INVESTING $2500 for $225K RETURN | Farm Business Dorper Sheep Farming Cows MICRO RANCHING FOR PROFIT
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 10 พ.ค. 2022
- Here is a recap on improvements I made to my Dorper sheep farm during my 1 month youtube break!
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#sheep #lambing #farming #ranching
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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!
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Hi, as an Irish beef farmer with 55 heifers on 60 acres I would definitely recommend that to increase your stocking rate, you should reseed your paddocks with a mixed pyrennial ryegrass and white clover sward. You will be ablee to grow so much more grass and the clover will naturally fix nitrogen to the soil. I would say reseeding is probably the most important investment on your farm. Keep up the good work!
Very helpf information! Thank you very much for commenting.
I thought clover was bad for cows? Or is it a certain kind?
@@grante.7525 Well know I’m only eighteen studying Ag Science in College next year but we’ve learned that clover is crucial to the award as not only is it highly palatable for both cattle and sheep but it fixes nitrogen to the soil reducing fertilizer costs and increasing variety in the sward is better for the environment. This is white clover I’m talking about but when mixed with a majority perrenial ryegrass sward it’s ideal.
Slow and steady. She is doing fine. Dont want to grow faster then you are capable.
@@jamesfinn6137 You are correct. We have been doing a clover/ryegrass mix for the longest time in New Zealand. Also at your age, i'd suggest getting a job about there for 12 months. You will learn a lot and will be a great adventure.
I love the way the message wrapped up on this.
The coolest part about restoring (or simply improving) pasture is how it benefits everything. Better for the animals, the environment, water management, *and* the rancher.
Never thought I could be so excited about "grass" lol
I was only following something my son mentioned once and I was on TH-cam watching Joel Salatin... which led me to Gabe Brown and Ray Archuleta... what a rabbit hole!
Snoop Dogg, is that you?
I'm just empty nest mom homesteading our 5 acres on Whidbey Island with my full time working husband. We raised our 3 children on the land gardening, animal husbandry and homeschooling. I love what you are doing. My husband found your channel and shared it with me. We try to raise a good portion of our food with a garden, orchard, layer chicken and ducks, milking goat, and Corriedale sheep 🐑. I added a CVM ewe last spring and she delivered twins on Easter Sunday! We use the sheep for meat...we do the butchering ourselves to make it economical. I chose the Corriedale because they are dual purpose. I wanted to spin and weave the wool. I'm really wanting to do better rotation grazing. Your information has been helpful. We do it some... but need to improve our systems to make it better. You are an amazing young lady and God has gifted you with many talents. God bless...love your channel.🧑🌾🐑🌼❤️
Thank you so much for sharing. I loved reading about your operation and your encouragement in Christ means a lot!
@@theShepherdessyou are so thorough sister! Great details in video, don’t know how you grab videos and do it all at one time hehe! God bless you many times and prosper you and guide you always! How are you doing on this?
Wow - the cyclops fence charger!!! I used to be sales rep for those 20 years ago. Those were (and probably still are) absolutely positively the best fence chargers on the market!
Just re-watching parts, and it really hit me, that you've got the equivalent of 18 beef cows on 22 acres! What a great thing that you got through a terribly dry winter! That's wonderful!
Wow! You are so impressive to me. You’re doing all this work, plus a full time job, plus filming and sharing all of this?! I’m inspired 🤗. My husband and I know we want to start a farm. There are numerous reasons we are called to do so. We have a 10 month old son and no idea where to start lol… but your channel is helping!
"Starting" can be daunting. But there are some good resources here on the internet. I can reply with some favorites if you like.
I would start with 3-5 hens and a 10 ft by 10 ft garden. And build out on that foundation.
That’s $2500 that you will never regret spending!! I absolutely respect your work ethic and long range planning! Awesome work!
Thank you, james! I’m already feeling the relief compared to the old system. 🙌🏻
I wish I could get in on something like that!!
