This chapter contains a collection of case studies from real people about their actual stories and experience with small-scale farming using a variety of livestock. Enjoy!
Case Study: A Farm Full of Chickens
Annette and Kathleen Fernholz
Earthrise Farm
Madison, Minnesota
www.earthrisefarmfoundation.org
Earthrise Farm is a family farm located outside of Madison, Minnesota. Sisters Annette and Kathleen (Kay) Fernholz moved back to Madison 14 years ago to run their parents’ farm after decades of being away. They served for 40 years with the Sisters of Notre Dame convent as educators. They still take their calling in education seriously, and their farm is a haven of learning for interns and community members who want to have a basic understanding of where their food comes from.
The Fernholz sisters decided to raise chickens as their mother had a real devotion to caring for her birds. They keep around 150 Bovan Goldline hens and follow organic standards to produce a high-quality egg, rich in omega-3 fatty acid. Their chickens run free around the homestead and eat organically raised feeds, such as buckwheat, barley, and flax that help boost the omega-3 in the eggs. They also have four acres of garden to provide the local community with fair cost of production produce through a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program. The rest of the 240-acre farm is farmed organically by three of their brothers.
They caution beginning farmers to keep meticulous records in order to track costs of production versus the price of eggs. Feed costs can quickly exceed the price of eggs. The Fernholz’s also suggest that a chicken producer should make certain they enjoy working with chickens, as there will most likely be some years where the egg enterprise may not breakeven with cost of production. Starting with a small number of birds will go a long way to helping understand the bird and to help a beginning farmer develop a market. One way to help with markets is to join with other egg producers in the area to set a minimum price for the eggs so no one person can undercut the other.
Earthrise Farm is a busy place with chickens scratching around the grounds and workers busy with the chicken chores. The most time-consuming chores on Earthrise Farm are: collecting, cleaning, candling, and packaging the eggs, cleaning the hen houses, and distribution of eggs to CSA members and local grocery stores. They recommend a beginning organic-egg farmer have an insulated barn that is heated to 55°F in the winter to ensure egg production stays steady. Securing an affordable and nearby source of organic grain is also a necessity to the organic egg producer.
At Earthrise Farm, the Fernholz sisters are accomplishing their mission of providing the local community with nutritious, fairly priced food along with community education.
Case Study: Why Waterfowl?
Suzanne Peterson
Azariah Acres Farm
Foley, Minnesota
Suzanne Peterson raises geese and ducks on her farm, Azariah Acres, near Foley, Minnesota. Peterson grew up on a hobby farm, where she learned that she really enjoyed caring for animals. Her love of animal husbandry led her to start farming for the joy of seeing animals grow.
Her first foray into farm birds was with chickens, but she found the market for small, farm-raised chickens very competitive. In 2008, she had the opportunity to raise geese and ducks. She found a market for these two species and that they are easier to raise than chickens. Peterson markets her birds as already-butchered birds at a local farmers’ market.
Although Peterson feels ducks and geese are easier to keep than chickens, there are still many chores associated with waterfowl. She spends about an hour a day caring for her 15 geese and 80 ducks, including feeding, cleaning pens and waterers, thawing waterers in the winter, and clipping their wings to keep them contained. Recordkeeping is also an important chore. Peterson keeps records on when babies are hatched, how much feed the birds consume, each bird’s weight at the butcher, and any disease or malformation issues.
Good fences are also a must, as predators — such as dogs and coyotes — can decimate a flock. Cats, possums, owls, and hawks can also snatch young ducks and geese. Finding a sick or injured bird is the worst part of raising geese. However, she rarely has disease problems with her birds, as she gives them ample access to water year-round and provides them plenty of pasture and pen space — the most important part of keeping disease out of a flock.
“The best aspect to raising ducks and geese is their intelligence and hardiness,” Peterson said. “They are really interesting and beautiful animals.” She feels raising geese and ducks could be a good family project if the birds are handled a lot. If not, she feels a child under 10 should not be around geese, because they are very strong and can be aggressive. However, if the animals are handled a lot, even a young child could help with the ducks and geese. Peterson suggests a beginner waterfowl farmer start with two to four geese or 20 ducks to get a good idea of the care needed for these birds.
Case Study: Game (Bird) Time
Jim Meyer
Oakwood Game Farm Inc.
PO Box 274
Princeton, Minnesota
800-328-6647
Jim Meyer is the owner and founder of Oakwood Game Farm Inc., a large commercial Ring-necked pheasant and Chukar partridge raising facility located in east-central Minnesota. Founded in 1967, they currently hatch and ship thousands of day-old chicks and adults to customers across the country.
Meyer started his game farm with 50 day-old pheasant chicks. His business has grown to the point that Oakwood now raises 125,000 pheasants and 20,000 partridges on two farms. Oakwood Game Farm employs 20 people, and a few people are working around the clock, seven days a week, to care for the birds. They also market 400,000 chicks annually. Pheasants are raised for both release and eating, and are also sold at their retail store.
Meyer advises anyone interested in entering the game bird market to do their research prior to investing in game birds: A solid market for the birds should be identified. Raising game birds is very labor-intensive at all points in the process. Some major pitfalls to raising pheasants in particular are underestimating the amount of space needed to raise a quality bird, not having the correct cover on the flight pens, controlling predators, and preventing cannibalism.
Meyer keeps extensive records on all aspects of his business. This includes the number of eggs produced each day, number of eggs set, and number of chicks hatched. Other records include the number of chicks kept on the farms, death rates, feed consumption, medication usage, vaccinations, and blood test results. Records are also kept regarding customer orders, employees, advertising, budgeting, and finances.
“Raising pheasants is not for the weak of heart,” Meyer said. “The birds retain much of their wildness, and this is a plus; however, it also can be a negative. Unlike chickens, when pheasants get loose — and they will — they fly away. That is like watching all of the hard work, cost, and potential profit fly into the sunset. Predators can — and they will — get into outside pens and kill many, many birds in a single night, and will return again and again. Ice and heavy wet snows will stick to your pen tops and collapse the entire structure, and give freedom to your birds or kill them. Having said all of that, the joy of raising a chick into a full-grown, beautiful rooster pheasant successfully, and then being able to sell it (and make some money) is quite a feat and gives a feeling of pride and satisfaction.”
Case Study: Those Silly Rabbits
Scott Marshall
Marshall Farms
9212 Neal Avenue South
Hastings, Minnesota
Scott Marshall started raising rabbits at a young age. His parents were hog and grain farmers, and he received four or five pet rabbits when he was about 10. Now, he raises about 150 rabbits, and it is definitely a family project. His 5-year-old daughter, Rebecca, helps care for the rabbits with supervision. Marshall definitely thinks rabbits are a good
family project. It helps children learn a lot of life lessons: how to care for animals; how to follow the rules; and the fact that animals die.
Marshall recommends that a person interested in raising rabbits does the homework first. Think about the worst part of the year — typically winter. A rabbit grower needs to be out there every day, in all kinds of weather, to feed and water the rabbits twice a day. Another useful piece of advice is to find a market and local processer if you do not want to process them yourself early in the process.
Marshall spends five hours a day on the weekdays, and four to eight hours a day on weekends caring for his rabbits. Much of his time is spent on his three tasks: cleaning the barn and cages, butchering and packaging rabbit meat, and feeding and watering the rabbits. Cold winter weather makes his work more difficult when he has to thaw out water cups and tackle frozen manure. Predators can be a real problem as well: Stray dogs, raccoons, possums, cats, and coyotes can kill adult rabbits. Rats can kill young bunnies. Bees and wasp stings can also kill a rabbit. Marshall counters these dangers by having a barn with a strong door and a lock.
As for health problems, Marshall has some great advice for the beginning farmer: “Clean, clean, clean, and protect,” he said. “What I mean is clean water, clean feed, clean housing and nests boxes, and protect from weather and predators. That will take care of most of the health issues. In my 30 years raising rabbits, I have been lucky not to have had any major issues.”
Marshall also had to deal with sore feet, colds, and ear mites, “That was my fault for bringing in new stock and not quarantining them,” he said. “Quarantining new stock is very important. Also, don’t be a petting zoo. Sick people can make sick rabbits. It also stresses the rabbits. And that weed a kid pulls to feed the bunny could be poisonous.”
The Marshalls take great satisfaction in knowing they provide their family and customers with healthy, quality meat, and they enjoy raising rabbits. Marshall is optimistic about the future market for rabbits. He loves the renewed interest in eating locally. “It’s back to the basics — the way our grandparents and their parents ate,” he said.
Case Study: Down on the Goat Farm
Jason and Karlia Dahl
605-880-1354
Strandburg, South Dakota
Jason and Karlia Dahl’s Boer goat farm on the South Dakota prairie is an ideal place to raise goats — and kids. They and their children have a farm well off the beaten path on a maze of gravel roads crisscrossing the gently rolling grassy plains. The Dahls decided to raise goats to help control the weeds on their new homestead, which has been allowed to revert back to nature after the former owners moved out.
