Presented at Indianhead Sheep Clinic in February 2017.

1. Can You Make Money
with a Small Flock (or Herd)?
SUSAN SCHOENIAN
Sheep & Goat Specialist
University of Maryland Extension
sschoen@umd.edu – sheepandgoat.com

2. What is a small flock (herd)?
• 10?
• 30?
• 50?
• 100?
• 200?
• 500?
• 1000?
• 2000?

3. What is making money?
• Agricultural land (tax) assessment.
• Tax-write off (depreciation)
• Sales tax exemption.
• Covering feed costs
• Money for children’s college
education.
• More income than expenses (cash)
• Schedule F profit
• Return to labor and management
How much is enough?
• Return on investment
How much is enough?

4. Tips for making money
with a small flock or herd
1. Manage feed costs
2. Select and breed
efficient sheep and
goats.
3. Effective marketing.
4. Manage your flock or
herd like a business.

5. Manage feed costs
• Feed is the single largest cost in a
sheep and goat enterprise.
• Pasture is not FREE!
• You can’t fix what you don’t
measure.
– How much does it cost you to
feed a ewe or doe for the year?
– How much does it cost you to
feed a lamb or kid to market
weight? What is the cost of gain?
– Are you selling market animals at
the most profitable weight(s)?

6. Manage feed costs
• Maximize use of forage.
• Buy and feed by weight.
• Learn how to balance simple low-
cost rations.
• Supplement what forage diet is
deficient in.
• Shop around for feed ingredients.
• Consider alternative feeds
• Feed whole grains.
• Invest in feed storage.
• Minimize feed wastage.

7. There are two kinds of feed costs.
Purchased or harvested
• Hay
• Grain
• By-product feedstuff
• Minerals, vitamins
• Feed additives
• Milk replacer
Pasture and browse
• Seed
• Fertilizer
• Lime
• Chemicals
• Machine work
• Fencing
• Watering

8. Maximize pasture resource
• Soil test
• Lime and fertilize
• Maintain mixed swards
• Control “weeds”
• Implement rotational
grazing system
• Extend grazing season
• Pasture renovation
• Plant annuals
• Sacrifice field/lot
• Strategic supplementation.

9. Feed balanced rations
• Nutrient requirements vary by
species, size, age, and stage and
level of
productivity/performance.
• Feed to meet, but not exceed,
requirements.
• Animals require nutrients, not
specific feedstuffs.
• Animals require amounts, not
percentage of nutrients.
• Divide animals into production
groups for proper feeding.

10. Learn how to balance simple rations.
• