small dairy quality of life, economics, and scale

[Kyle]

I am interested to hear from folks who operate small dairies (an approx 25-60 goat dairy has been my long term goal for some time now)

I am interested to hear about the scale people are operating at and how it is or isn’t working for them. Both economically and quality of life.

How many animals are you milking? Does this number work well for you? Are you making value added? wholesale or direct market? Are you using paid or bartered help or is it all family labor?

I really enjoy goats and cheese making. I do not mind the long hours and hard work that accompanies it, but as I start planning for my future and think about having children I do not want to miss their school events and other family events. A lot of dairy farmers I know have spoken to me about all the ball games, recitals, bday parties, etc that they have missed. While I’m sure it is unavoidable, what are some ways you have structured your operations to reduce the frequency of this? (hired help, milking times that work for you, scale, etc.)

Thanks

[Does’ Leap]

Kyle:

We milk an average of 55 goats from which we produce around 11,000 lbs/year. Kristan and I work full time and we employ one full time person March-October and our employee works part time the remainder of the year. I believe there is a “sweet spot” – a scale at which your farm/business can thrive. Big enough where you can support 2-3 full time people (or whatever your goal may be) and small enough where you can maximize margins. The size depends on your location, strengths, competition, etc. I believe we are at the right size and have not interest in getting bigger. I farm b/c I love it and have no interest in managing people and debt (within reason and to the extent is meets my goals). The woman who works for us does most of the cheese work. Kristan and I prefer being outside working with animals and doing field work rather than working with white coats and hairnets washing dishes in our small cheese plant.

In terms of quality of life, I couldn’t ask for better. We make a comfortable living and do what we love doing. That said, we paid our dues – hard. I worked as a teacher for 10 years trying to put $ in the farm as we grew our business. Kristan managed the farm with 1-2 interns (and me when I wasn’t at school). We built everything from the ground up. Trying times both financially and personally.

From an outside point of view, we “work” hard. For us it is what we do. For 3 months of the year, I have about 2 hours/work/day that needs doing (mostly milking and chores). The rest of the time is mine. I still “work”, but it is stuff I love doing (mostly logging and some telemarking when the snow is good). On the other hand, June to September 60-70 hour work weeks are not uncommon. We have 2 kids (10 and 13). Again they would say we work a lot, but we always have time to shoot some hoops, play a game of cards, go for a swim, and ,yes, go to all of their games (at least one of us). We involve them in the farm and we are around all the time. They certainly see and interact with me more than I did with my father who worked 9-5.

In a nutshell, great life but not easy getting here and it is not for everyone. We have had 4 sets of interns who have started goat dairies – 3 are still going strong after 4 years and 1 has failed due to divorce.

Good luck.

George

[Author]

Posts