They did their research and decided to purchase four goats — three does and a buck started their herd, which now numbers more than 70 of the brown and white Boer meat goats. They suggest that anyone interested in small-scale meat goat farming do their homework first, paying special attention to how to keep your goats healthy. The best advice they have is to talk to others in the business prior to purchasing any goats.
Raising goats is definitely a family project. The kids pitch in to help with the chores, as cleaning pens, trimming hooves, and vaccinations are big projects. Kidding season is the most time-consuming chore. Starting in late spring, they check the goats every two hours, day and night, to catch any does that might be having trouble giving birth. Their hard work pays off during the grazing season when they watch the young goats frolic on the grassy hills, which is the best part of goat farming in their opinion.
They have invested quite a bit of money and time into their goat operation. Fences are the biggest project. They need to be goat-proof, as goats are masters at escaping from even the best-planned fence. The Dahls use two strands of smooth, electric wire in the pasture, and in the barnyard, they use woven wire topped with barbed wire to keep escapes to a minimum. Housing needs for the goats are met using the existing buildings on the farm. The biggest need for housing is for small pens for the does when kidding; otherwise, the goats spend most of their time outside.
The Dahls market their goats both directly off the farm and through a sales barn. They sell both breeding goats and goats for meat. The children show goats at the county Achievement Days, and they hope to expand to other shows as well. The market for meat goats is fairly steady and is expected to grow somewhat in the future. In the meanwhile, the Dahls keep busy with their playful goats and take time to enjoy them each day.
Case Study: Not a Single Black Sheep
Ingrid Bey and Dave Plunkett
Belle Acres
10960 W. 260th St.
Belle Plaine, Minnesota
Dave Plunkett and Ingrid Bey raise between 14 to 22 ewes on their 10 acres near Belle Plaine, Minnesota. Bey, a veterinarian, joked that they needed lawn mowers for their pastures, and sheep fit the bill. They also enjoy the fact that sheep are fairly docile animals and are relatively easy to handle. A friend of theirs raised sheep, so they were able to ask questions and observe how much work is involved in raising sheep. They started sheep farming by purchasing three ewes, each of which had twin lambs. Four of the lambs were female, so they kept those four and grew their flock. They rented a ram for the first few years before they purchased a ram of their own.
They highly recommend finding a good sheep producer to act as a mentor before deciding to raise sheep. Sheep are living animals that require care and cannot be treated like machines. Starting with a small flock and learning how to care for and keep sheep are a few recommendations prior to getting a large number of sheep. They have found that limiting factors to raising sheep include labor at lambing time, feed costs, and a lack of market opportunities.
They have found the most and the least enjoyable part of sheep farming is the lambing season. It is a very stressful time, with nightly checks of ewes ready to lamb and, despite the best of care, some lambs will die, and there will be complications with labor and delivery. But the lambs that do thrive are fun to watch as they run and jump around the pasture with reckless abandonment. They also derive extreme satisfaction that their lamb meat is delicious and wholesome. They are very proud when a customer tells them that their lamb is the best lamb they have ever eaten.
They direct-market their lamb meat to individual customers primarily found through word of mouth. They are also members of the Minnesota Lamb and Wool Producers and the Sustainable Farming Association of Minnesota. Through these organizations, they are able to list their lamb. One novel way they were able to connect with customers was through donating a lamb to an annual charity auction, which was a good source of new customers for them. Any lambs not sold to customers are then sold at the live auction barn, but they get about half the price there as they do through direct marketing.
Daily, they spend about 30–60 minutes a day caring for their lambs. During lambing season, the time commitment greatly increases. Baling hay and cleaning pen are two tasks that require sizable amounts of time. They have their sheep on a deworming schedule because parasitism is a big concern. One difficult aspect of sheep farming is that it is hard to find a shearer to shear a small flock. They ended up doing the task themselves this year and may have to continue to do so in the future.
Case Study: A Pig’s Life
Barb Eller
Eller Family Farm
12722 350th Street
Onamia, Minnesota
320-532-4946
1-800-323-1361
Barb Eller came back to the farm she was raised on after working as an Army Nurse Corp. officer for 20 years. She began by raising beef and chicken for the family’s use in 1997 for the flavor of free-range meat and because of her concerns with meat and poultry safety. She farms according to organic tenets although the USDA has not officially certified her as organic. In 2002, Eller began a small farm enterprise, “marketing to local folks and family members with the mission to improve the health of my local community by providing all-natural meats,” she said. She direct markets all her hogs and does not use the conventional market system.
