries argue that they are too dependent on Russian energy and they would hurt their own economies more than Russia’s. We have to put more pressure on Putin and we have to isolate Russia — we have to cut all economic relationships to Russia, but at the moment it is not possible to cut the gas supplies,”
What does international volatility mean for the American consumer? Simply: food prices will continue to go up. If the US or the EU takes any significant measures against Russia (which, given the aforementioned, would be more risky than either are willing to do), we could see unbelievable food inflation over the next two years. (cite corn and wheat elevation in recent weeks) Speaking from a personal perspective I do not believe a rate of 20-30% would be out of the question.
But what are our actionable steps? What are the things you and I can do to insulate ourselves from this impending shockwave? Food is going to become very expensive for Americans, and severely limited in many developing nations. Before Russia’s action in the Ukraine, there were several global and systemic factors pushing us toward this situation… and now we are facing a potential fast-track.
As individuals, we need to facilitate an inversion. Today we have a shrinking number of farmers producing food on a massive scale. We need a massive amount of farmers producing food on a small scale. Organic alternatives to chemical fertilizer (💩) work famously on a grass based protein production model. In other words, cow, sheep, goat, and chicken manure are phenomenal organic sources of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium. On a rotational grazing system these animals can rapidly restore soil fertility while providing cheeseburgers, lamb chops, and chicken nuggets for the small farmer and his customers.
The comment invariably comes through “Well, that kind of agriculture can’t feed the world!” And my answer is: We aren’t responsible for feeding the world. We are responsible for feeding ourselves, our families and our neighbors. If everyone took that responsibility seriously, we may not need to worry about how to feed the world, it may well feed itself.
If you have no idea what I am talking about, I want to invite you to #1 watch the other 100 videos on my channel that discuss regenerative meat production and #2 buy this book at shopshepherdess.com, it will show you how to take a piece of land produce food using nothing but the grass growing on it.
-the Shepherdess
Further reads and citations:
https://www.cnbc.com/2022/04/04/eus-new-russia-sanctions-steel-luxury-goods-jet-fuel-and-more.html
https://www.agriculture.com/news/business/its-costing-more-to-farm-usda-study-shows
https://video.foxbusiness.com/v/6301747266001#sp=show-clips
https://www.dalinternationalreview.com/2021/03/countries-that-love-indonesia.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/China%E2%80%93Russia_relations
by Harmony Shepherdess on Leave a Comment
I’m in charge of ordering for my co-op this month and farm & ranch feed prices are SKYROCKETING. This video covers how to reduce $$ feed inputs for grazing animals such and beef cattle and sheep.
BUY THE BOOK “Quality Pasture”: https://bit.ly/QualityPasture
VIDEO ON FERTILIZER SHORTAGE: https://youtu.be/LvkDANT0w1k
Joel Salatin interview: https://youtu.be/iCDuCO9Etio
In this video I talk about skyrocketing farm feed inputs and how to reduce them. There is a lot of opportunity to reduce cost with grazing management on your farm and ranch. This video addresses an experience I had buying for my co-op and how the prices went up 5-12% overnight! This video talks about which farm animals require more feed (pigs and chickens) and which farm animals can be run with minimal inputs. Here in upper east Texas, I graze Dorper sheep and Beef cattle on pasture with little or no inputs. I hope this video on ranching and farming feed costs helps you to determine what you CAN do rather than stressing over what you CANNOT do.
-the Shepherdess
In this Video:
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“Buy me a Coffee” to Support my Channel: https://bit.ly/ShphrdssCOFFEE
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SHOP MY MERCH: http://bit.ly/ShepherdessMERCH
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About this Channel: This channel chronicles my journey as a sheep farmer from the very beginning. My primary occupation is in business management. In 2020, I discovered the principles of regenerative agriculture and embarked on a journey with the end goal of building a profitable small farm on 23 acres by 2027. Thank you for joining the journey!
by Harmony Shepherdess on 5 Comments
This post explains why goat and sheep prices are skyrocketing in 2022!