Your energy, drive and faith inspire! Well done, keep up the good work!!
ditto, new sub here. 😁💚🙏✨
I love your videos. They always make me want to go with strictly Dorper. The really like that you share your journey with us all and help everyone with your upset and downs along the way. Thanks
Love seeing your progress and commitment. Just finished out first year gazing and are already seeing improvements in the pastures. Blessings
Congrats on your first year! If you made it through year 1 without hitting, year 2 is twice as enjoyable! Didn’t think it was possible since I already enjoyed it, but it’s true. 😍
@@theShepherdessare you single ?
You are quickly becoming my favorite content creator. While we are striving to be as self-sufficient as possible, we worried that our 12 acres wouldn't be enough to do everything we want to do. But I think we can definitely take some of your advice and maximize the usage of what little land we have. Thank you for another excellent video!
do what you can with what you have. I've just got a backyard but I've got 2 pigs and 3 laying hens and a nice sized garden and a mini orchard.
I think if you wanna make money more acreage is needed, but we also have 12 acres and this is plenty to feed ourselves. We also have fishing, and hunting so that helps
Have you considered a worm farm? I raise millions of worms to sell/fertilize my garden, and to show others how to care for them :) No acreage needed!
How much can you make ? What kind of warm is it ? God bless you.
I’m so glad you are back. I hadn’t seen you in a while. And I thought TH-cam had censored another one of my favorite TH-camrs. I’m glad you were just taking some time off and taking care of business.
Glad to see you back and also to see what you wrote about in your email. Its great to see things progressing like this. Don't forget to attach both ends of your hot wire to your zapper as if you have a broken hot wire down the road, you don't want a big section with out power. My wife was interested in your video, so I explained exactly how your system works with all the different animals and she said that clever, so you have a thumbs up from Mrs Footplate. Thanks for posting
I loved hearing about your wife! Thank you both. 😁😁
You are amazing young woman! Your parents must be proud. So resourceful, industrious, strong, and humble. Thank you for the inspiration🙏🏽🙇🏽♂️💎
Just found your site. Absolutely love your ideas and planning. My husband and I are wanting something similar in the next couple of years. I will continue to follow your progress. Stay blessed and have a great night.
I'm literally tearing up. I love you soo much! Thanks for making the world a better place
Super stoked to see your UHDG doing it's thing! Excited to see how it's going to keep improving and to see the rest pf the results unfold!🌱🌾
Keep on keeping on, friend!
Thank you, Jandre!! Same to you: keep on keepin on!
love the new upgrades, especially the new water runs and running electric around so you have electric access. It is so neat to go through the design phase of this and then see it all come to fruition.
Thank you, Dan! I was excited to finally share it with you.
So glad to see you back.
Hope you had chance for a rest.
Thanks for your videos.
👍👍🎯
Thank you for advising STARTING SMALL! God Bless you and May continue to bless everything your hands touch ❤️🙌
Thank you!!
We just recently picked up our first starter registered sheep flock. 2 ewe lambs and a 4 year old ewe with a year old ram. Excellent bloodlines. Katahdin hair sheep. I am finding your channel very informative. Thank you
This is so cool. Good advice about starting small too! Zechariah 4:10
Do not despise small beginnings, for the Lord rejoices to see the work begin.
amen!
Amen
@@Kelly_Maewhat variety are those flowers in picture?
I have been working on improving my fence for my Dorpers and lambing and started posting my sheep on TH-cam also. Your channel was a big inspiration for me to get started. thanks
Thank you so much for the comment. Loved hearing an update on your month!
So glad I came across your channel as I explore the possibilities of taking my 40 acre hobby farm in NW Arkansas to a sustainable retirement income farm in a few years. Outstanding examples and video production
Got one of these cyclops 2 years ago. Bought 13 acres 3 years ago. Great video. It was great n inspiring!
I wish my son could apprenticeship with you. I will always regret not learning this life when I was a young man. And raised my children as farmers.
Those are awesome chargers. I have an 8 and a 20 joule cyclops. The 8 joule is about 25 years old and the 20 joule is 16 years old. They have not been treated kindly to say the least. Never had a problem except had to replace the little fuse by the cord when lightning hit our power lines. I had numerous different chargers over the years before these. Plus the company that makes them is a small family run company. I bought the first one after visiting with the man that started it. He was helping me repair my fence charger at the time. He was repairing fence chargers and decided that he could build something that would last. He did just that.
