Beefing Up the Investments

This spring, I heard and have shared, that I am to prepare practically.  That meant the hobby farm herd needed to be upgraded to actual productivity.  Now that the grandkids have outgrown me, and their pygmy goats were aging and not mothering so well, it was time to reassess the whole situation.  Since they rarely visit anymore, and when they do, have no interest in the critters, it seems much more economically advantageous to stop spending money on feed and when I sell next year's kids, just put some money in their accounts.

That led to more figuring.  I figured the cost of raising my grass fed beef, which led to the discovery that the price of a milk goat is about the same as a couple of bags of milk replacer.  I love figuring stock investment on real stock and real investment.  Even if I don't process the beef myself, but pay the local locker plant to do the deed, and figure the price of a milk goat in each calf, my grass fed beef will be less than $2.00 a pound, and Abba willing, there will be kids to sell and more milk next spring.  A healthy milk goat will provide milk for about 8 years, plus produce offspring for herd expansion annually.  

I'm not counting my chickens before they hatch, but I'll give some figures, since I've been at this awhile.  The average milk goat, in milk, runs between $100 and $200 dollars.  There are cheaper ones, but they're usually old and there are much more expensive ones, but that's usually for the registered ones, and that doesn't make the milk taste any better.  Although I'm giving a single example, I keep a herd of about a dozen and generally milk about half of them at a time.  So, taking the average, a $150 milk goat will produce enough milk to raise a bottle calf and her own kid.  I don't buy any milk at the store, make my own cheese, as well as provide goat's milk for my soap company.  Now in a milk goat's lifetime, she will also produce about a dozen kids, maybe more, which are either sold or kept to replenish the herd.  Selling one set of twins usually pays for the price of mama and there are still seven more years of kids, milk, and bottle calves . . . not to mention goats make wonderful pets.  I can get 3 goats for the price of a puppy from the pet store or some breeders!   

This is the kind of stock I can appreciate.  There is minimal volatility and some fluctuation, but it's primarily seasonal variables, so it doesn't come as a shock!   When the economy began to crumble in 2007, very little of my personal investments were affected.  Since beef prices are so high, I decided to hang all the new goat investment on the cost of raising my own beef, and it's still coming in much cheaper than buying beef at the super market.  The new members of the herd are really cheap pets, too.