FREE 1 Hour Goat vs Sheep Farming Podcast: https://bit.ly/GoatsvSheep
FREE Sheep Farming E-book: https://bit.ly/SheepEBOOK
The small ruminant market has exploded in the United States. Since 2017 the market value of sheep is up 77% and goats 60%. As of February 22, 2022 premium goat kids are bringing $4.22 per pound on the hoof, while premium lambs are bringing $3.73 per pound.
With those prices side by side, the question might arise: are goats more profitable than sheep? In this post I will evaluate market prices from the past 5 years (with graphs), I will discuss management factors that may or may not make goats a more difficult animal for you to raise, and finally I will address the important question: is this massive uptick in small-ruminant pricing a bubble waiting to burst?
While I raise exclusively sheep at this moment, I called in my friend Karl Ebel who has 20 years of experience raising meat-goats. If you click on the link below I will send you a 1 hour podcast we did together discussing the ins-and-outs of sheep vs. goats!
First off, let’s take a look at sheep pricing from October 2017 to present. The chart below shows the rise in sheep prices (red) and goat prices (blue) over the past 5 years.
I am using USDA market reports from San Angelo, Texas, the largest sheep and goat sale in the nation. The prices I am getting ready to reference are price per pound for a living animal. The category I had pulled data from is for average-quality kids and lambs. Slaughter Lambs choice 1-2 and slaughter kids Selection 1-2.
I advocate for private sale over sale barns. However, unless you are buying purebred, registered, or highly specialized breeding stock, conventional market prices will dictate the prices on your farm.
In October 2017 an average quality lamb 70lb was bringing $1.66 per pound. A goat kid in the same weight and quality category was bringing $2.26 per pound. This means a 70 pound lamb or kid would sell for $116.20 and $158.20 respectively. On February 22, 2022 that same lamb and kid sold for $206.50 (2.95/lb) and $253.40 ($3.62/lb), an increase of 77% for lambs and 60% for kids. To reinstate, these are average-quality lambs and kids; not premium, choice, or purebred stock.
While goat and sheep pricing is steadily coming to a convergence, goat-kids still bring 22% more at market. Does this mean that goats are more profitable than sheep?
The answer depends on your climate and resource base. Sheep and goats are pretty similar when it comes to infrastructural needs and handling requirements, but there are a few differences that need to be addressed.
Goats are less resistant to parasites than sheep, metabolizing conventional dewormers at a rate 2 times faster than sheep. The Clemson University dewormer chart for sheep and goats cites a dewormer dosage level for goats that is almost double that of sheep. Goats prefer a diet of 80% brush and 20% pasture. Sheep prefer 50% brush and 50% pasture.
Here is a table that cites further differences between sheep and goats:
Sheep: | Goats: |
$2.95/lb USDA Market Value (Feb 2022) | $3.62/lb USDA Market Value (Feb 2022) |
Low to Moderate Parasite Resistance. | Very Low Parasite Resistance. |
Diet of 50/50 grass to brush. | Diet of 80/20 grass to brush. |
Too much copper is poisonous. | Require significant amounts of copper to survive. |
Faster growth rate. (eg: 70 lbs by 4 mos) | Slower growth rate. (eg: 70 lbs by 7 mos) |
Containment: difficult. | Containment: very difficult. |
The bottom line of this comparison is that if you are in a dry (28″ of rain or less), brushy climate goats will indeed be more profitable than sheep. However, if you live in the grassy, high rainfall area the 22% increase that goats bring will likely be eaten up by increased labor in parasite management.
If you want an even more in-depth species comparison check out Rolling O Farms channel. He raises sheep and goats side by side. Just be sure to tell him I sent you!
Will sheep and goat prices stay strong?
Now comes the question: is the small ruminant market going to hold strong? While we may hit a small dip in pricing I believe the market for sheep and goats will remain strong. Here are 5 reasons why:
First: Sheep and goats are among the only unregulated (whether social or political) agricultural commodities in the USA. Beef prices are manipulated by packers and politics. Grain prices are suppressed by subsidies. Sheep and goats being purchased in today’s market head straight to the plate via private processing or demand from ethnic communities.
