Re: Price of fresh milk

[Guest guest]

not for nothing but the cost of the cow should be depreciated over the years of

live... you don't buy a 1500 cow every year :-)if you look at the grassfed only

cow share models they are much less expensive and you can sell grassfed milk at

a higher price. If you are pasturing.. you need land.. but that too like the cow

is an expence that is stretched over 30 years or so.. it is still expensive ...

but if you look into the farmer to consumer legal defense programs they have a

great deal of set up info all ready. and in a cow share you can't sue the farmer

for something wrong with your own milk.. limits liability.

the only way to make money it seems in this day is to grass fed and sell to the

people who know its value

>

> Excellent points on the part of Joanne and Chris.

>

>

> I used to sell fresh milk, but quit because if I am not making $20+ per hour,

I need to be at the office, earning a pay check.

>  

> Here is what I figured it cost me to produce milk for a year and what I need

to have to justify doing it.

>  

> Cost of a cow  $1500

> AI or bull            $50

> Feed                $300

> Hay or pasture  $450

> Equipment        $150

> Total              $2450

>  

> All this assumes you have the land and some sort of shed and pasture.

>  

> Time = 2 hours per day while the cow is lactating to get cow, feed, milk,

filter, cool and store milk. 600 hours. Marketing/sales time 4 hours weekly for

43 weeks 172 hours.

> Estimate production for a fairly good cow of 6 gallons per day for 300 days or

1800 gallons.

> So actual inputs would cost ~$1.35/gallon. In order to get my $20/hour I have

to get `$10/gallon to justify the trouble. Again, that does not account for

land, pasture, shed, tractor, insurance, property taxes, etc. I could do it for

that because a lot of the expenses are absorbed in my beef business. And when I

sold milk it was for $7.50 delivered or $5/gallon at the house.

> Now if I had 10 cows, a milking machine and a constant supply of customers,

and someone to give me relief if I wanted a day off, I might consider it.

> Bill

>

[Guest guest]

U enter it once in a accounting program and they track all your

expenses with alll the depreciation for the entire business year after year…

computers have made this very easy.

 But what I was talking about was the reality of NOT Buying the

1500 cow every year.. you would not buy a new cow every year.  Cows live longer

than 1 year. If you added a cow every year.. you would also have the added milk

… but the initial investment (can be taken in a 159 all at one deduction …. And

not depreciated..  if you wanted ..but the fact remains that that cow… is not

bought…at 1500 .. each  and every year. It’s a onetime expense and it last

several years and they reproduce over time.   OK not that fast but …That’s why I

like goats… they have more babies and shorter gestation and cost less and lb

for lb for what the eat to the milk they give … they are 1/3 more efficient.  But

they may be more time consuming to milk more does.. but depending on the breed

you have milk as rich as sheeps milk

From: RawDairy

[mailto:RawDairy ] On Behalf Of Blue Reef Virtual Servers

Sent: Wednesday, July 14, 2010 11:16 AM

To: RawDairy

Subject: Re: Re: Price of fresh milk

I think depreciation was meant in an accounting term, not

the market value of the animal. The IRS requires you to depreciate capital

assets, with the assumption that they wear out over time and thus must need

to be replaced. So, instead of deducting the entire cost of purchasing an

animal in the year it was purchased, you divide the purchase price of the

animal over a particular number of years (its predetermined lifespan), and

each year deduct that cost as part of a depreciation table. It makes sense in

theory, but it's a PITA to do in reality, especially if you have a big herd

and have to track the depreciation for each animal.

Subject: Re: Re: Price of fresh milk

To: " RawDairy " <RawDairy >

Date: Wednesday, July 14, 2010, 10:36 AM

Bill

your post was a great starting point.

But I don’t see any other things per animal. Like medications. Vet bills.

Cultures. Lab costs. Minerals. Wormers. Fecal. Etc. To me this too is

important to add into the mixture. I would add $900/year/herd for that stuff.

My vet comes out 4 times a year on average for healthy things. Just to step

outside the car it’s $75-150 depending on day...also things you join. ADGA.

FDGA. FTCLDF those are all costs, they add up quickly. As well as registering

them (for sales). Etc.

I have goats so I would need 6 goats to equal your one cow. Yikes. I

had no idea cows gave that much daily. Goats only average (well mine) a 8#

(gallon). And a first freshener only 5# a day. Half a gallon if I’m lucky. So

I only have 2 seniors and two FF milking at the moment. 4 goats giving on

average 3 gallons a day.

My feed costs per month for the herd is $300. 4 milkers. 5 yearlings. 2

bucks. 1 buckling. (one geriatric horse that eats next to nothing). Milkers

get all they want whenever they want. Within reason. I’m not a pastured

operation (moot with goats anyway ).

Interesting on the cost of depreciation. I would say they appreciate with age

not depreciate. A good 3 year old milker gives more then a 2 year old. And a

5 year old should be giving more etc.

To make this a viable business ($30k/year) for me I would need 15 goats in

milk. 300 days. And no first fresheners. And I would still have to work

outside the farm as it costs more then that to keep the house.

I won’t get to that point for another 3 –5 years. As I would rather not buy

milkers and grow my own, so to speak.

jo

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From: silkiechicken888 <cpalmerbull@ crystalimagingst udio.net>

Reply-To: " RawDairy@yahoogroup s.com " <RawDairy@yahoogroup

s.com>

Date: Wed, 14 Jul 2010 02:34:30 -0000

To: " RawDairy@yahoogroup s.com " <RawDairy@yahoogroup

s.com>

Subject: Re: Price of fresh milk

not for nothing but the cost of the cow should be depreciated over the years

of live... you don't buy a 1500 cow every year :-)if you look at the grassfed

only cow share models they are much less expensive and you can sell grassfed

milk at a higher price. If you are pasturing.. you need land.. but that too

like the cow is an expence that is stretched over 30 years or so.. it is

still expensive ... but if you look into the farmer to consumer legal defense

programs they have a great deal of set up info all ready. and in a cow share

you can't sue the farmer for something wrong with your own milk.. limits

liability.