Welcome back! These are two goals we are working towards for our 5 acre rotation system. Currently lugging 5 gallon buckets for water or using our side by side to haul it out to them.
Thank you, Jessica! Yes, the buckets worked great when it was just the flock… but the cows are crazy water guzzlers!!
doing outstanding work out there. keep up the great job and teaching us along the way.
I'm not about to start a farm, but I love how you scaled up and that can be applied to many things in life. Loved your focus and determination.
As a small cattle operation in Florida, I am very appreciative of your videos and ideas that you present! we are getting roughly 1.5 acres per cow/calf pair and looking to reduce that a bit and start more frequent moves that allow for more pasture rest. Thank you for everything you do. That Cyclops super looks nice!!! I believe they're made in the USA too!
Thank you very much, Joe! That’s a great carrying capacity. Do you have growth year round? Or is there a dormant season where you live?
@@theShepherdess we have a dormant season for our perennials, but we are still warm enough that we don't have any issues planting annuals in the winter time that can flourish with the right amount of water.
Out biggest issue of note is that our soils are basically sand and keeping nutrients in the soils and not just washing everything through can be tricky.
How you doing dear, good to see you again. Glad you are getting your projects done. I'm doing the same here up north working on making pasture. Clearing trees, hawthorn, and rose bushes. We need to double production this year so we are scrambling to get set up. Water is a huge battle , spend them dollars wisely. Take care.
I appreciate your faith and how you incorporate it into your videos
Thank you!
Fascinating!! We are really struggling with 7 animals on our 5.5 acre pasture because of the drought in Central TX. Praying for rain but your video has inspired some potential changes.
I love your “paddock pie” design! 😜. Very clever in regards to minimal water tank movement. You have a very keen mindset. I hadn’t thought about “ focusing on reducing costs, instead of profits.” It makes sense, especially when starting out with a small scale operation. I purchased “Quality Pastures” from your site yesterday. I definitely would like to support your business! Thanks for all your efforts and informative videos! May the Lord continue to bless your bounty!
Thank you Troy!!
The term used is "AQMD" and is an acronym for Average Quality Management District which rates the number of acres required for livestock.
I was asked this question 25 years ago in Arizona by my soon to be wife from Texas who oddly enough was managing a Hotel I was staying at.
I've always had horses and she wanted one as well....
Usually in Indiana and other "green pasture" areas it's 1 acre per horse and better with two for switching paddocks.
We ended up with four horses and her wanting to move back to Texas, so ten acres it was, thank God.
Outstanding upgrades, congrats on it all. I've shifted this spring to putting in vegetable gardens. Organic grown vegetables is huge in my area. More about keeping critters out than in now. God Bless.
Thank you! Loved hearing about your upgrades.
We live in Pittsburg TX and recently started with our first small cattle herd. Inspired by your model, positivity and diligence. We have been doing much similar. Put in well water access to three major paddock areas, two weeks ago and are working in additional perimeter fencing. We put in the hot wire with 12j from speedright and that has been a huge help in jumping off to other paddock areas and extending our temporary electric fence capabilities. I enjoy your videos and look forward to reading the Bible versus you post at the end.
Thank you so much, Curtis! Loved hearing about your setup.
Despite the market crash, I still thank you for the level-headed financial advice. I started stock and crypto investment with $4,500 from my livestock farms (sheep and pigs) and since few weeks now I've gotten $25,650 in my portfolio!
I went to high school in Pittsburg Texas. I used to work at Prairie Creek Ranch back in the 80's. Great country I miss it a lot. I wish you the best with you venture!
@@tiffanyhowards4976 scammer and a thieve
So happy I found this channel, Watched first video the information here is properly sufficient to start a farm. Thank you. Subbed.
I don’t have a farm or any farm animals or any use for this product HOWEVER I clicked out of curiosity and stayed for personality! Even as someone who’s not a farmer this was very informative and I love the hustle! New subscriber!
