Beef prices are absolutely astounding as I discovered this past Spring when I attempted to purchase a one week old dairy bull calf to raise for the Summer… the quoted price of $1,400 was a bit out of range for my budget (typically $50 to $100) so plan “B” has been implemented.

Plan “B”:

• Raise a dozen turkeys and process into breakfast sausage, ground meat and cured turkey ham.
• Re-establish our goat herd and breed all does this Fall.

Fortunately, our extended families enjoy the diversity of chevon recipes and, for us the savings and ease of home processing makes it even more attractive. Additional benefits include shorter gestation period, far less hay required, readily usable fertilizer for the gardens, multiple births and, of course the dairy aspect of milk and cheese.

Additionally, it seems that every week there’s a food recall announcement for one reason or another. Our local farms have been inundated with inquiries as to availability of vegetables. We’ve had to decline requests as we were starting to wind down production in early Spring since the high tunnel was in dire need of repair and I’m far from being a Spring chicken.

Then, our grandson moved in to “learn the ropes” as our trust names him the future beneficiary of the property. He has been a Godsend to us in so many ways with his strength and creative ideas, eager to learn new skills with his “can do” attitude.