Eller started raising pigs by purchasing feeder pigs and raising them on pasture. When she started to have trouble finding local, quality feeder pigs, she did her research for the best pasture pigs and selected the Tamworth breed. She started with two gilts and raised 24 hogs. Her plans for next year are to breed four gilts and farrow two litters per gilt. She breeds her gilts using artificial insemination, and this is one of the top three time-consuming tasks on her farm.
The other time-consuming chores are farrowing and pasture rotation and renovation. Eller spends about 30 minutes a day caring for the pigs in the winter and about 15 minutes a day in the summer doing routine hog chores. The direct marketing chores take a good deal of time as well. Most of the meat is sold directly to consumers, although she is now exploring selling at local farmers’ markets.
For Eller, the best aspect to raising hogs is the fact that hogs are intelligent and are very personable animals. Give a hog a good pasture and water and they can be quite self-sufficient. Her worst experience in raising pigs was getting a batch of mycotoxin-contaminated feed, which resulted in the death of one pig and a bunch of sick pigs at weaning time. Eller’s organic feed supplier tests the feed for mycotoxins and delivers fresh, mold-free feed directly to her farm.
“Raising pigs would certainly be a good family project if they knew what they were doing or had a close-by mentor to help and consult,” Eller said. “Certainly, the earlier the child is introduced to the pigs and they to the child, the better. Working with the pigs should probably wait until the child is steady on their feet and has learned the concepts of safety and respect. I helped feed the livestock as soon as I could walk, but always under the watchful eye of a parent or sibling. I was raising hogs by age 6 and knew which end to stay away from — and how to get up quickly when knocked down.”
Case Study: Dairy Cattle on the Side
Duane Spielman
Dr. Carmen Odegaard
Evansville, Minnesota
Duane Spielman and Carmen Odegaard moved to their small farm about 12 years ago after attending college in St. Paul, Minnesota. Spielman took a job at a large dairy farm that milks around 300 to 400 cows, while Odegaard works as a veterinarian at local veterinary clinics. They decided they wanted a little extra income, so Spielman purchased some Holstein bull calves from his employer. This started a long-term side business of raising dairy beef.
Spielman and Odegaard are very diligent about maintaining the health of their calves. The calves are brought to their farm when they are 1 to 2 days old. Spielman makes certain the calves get at least 1 gallon of colostrum within the first 24 hours of life — this is the most important factor in having a healthy calf. Another important factor in raising healthy calves is cleanliness of anything the calf might touch with its mouth. This includes bottles, nipples, pails, and pens.
They prefer to keep their calves in calf huts made of molded plastic. These huts are easy to move and can be bleached between calf litters. Each calf has its own hut, which cuts down on disease transmission. When the calves are weaned, they are moved into a group of eight to ten calves in a well-ventilated pen with access to the outside. Dry air, light, and dry straw are a must in the pens.
They do not recommend purchasing baby calves from a sales barn; rather, try to find a local producer and buy calves directly from the farm. They also recommend talking with a local veterinarian to find out what reputable farms sell dairy calves — plus it is good to establish a working relationship with a veterinarian clinic in case medical advice and treatment is needed.
The most time-consuming period when raising dairy calves is the first week when calves have to be trained to drink. The calves are fed 3 quarts of milk twice a day — or more, if the weather is very cold. They will place homemade calf jackets on the calves as well to help them retain body heat. Their health will be closely monitored, as scours (diarrhea) is a big killer of young calves. Any calf that appears ill gets prompt, aggressive medical treatment. The calves will be weaned by 4 to 6 weeks of age; after this, the daily time commitment decreases greatly.
They enjoy raising dairy calves as it gives them an enjoyable part-time job with a short commute — just a few steps from the house. It also gives them a family project they hope to enjoy with their young twins, and they do not have to pay a babysitter when they go to work at this job. The cattle market is a tricky beast, though. Right now, prices for Holstein beef feeder calves (400- to 500-pound cattle) are low, and this is out of the producer’s control. Spielman believes they can weather the market, and it will improve as the economy improves.