Propagation of cows and sheep and animal husbandry is a wonderful farm project. I'll read the books Ma'am. Thank you for your information.
I’ve seen a few farmers promoting their intensive grazing. This is nice and well explained
So nice of you, thank you!
One of my fav TH-camrs I’ve seen, very motivating.
Good job! I'm most impressed with repurposing the ground rods. That's takes some patience and sweat. Even if you don't hit your exact stocking rate goal, your new setup will pay big for you. Good investment.
Can’t describe how good it felt once they finally started to break loose. 😅😅
I just came across your website. Thanks for these helpful information. My wife and I just bought our 20 acres farmland in North Central Texas. God's Blessings.
We have almost finished our first lambing season with our flock of 20 Katahdin ewes! We have 16 lambs, plus 2 stillborn, from 15 ewes. Of the other 5 ewes, only 2 or 3 are probably pregnant. Such an exhausting experience, but I wouldn’t change a thing, even the 3 bottle lambs we have! Looking forward to hearing about your new equipment!
What a great season!! Congratulations!
Good info. I have to change up our grazing system, initially it was almost an emergency situation as a 4 acre pasture we use in the summer/fall was going to be dwindled down into 3-ish & it was all looking to be sold. Prayers were answered & it's off the market .. for now.
1 of our field's is completely fenced with field fencing, but the rest just has barbed wire & that's not conducive with my goat's (or my lowline angus)Angus, so I haven't been able to rotate anything on it (but a horse occupies it), we legally own a 2 1/4 acre pasture that is technically leased (contract was broken right away), that's missing part of a perimeter fence, but if we can get a couple gates put in on the "boundary" fence, then I can run hot wire (hopefully) to start using that for a pasture, but for now, we're just going to cut & bale it for use later. (In theory.
This shows me some hope that thing's can work the way I envision it. Though the livestock always have their own plan's lol
I wondered where you went! Glad to see you back! Just moved to Northwest Oklahoma been cleaning and clearing the land for animals and a garden! Blessings!
Loved hearing your farm update! Thank you for the comment!
We just found your channel. Liked and subscribed. After having beef cattle for over 5 decades. My wife and I sold every cow last fall. It was stupid to be in a buisness where everything we had to buy to produce we had to pay retail. and When we sold our produce we had to sell wholesale. All we where doing was swapping nickles. Never made a nickle for our labor. However we have a 3 acre collection /hoard/ junkyard where we reside. and we keep a small flock of sheep to keep it from becoming overgrown. and they do a excellent job. and we have Blackbelly and Dorpher crosses. And two lambs often sell for as much as a weaned beef calf. We would like to expand our sheep herd. however the grazing land we have only has barbed wire. We are working towards changing that. We have enough 4 ft woven wire to go around the premeter. And are buying used chain link fencing when we find it. The plan is to used chain link at the bottom and the woven wire at the top. Get at least a 8 ft premeter tall fence that sets 10 feet inside the current fence that on the property lines. and get a guard donkey. We are simply going to buy the best ram's we can find and keep our best female offspring and grow a larger herd. Im 70 and likely will never own another cow. Good Luck to you.
i love Dorper sheeps! we just bought 26.5 acres of mixed timberland with a little pasture in it. I want to raise some Dorpers as a hobby!
I am struggling to raise @ 45 head (cow/calf) of beef cattle on a 100+ year old 126 acre farm I took over from my dad in 2017 before he died. I appreciate your videos and your experimentation. With the way beef prices have stagnated, I'm definitely looking at alternatives. Thanks for your videos and showing different mindsets of how to be profitable on small acreage.
You could always sell me some of that sweet acreage…(:
I’m on the cusp of inheriting a 40 acre farm. Granddad keeps a small flock of sheep and I’ve dabbled in beekeeping.
Keep me in the loop my man, I’m likely to be in a similar boat soon, and would love to make it my main gig.
Ur doing it though and that's what counts
As a city kid with homestead dreams, this is excellent information, and very encouraging!
Thank you for watching!
