[PrettyPaisley]

At least my momma doesn't think I just play all day long.

I need some options on the best way to do this. My mom is willing to loan me some money to get a few things done here that needs to be finished. And I'm taking her up on it! She wants to invest in a cow that will be raised here that she will pay to maintain, process and then sell what she doesn't eat. She wants to pay rent for the pasture and to pay me for my time for taking care of her cow. Or, if there is another way to work this I'm all ears.

I wouldn't begin to know what to charge her for pasture rent or my time. Of course, the time thing is a joke - she knows that. Any ideas?

Because she is going to give me a chunk of change to build a greenhouse, purchase drip lines, seeds and other things I'll need for my big garden next year, I'd love to figure out how to make it work without having to send her a check each month. Clearly the things I need for my garden venture will cost more than hay for her cow all winter - but the less I have to pay back in cash the better, you know?

How can I make this all work? She's all about the business side of it; I have to write it all down in a biz plan, very official, all details covered. This is quite a stretch for the flibbertigibbet pretend homesteader side of me.

 

[wy_white_wolf]

Instead of charging her for all that just charge a % of market value the day it goes to the butcher. She payes the butcher directly and he might even be able to market what she doesn't eat.

Keeps it all simple.

WWW

 

[FarmboyBill]

Raise and give her the cow, and she pay for the garden material, me not knowing what that would cost.

Whaddia you mean that your a flippin giggit? lol

 

[farmerDale]

Good for you to be able to be on the cusp of a deal like this. We have some friends from the city who used to have sheep when they were acreage dwellers. They love lamb meat.

He approached us last year. He wants to own some ewes. He loves sheep! If he buys the three ewes, we take care of them etc. If they single, he only wants one lamb for his freezer. If they twin, he wants two. So for us, they are basically our ewes, with his name on them, and he reaps the ROI when he receives his lamb meat that year.

We gain as they help us grow our flock if they give us girls. There is incentive to manage for twins, as if the three twin, we get 4 lambs out of them. Not bad, seeing as he bought them, we just have to maintain them, which is no biggy as they run with the whole flock.

I like it as there is no paperwork at all. I wonder if you and your mom could work out something along those lines to free up your mind from having to do paperwork etc.? Meat for her yearly, a bit of cash flow for you? Would you have access to a bull? Lots to think of.

I think partnering in this way is a smart plan, whether it is your mom or a neighbor or a friend in town. It helps keep the farm viable, gives the investor a nice return which is not always just cash, and they can come visit their animals whenever they wish. I wish I had ten or fifteen of these investors! Because when they come visit it also keeps them in the loop of a farm connection. It gives them an excuse to visit a farm. I love being blessed to tour folks about, and share information, so we all win.

Good luck!

 

[Maura]

What would you charge someone to purchase your beef based on the hanging weight? This is the dollar amount to work from.

Cows are herd animals, so you’ll want more than one. One for her, one for you, and a few sheep should work out well. You’ll keep the cows for 18 months or more, so you can run two groups of sheep in that time. Get the January lambs or yearlings in the spring and butcher in the fall. Next year, butcher all of them.

 

[Wolf mom]

You are truly blessed to have a mother who is willing to give you all this and educate you under the guise of a business proposition.

 

[Nimrod]

Do you have the fence and barn to raise cows? If not, you will have to put out some cash to get them. If you have the infrastructure then raise 2 for you and one for her. When the time comes, sell your 2 and pay off the loan.

She is going to buy her cow and you are going to feed it and give it a place out of the weather. You should be able to find the price of hay locally on CL. How much to charge for pasture could be found there too or ask at the feed store. How long will you spend on her cow each day and what is your time worth?

Have an agreement in writing. Make sure it specifies that she owns the cow, is responsible for vet bills, and loses her investment if the cow dies.

 

[PrettyPaisley]

Well no, she doesn't want to just pay the butcher. As Wolf mom says, she's trying to make this real. For me, for her. I have heard of people buying say a lamb, and we talked about how the lamb was lost to predators and the person just went home without a lamb. I told her that doesn't seem right - she said that's part of it. Now I don't expect her cow to be eaten by anything with more than two legs ... She wants to be a part of the entire process. And help with the cost of feed over the winter. And yeah - she has some redeeming qualities. She seems to think her lack of estrogen at this age keeps her calm and more happy than when she was younger - this she keeps her temper under control now.

