commercial milk pricing, for sellers

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ok, heres what i have 19.50 CWT , for 3.5% at 4.5% it jumps to 27.00 per CWT, thats for summer, winter milk starts at 24.00 for 3.5% and with SCC bonuses and 4.5% butterfatit can go as high as 36.00 per CWT shipping is 1.50 per CWT, but i live 300 miles from the buyer too!

as for costs, the barn is already built, we will need to put in concrete floor, and complete milking stands, not sure how to do that... but the est is 800.00 for the concrete and labor (getting a deal since hubby works construction F.O.F. situation) then we will need soem sort of headstall and grain set up , not sure how to do that, we are supposed to have a free bulk tank , if we go get it.. its in wisconsin. otherwise, the line and complete set up for the barn (used line and tank), is 1500 , installed! (thats with 30 claws too)

not sure what else, oh , we have to rent a backhoe to dig the drain line, we have a lagoon here to handle the run off , so no biggy...other places might not be so lucky, a septic setup , modestly sized could easily run 5000

trying to think of what else, i dont know

-- Beth Van Stiphout (willosnake@hotmail.com), April 18, 2002

Answers

Here's a FAR from expert opinion, but what about making the milking stands part of your cement work? I mean making the area for the goats to stand higher and a kind of lower run down the middle for the milker. We have some friends that have a cow dairy and their parlor had to be cemented a few years ago and this is how they did it- very efficient for animals and humans. Anyway, there's a bit less than 2 cents! Hope all goes well for you Beth. Cara in OR

-- Cara Dailey (daileyd@agalis.net), April 18, 2002.

I have seen that also Cara, and it is beautiful and easy to clean. No metal to have to scrape and repaint also! Course every barn I visit I find something about them that I love! Vicki

-- Vicki McGaugh TX (vickilonesomedoe@hotmail.com), April 18, 2002.

yeah , i been leaning toward that way of doing things, simply because it seems sooo much easier, and less expensive than doing the darn things with the metal ... cheapest i could figure those, was if we could find decent scrap metal , and if the nieghbor welder felt kind, was around 90-110 per run of 12.... seems that no matter what , even if we made forms , the concrete ones would be cheaper,

maybe i will have to talk at my hubby on the drive to the auction .... i think one of the best things to happen in our relationship was the purchase of this truck with no radio, we talk so much during driving... :)

-- Beth Van Stiphout (willosnake@hotmail.com), April 18, 2002.


You are getting I think a tad more per ctw than we are. We are currently getting 20.50 per ctw. But then we ship from Feb-Nov and have 2 months off.

We were lucky in that we didn't have an outlay of extra expenses for concrete, etc since the shop already had a concrete floor and plumbing. I am seriously thinking of doing a pit parlour like we had with the cows. I like it so well, but boy, thats a lot of concrete.

I am so excited for you, I hope all works out and it comes together with no major problems.

Its a lot of sweat equity and believe me, its a labor of love because farming is hard work, long hours and full of risks.

-- Bernice (geminigoats@yahoo.com), April 18, 2002.


Beth, do, if at all possible a raised self to milk the goats on and make hight enough for the person who's doing the milking! It's cheaper to do it in concrete if you can form it up and do the fill. And it's cheaper than having someone out to dig a pit. And then trying to find somewhere lower than the pit for it to drain to! Then you'll need your stantions to be metal. Why, I don't know. Paul Hamby posted the other day that he found it odd that you can cut meat in a restaurant on a wooden cutting board, but you can't have wooden stantions in your dairy barn! I'd forgo the line system for now until you have the goats to support it. If you can scrounge, barter and wheedle for the equipment that'll get you by until you hit 75 to 100 does, then you'll be putting money in the bank, not making payments. Of course I get really allergic to debt having been on the other side of the business for 23 years.

Joe and I started out buying does that were bred to kid all year. That's how they did it in CA when he did the dairy there. Surprise! They don't buy milk here November throught January. Sometimes I think it would be nice to sell through the winter months, but then again I think if we could find someone to mind the goats during the "dry" season, we could hit all the dog shows in the south where it's WARM during that time. Dog show every weekend so we can afford to have a goat dairy! I've heard it said that you need a 150 goat dairy to make a living. Considering what I think our first check will be and what that week's feed bill will be, I think they're right. We're looking at 100 next year. You've gotta build up and have a secondary source of income until you get where you need to be. Borrow as little money as possible to get by or you'll be servicing debt rather than having income. It'll get depressing.

Dennis & Joe

-- Dennis Enyart (westwoodcaprine@yahoo.com), April 21, 2002.



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