So right on, on everything!
Another great video!
I have no farming skills. I'm still a new subscriber as your enthusiastic approach to your plan is wonderful to see. I wish you much success!
Thank you!
Welcome back Shepherdess! May the Lord continue to bless the work of your hands, mind and heart!!!
Thank you, Patti!
Just found your channel. The wife and I just bought 5 acres somewhere around you it sounds. We start this summer! Wish you the best of luck!
Your voice is so soothing. I just had surgery and I’m in pain but your voice is so soothing. Thank you. May the Lord bless you!
Praying for you! Thank you for the kind words.
Not 5 hours ago I asked my mom if she knew how to get our current ground rods out of the soil so I could reuse them elsewhere. Thanks for showing that!
Glad it helped!
I am doing something similar with my hydroponic grains system. I am the only one farming in my whole region this year. But what I made is so unique not even engineers imagined what I did. This year I will try to farm thru the winter, I don’t expect a high or even normal yield but as long as there is profitable yield I can essentially have 5 yearly harvest, and with already higher yields per acre. I am doing what you are and saving myself a from buying dozens of acres.
Great information. Invaluable for the operation we are planning.
Stumbled on the video, really enjoyed seeing you having a go. As you’re probably aware, we, in Australia, are very familiar to both farming Dorper and drought. Where in Texas, I visit relatives in Arizona and that’s just a hop, skip and jump to Texas. Btw, read PA Yeomans, Bill Mollison and someone whom has probably heavily influenced you, even if you don’t know it, he wrote “Holistic Management” and lives near you.
My first video of many! Let’s do this. I’m motivated and ready to see this farm succeed
Wow. Thanks for this video. So much useful knowledge in a short video.
It also puts my mind at ease. Never thought about using a pie configuration so you don’t have to move the water. This was something I was wondering about. Looking to get 50-100 acres this year. I’m wanting to do beef, but might start with sheep. Dorpers would be great, and I have an affinity with them as my ancestors have farmed them for over a hundred years.
Thank you, Thomas! Glad it helped!
You are inspired me cause I'm always dreaming about project but never start, I will watch your steps and find out what would be suitable 8n my country, just keep going 👍👌🙏❤️
Very inspirational. We started our rotational grazing a couple weeks ago. I'm not doing the Total Grazing plan yet because that's 4 moves per day and right now I'm only do one too. I plan on increasing to 4 moves per day in a couple weeks. We're also going to start running a chicken tractor with broilers behind the sheep. It's a narrow strip, but each pass will widen the strip plus we plan to add more chicken tractors.
The 4 moves a day sounds intense… but I hear the results are great! Let me know how it goes for you. I’ve enjoyed the info you’ve shared.
@@theShepherdess I watched this first episode a couple weeks ago live. There was another webinar last evening and I watched it too. The video for it will be available on TH-cam in a few weeks. th-cam.com/video/NRrKeEVtNu0/w-d-xo.html
During last night's webinar the first speaker actually made a case for Total Gazing and I don't think anyone realized it. He said only new leaves photosynthesize. He said older leaves don't produce much in the way of photosynthesis. If this is true, then older leaves are not adding energy to the plant and are taking away from it because they need to be kept alive. Grazing the plant down closer results in a higher percentage of new leaves meaning more active leaves.
Why four Joe Salatin recommends 1 pe rday. Give then enough grass for that day and then move
As usual, great information. I am working to improve my operation. I had 3 does kid in November. Not ideal as it gave me 4 additional mouths to feed before the spring browse was in full leaf. I am trying to have a more controlled breeding so I have kids on the ground in spring and take them to market in October. That should limit my winter feeding costs.
In these last couple of months I increased my flock to 80 ewes but here in the northern parts of Namibia ticks were taking a heavy toll on the sheep and with the large amounts of rain I had a hoof rot pandemic but it's all sorted out now and planning on building a dip trough this winter with a sheep handling system
Thank you for commenting! I really enjoyed hearing about your operation.
Got 25 acres myself..... Way worse soils though (sandy west australia) but it’s plenty for my 23 sheep and 3 horses.