She's ready to pay to have them all bred (I pay her back of course) and to set up an annual plan for me to follow going forward. She wants me to put it on paper - probably so I'll see for myself I need to get rid of a few goats. But that's not happenin anytime soon !!

FBB- years ago I watched a movie called Joe vs. the Volcano and Meg Ryan's character described herself as a flibbertigibbet. That's where I got it.

 

[PrettyPaisley]

Her cow is already in the pasture. It was born in early August.

 

[PrettyPaisley]

Raise and give her the cow, and she pay for the garden material, me not knowing what that would cost.

Whaddia you mean that your a flippin giggit? lol

I tried that, too. Again...she wants it businessy.

 

[FarmboyBill]

Shes trying to teach you. Get with it and learn what she has to teach. Shell feel she left you with something useful and lasting long after shes not here, and youll open your mind more to the business end of farming, which may be useful if you ever go into market gardening in a big way.

 

[netskyblue]

You HAVE to consider your time! That's no joke. The time you spend doing chores, doctoring it if it gets sick, chasing it down if (when) it gets out. Growing up in a rural area, SOMEBODY's cows were always out. It may not get eaten by predators, but getting hit and killed by a car because it got out is a real thing.

Just this past year my sister & her husband lost 2 calves over the winter - illness? Not sure. And a neighbor lost one to a car crash.

 

[Jennifer L.]

Oh, you already have the cow. Well, I would have asked her to buy a bred cow and raised the calf for her and just let her have the calf when it was butcher time, and you would have probably had another calf on the ground by that time along with Mama cow. So she would get the beef, and you would have a start on a herd.

Your mother is a good mother!

 

[||Downhome||]

Well I have no clue how to work this out in a proper fashion with out, Just raising the Beef and deduct hanging weight from the loan.

But if she wants to see it on paper, I suppose you could Itemize the whole affair.

Cost to deliver Beef to butcher+butcher fees.
Cost to Deliver Cut and wrapped
Cost per lb by cut.

Do the same with the veggies, price per lb + delivery.

Of coarse you need to add in some more for your business plan, such as time frames and projected costs vs profit and loss.

And the steps to be taken towards those ends.

Business plans are nothing more then proposals with the hows whys and risks spelled out for all parties involved.

 

[FarmboyBill]

Add in feed, salt, medicines, vet bills if any, veggie seed costs, fert costs, anything bought to process veggies, Anything bought to cultivate or otherwise work in the garden, and I would think that this would be the right time to buy whatever you think you will need in the future to do that.

 

[Oldhat]

Just for your reference I purchased a "half" of a grass fed 800lb (hanging weight) steer (in April of this year). I paid the farmer $400 for my half and he delivered it to the butcher (a 45 minute drive). I paid the butcher nearly $165.00 for my half of the kill fee and my half of the butchering fee. My total "all in cost" of which I received around $150lbs of meat was around $3.75 a lb (based on the 150lbs of meat I got, not the hanging weight).

This was a grass fed only animal and the only grain it received was from a small red pale a few times in order to move/manipulate the animal.

You should be able to do the math and come up with a value of the animal based on my numbers and doubling them to help you with the value.

Talk to your mother and see what she expects from the meat also....there is a big difference in grain fed beef and grass fed beef. Grass fed has little fat and is generally a bit tougher. Most people when it comes to grass fed will make hamburger out of the majority of the meat and only take a few select cuts for steak or roast. If she wants some steaks that are tender and juicy that are marbled then you will have to add in the costs of grain vs simply grass fed.

Hope I have helped with an example with some numbers so you can try and come up with your business plan. I know the farmer I bought it off of stated that he was not making a lot of money, he was retired from a normal day job and had a small homestead and tried to cover is costs of the rearing the animal and make a few bucks for his time....so you may want to bump up my prices or you may want to use those prices as a reference as after all you would be selling it to family (of whom were kind enough to loan you some money).

 

[Buffy in Dallas]

If she is all about the business side, have her sit down with you and teach you how to do a business plan and work the numbers up.

Before you sit down with her do some research and have some numbers to work with like how much hay you think will need to feed over winter and how much the hay will cost.

 

[Awnry Abe]

It works like a Visa commercial:

Steer raised for fattening: $1000
Greenhouse and driplines $2500
Time with mom: priceless
Mom's time with DD: priceless
Grandma's time with Paisley: priceless times infinity


Business plans never include "priceless". Talk to you mom about your dreams. Let her participate and live vicariously through you. Enjoy.