Case Study: The Making of an Organic Dairy Farm
Dr. Dennis Johnson
West Central Research and Outreach Center
Morris, Minnesota
320-589-1711
Dennis Johnson wanted to be a dairy farmer when he was young. He attended college, and one thing led to another; eventually, he obtained his Ph.D. and became a dairy researcher. He currently is a professor of dairy production systems at the University of Minnesota. As part of his research, he has been conducting a long-term study on organic dairy farming.
Beginning farmers have a number of hurdles when they start farming. Johnson lists the three biggest hurdles to starting a dairy farm as access to affordable, appropriate property, financial funding, and mastering the skills and knowledge associated with dairy farming. These factors should be carefully and realistically scrutinized before a cow sets one hoof in a beginning dairy farmer’s barn. Another big consideration in farming in general is access to affordable health care. Most farm families tackle this issue by having one spouse obtain an off-farm job with health benefits so a family will not be ruined financially due to high health care bills if someone gets sick.
At the research station where Johnson conducts his studies, part of the dairy herd is being transitioned to an organic herd. This group of cattle is in a crossbreeding program using Holstein, Montbéliarde, and Swedish Red dairy cattle genetics. The goal of this crossbreeding is to introduce ruggedness in terms of health and foraging ability into the herd. The organic herd spends more time outside on pasture and is fed less grain and supplements than the conventional Holstein herd. This helps meet the organic standard for cattle to be fed a higher forage diet than a typical dairy herd.
According to Johnson, dairy cattle can do well spending the majority of their time outside, even in inclement weather. They do need a safe, clean indoor place to be milked, but as long as they have a windbreak, a dry and clean area to lie down, and protection from sleet, they do not necessary need to be housed in a barn. Frozen teats are not an issue as long as they are thoroughly dried prior to being let outside. An important aspect to organic dairy farming is keeping records. An organic farm needs to be certified as organic — this includes pastures, cropland, feed, and supplements. No antibiotics or growth promoters can be used on the cattle.
Johnson is optimistic about the five-year outlook for dairy farming, particularly in the Midwest, as he feels this geographical area has the most appropriate natural resources for dairy farming. Areas of rapid dairy herd expansion in the western United States are limited by water issues and encroaching human population. As long as a farmer is willing to take the time and learn the necessary skills, Johnson believes organic dairy farming is a viable production system.
Case Study: The Cow Sense
Daryl Johnson
Evansville, Minnesota
Daryl Johnson got started in dairy farming at an early age. His parents were dairy farmers, and when he was ready, he took over the family farm outside Evansville, Minnesota. Johnson milks around 60 Holstein cows twice a day, 365 days a year. He has been through many financial cycles during his years of dairy farming; right now, the dairy industry is in a downward cycle, with low milk prices making dairy farming a shaky prospect.
However, Johnson feels that this downward cycle might be a good time for a beginning farmer to start up a small-scale dairy farm. Unlike just a few years ago, prices of dairy heifers and cows are reasonable, and feed prices are going down as well. Both these factors are among the biggest expenses of dairy farming. Another big expense is land, which is needed to spread cattle manure on, to make hay for the cattle, and to grow crops.
Dairy farming is a capital-intensive business. The majority of dairy farmers will need a close working relationship with their banker or financial institute to make sure they have enough money for needed equipment, grain, and cattle. In addition to cattle, land, and capital, there are other necessary items to make it as a small-scale dairy farmer. A barn with tie stalls is sufficient for a small dairy herd like Johnson’s. A parlor barn with free stalls is another option but is more costly to construct. A manure-handling system will greatly reduce the labor-intensive part of manure removal from the barn. While a stave silo is almost iconic on a dairy farm, using bags or a bunker system is a cheaper way to store silage. One item that will pay off in the end is a total mixed ration (TMR) mixer — Johnson definitely recommends this piece of equipment.
He attests that the best part about dairy farming is the lifestyle and working with the cattle. Johnson spends about 14 hours a day working on his farm along with a full-timed hired hand. His top three time-consuming chores are heat detection, feeding the cattle, and putting up feed. This is in addition to the milking chores and calf-feeding duties. A dairy farmer has to be fully committed to the farm in order for it to work successfully.
Having “cow sense” is a must as well, as a healthy and comfortable cow gives more milk. In Johnson’s opinion, the worst aspect about dairy farming is having a cow develop feet and leg problems and not knowing why this occurs. He uses artificial insemination (AI) to breed his cows. He tries to pick sires that will improve the feet and legs of the calves, but despite this, he still has cows that have feet and leg problems.