[highhorse]

thanks guys, sorry for too many posts  just trying to make sure we go down the best path possible with what we have. i must admit although eveyone has been sooo helpful the general feeling im getting is not to bother with animals unless i need an outlet for love and an empty wallet!!! whilst i do love my animals they need to at least break even 

i bred horses for many years, did well with it, but really dont want to go down that route again. however this 'farm' animal route seems like a minefield so far! having only ever kept sheep and pigs as pets or for own freezer its a steep learning curve to actually making them pay for themselves. my dad was a dairy farmer but it was so long ago now and it was bigger scale so better to turn a profit. smallholdings are a different kettle of fish....

guess im going to need to learn as i go and suck it up a bit and hope for a good year, every year 

mnnnn, i feel some grey hairs appearing....

xx

xx

[hughesy]

Another point to remember. Larger farmers with hundreds of animals and lots of land have to shift volume so they have to either sign contracts or sell into livestock markets. Neither of these routes gives them any control over the price they get paid for what they produce. That isn't true for smaller producers. We can choose where we sell our output and we can decide for ourselves what to charge for it. Whilst I don't agree with the silly prices seen at some farmer's markets or farm shops. I still have the say over what I charge for my meat and can be flexible depending on the circumstances. A large producer needing to shift a lot of stock gets what he is given.