Second: I believe the rise in sheep and goat prices directly reflects inflation. As the dollar weakens, sheep and goats will become more valuable. Because sheep and goats are largely unreglutated and unsubsidized (feed-stuffs excepted), their value reflects inflation in a way that regulated and subsidized commodities do not. I believe that the price the US is seeing with sheep and goats is directly reflective of a weakening dollar. When the dollar weakens, things of true value cost more (unless regulations and subsidies are in place to suppress the true price).
Third: with much of the USA drying up these days, sheep and goats are an ideal drought plan. They thrive in dry, arid climates consume less water, and have a feed conversion that is double that of larger cattle. This means that when rain stops falling, sheep and goats can float a ranching operation while their large cattle counterpart will have to be destocked.
Fourth is a point stated by Karl Ebel: ethnic demand for sheep and goats is growing in the USA. Sheep and goat meat are a staples in various ethnic communities like beef is for the American. As the ethnic demographic continue to enlarge in the USA, so will demand for sheep and goats.
Fifth: small ruminants are hard to raise. Some may tell you otherwise, but the consistent feedback from veteran ranchers is that sheep and goats require a much higher level of management than large cattle. For this reason, competition is scarce and established producers (or people willing to commit to the highs and lows of launching a sheep and goat operation) have a major advantage.
Supply in demand:
Supply in demand is also a huge factor in the explosive prices sheep and goats are bringing today. This chart from SheepUSA shows the decline in sheep production in the USA. Much of this decline was spurred by the discontinuation of wool subsidies in 1995. Without these subsidies, income from wool sheep was drastically cut. The expense of shearing and the near-worthless nature of wool (in conventional markets) make wool sheep more of a liability than an asset for most operations.
However, as ranches destocked their wooly backs, hair sheep began to take the stage. With exceptional carcass yields and no shearing expense, hair sheep became a profitable replacement to their wooly counterparts. (http://www.sheep101.info/201/hairsheep.html) In fact, in 2019 a major shift was cited when for the first time over 50% of sheep receipts at market were consistently hair-breed sheep.
With so many factors driving the price of small ruminants upward I’d say it’s a good day to be a shepherd!
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100% Grass Fed Beef vs. Grain Fed Beef:
Grass Fed Beef contains:
(Allan Nation, Grass Fed to Finish, p. 88)
In this article I am going to outline the benefits that come with eating beef, regardless of grass fed or grain fed. I will explain the science behind the nutritional superiority of organic,100% Grass Fed beef over grain fed beef. Finally, I will dispel the myth that grain is bad for cattle, revealing the true villain in the grain-crop arena and HOW Grassfed beef can be just as bad as grain-fed when it comes to this villian.
This info is in the context of beef, but a majority of the information transcends species will apply to grass fed lamb as well.
Benefits of Eating Beef (and meat in general):
First, let’s discuss the benefits of eating beef, whether grass fed or grain fed. Meat in general is one of the richest sources of complete-protein on planet earth. Every cell in the human body relies on an adequate intake of protein in order to heal, survive, and thrive. An article from healthline.com states that the consumption of beef helps build muscle mass, prevent anemia, and provide you with high levels of:
HOW GRASS FED BEEF IS BETTER THAN GRAIN FED BEEF:
Beef is a good food, but organic, 100% grass fed beef is a superfood. Organic, 100% grass fed beef is a nutritional tool that can equip your body to fight the effects of aging, cancer, diabetes, and heart disease. The scientific research I am getting ready to quote is from Chapter 6 of Allan Nation’s “Grassfed to Finish, a Production Guide to Gourmet Grassfed Beef”. I’d love it if you would use the link below to bypass Amazon and buy the book at ShopShepherdess.com.
In establishing 100% Grass Fed beef as a superfood, we must hone in on Conjugated Linoleic Acid (abbreviated CLA). CLA is an anti-carcinogenic, meaning it is a cancer-fighter. Dr. Tilak Dhiman of the Utah State University states: “CLA is the only [animal-based] compound that has shown in research trials all over the world to reduce cancer risk.” (p.93) Meat from 100% Grass Fed beef has 500% more CLA than grain fed beef.
