Adopt a Sheep

After doing some searching around we have decided to see if folks would want to adopt a sheep this year. We are at 17 on the farm, with two that are under contract for sale. That will leave us with 15 heading into winter and almost half way to our goal for flock size.

At some point, farming must bring income in, unless there is an endless pot of money, or you have a rich uncle that loves you. We have grown to the point where the cost is higher then a hobby should be for our income and the time for management requires more then a bit in the morning and a bit at night. To be able to continue farming we need to sell around 10-15 sheep a year and to be able to have a large enough wool clip to make a marketable yarn. 100 pounds of greasy wool will yield around 50 to 60 pounds of yarn, depending on the loss at the mill.

We found out today that the cost of hay will most likely double this next year due to the increase of diesel fuel over the past year. This past year we paid about 4.10 a bale. You can feed 6 sheep on a bale a day. Hay is fed out from October to May. We fed out some where around 480 bales. ( just shy of 2K) Then there is grain and corn. Vet bills, this, thats and what nots. The cost of keep a sheep ran about 500.00 per head. The cost actually goes down per head with the larger the flock is. Bulk is always better, but you can’t get so much that it rots before you can use it.

So we were faced with a decision of cutting right back to a manageable 3 and selling off the flock, or finding a creative way to keep afloat until our numbers are up to an operating point that works. Getting a farm loan is a no win situation that we will not due.

I have been reading up on the adopt a sheep programs that some farms have, and we are going to give it a whirl. The details are on the website, which still needs some work. Right now only one sheep is listed. I hope to get the rest of photos up by the time I leave for Washington on Wednesday.

Fingers crossed, lets see if this works.