You are a real inspiration.
Thank you!
Wow! You have been blessed with such IQ and ambition. Thank you for using it to help people! Thanking the Lord for you today!!!
Girl you’re so inspiring!!
LOVE YOUR CHANNEL AND ALL YOUR HARD WORK AND INFO IM WITH YOU ON THIS AND I'VE HAD A PLAN LIKE THIS FOR A LONG TIME BUT TO SEE IT IN ACTION IS AWESOME 🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏
DEFINITELY SUBBED 👍❤️
SHEEP AND GOATS ARE STUBBORN BELIEVE ME I KNOW 😂😂
You are exactly right! Haha! Thank you for subscribing!
Try using a fence stretcher and a concrete block to pull your ground rods. Put the fence stretcher jaws on the ground rod and use the concrete block as a fulcrum.
Excellent idea. I was going to suggest a car jack or pulleys. Use leverage!
Great info for the small timer, thanks!
This young woman is serious. 😁 About farming and animals. Sweet story. God Bless Farmers, Farms. 🙂
This is my first time seeing one of your video posts and I am AMAZED by the gift God Almighty has given you! Informative and captivating, your passion is clear and oh my goodness what an inspiration! Thank you, because truly, that first bucket of water you filled possibly years ago was the first step in moving us all forward.
Wow, thank you Tammy!
Keep going friend..like to know your progress and thanks for all the information
Good job and welcome back to your on-line friends. We missed you as well. I love your practical cost analysis and how you make do with less to create more. May all you do flourish as you honor our Lord.
I missed you and your encouragement, Dwight! Glad to be back.
We just bought 17 acres in Sulphur springs w 2 ponds... Hoping to have a profitable farm!
The way she tells this story is very inspirational
Wow!! This is awesome, Grace!! Keep up the good work!👏🏼🤩
Thank you, Natilyn! Your comment means a lot!!
@@theShepherdess 👏🏼🤗
I’m 3:00 minutes in an all I have to say is thanks for the information. I just bought a small farm and I’m hoping to get some cattle soon. Great video.
Happy you back in action..missed your content..stock looks nice and solid.
Thank you, Nathan!
Im glad you're back!! I just finished lambing :)
Congrats and thank you!!
Amen, Go girl,love your optimism.
You are an inspirational machine! God bless you for your tenacity and willingness to put yourself out there not knowing what the result is going to be. Found this Channel today and subscribed after one video and that was about the Amish farmers unconstitutional police state treatment.
Wow great and very informative video ...I like farming so much you have boosted up my morale
This is deeply inspiring to me. Thank you.
I am so happy that you share your faith in the Lord and the clear belief he still gives us blessings. We need more salt like you in the Earth. I am in the mountains in Colorado and trying to generate pasture from an overgrazed farm and I’m in the second year. I have started a small Orchard and from 11 cows now am at 51. Please keep the content coming and God bless you!
Thank you, Daric!
Blessing on from Tennessee! Cheers, Mrs. Glover ✨✨✨✨✨✨
I love this woman; shes the truth💪🏽
Gosh darn!!
How amazingly bright and hard working you are: )
I hope God blesses you more and more your amazing!
You and Justin Rhodes have convinced me to start taking small steps.
Great job as always. A little advice for your hdpe or poly pipe instead of laying the roll down and uncoiling it try securing the end and unroll it on the ground like your rolling a tire it will make your life easier.
Good tip!
great job. i use those advice naturally, but seeing the results take shape from a different perspective is really cool. the pre planned strategy is great. your obviously fighting against nature, and it can only go so far, wonder if digging a lake or deep artificial well, that can handle drought periods can work for a farm, connected to efficient sprinkler system could keep grass growing.
🙌🏼 love this!!!
NE Texas- I have family in that area- near Farmersville. Great video, just subscribed, keep up the good work
Great video, welcome back 👍
Thank you so much for your video, info, passion..
Purchased 4 Australian Whites first cross from white dorper's, just have five acres in the Snowy mountains in Oz, grass is 5 foot high in places ' they are great mate