In studies done on the benefits of Conjugated Linoleic Acid:
In addition to being 500% higher in CLA than grain fed beef, Grass Fed beef contains:
One of the characteristics of Grass Fed beef vs grain fed beef is yellow fat. “The rich yellow fat in grass fed meat is reflective of a high beta carotene content which the human body is able to metabolize as Vitamin A: a major antioxidant.” (p. 84)
The vitamins and omegas mentioned above are major anti-aging properties, reducing oxidation in the body. What’s more is that Omega 3 contributes to brain fat and in a case study cited by Jo Robinson, author of The Omega Diet “children who were fed high Omega-3 diets had an IQ nine-points higher than the average american child” (p.91)
THE MYTH: GRAIN IS BAD FOR CATTLE
The concept that grain is bad for cattle is a myth. Grain in itself is not bad for cattle. Those who would argue that grazing animals do not benefit from grain consumption are ignoring the reality that herbivores of old would have regularly encountered and grazed wild grain. Additionally, many high-performance pasture grasses planted for beef cattle (rye, wheat, oat, etc) are part of the grain family. While it has been proven that meat from grain-supplemented cattle does not have the CLA content that 100% Grass Fed meat does, organic grain as part of a well rounded, pasture-based program is not a harmful thing.
Glyphosate, not grain is the culprit.
It is glyphosate, not grain that should be our concern as conscious consumers. Glyphosate can be found in both Grassfed and grain fed meat.
According to usrtk.org “Glyphosate, [is] a synthetic herbicide patented in 1974 by the Monsanto Company. Glyphosate is best known as the active ingredient in Roundup-branded herbicides”. According to EPA.gov in the USA “About 280 million pounds of glyphosate are applied…. annually” with 84% saturating soybean, corn, and cotton crops. Corn and soy are among the primary feedstuff provided to conventionally-finished beef in the USA.
Research done by the Pesticide Action Network found that Glyphosate contributes to cancer, hormonal disruption, DNA damage, birth defects, and neurological disorders (https://drdeeblanco.com/what-pet-parents-really-need-to-know-about-glyphosate/). Jo Robinson, author of The Omega Diet states “One, if it’s in their feed, it’s in our food. Two, if it’s in our food, it’s affecting our health. The new paradigm is we are what our animals eat” (p. 91)
An evaluation of the following graphs proves very thought provoking. The first is a graph showing the escalation of glyphosate usage since its introduction in 1974. The second is a chart from cancer.gov showing the rise in the prevalence of cancer in the USA, since 1975.
Unfortunately, because pasture and hay fields are one on the “top 4 list” for glyphosate application, grass fed beef can be just as great a risk for glyphosate exposure as grain fed beef. As a consumer seeking out grass fed meat for maximum health benefits, it is important to know your farmer and his practices. I advise visiting eatwild.com to find your nearest grass-based farmer.
How to Avoid Glyphosate Exposure:
While it is nearly impossible to avoid glyphosate exposure, there are 2 practical ways to reduce and fight it’s effects. #1. Transition to organic fruits and vegetables first. Fruits and veggies test the highest when it comes to Glyphosate residual. Buy organic 100% grass fed meats. These meats will have the best chance at freedom from glyphosate residuals. These meats will also be full of antioxidants and anticarcinogens which will contribute to your body’s ability to detoxify existing Glyphosate stores.
As organic grass farmers, glyphosates can make their way onto your farm via hay and non-organic feed supplement. Cutting hay from your own land or grazing your own stockpiled pasture overwinter is a means of avoiding glyphosate exposure via inputs.
The bottom line is: be aware, and do what you can. You can’t fix everything in one day, but there are things you can do today. Do not be stifled by what you cannot do, be motivated by what you can do!
-the Shepherdess
“Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.” Romans 12:21
References, citations, and further reads:
https://drdeeblanco.com/what-pet-parents-really-need-to-know-about-glyphosate/
cancer.gov
https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/foods/beef#vitamins-and-minerals
https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.jafc.9b07819
http://npic.orst.edu/factsheets/archive/glyphotech.html
https://www.epa.gov/sites/default/files/2019-04/documents/glyphosate-response-comments-usage-benefits-final.pdf
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Sulphur Springs, TX, 75482, USA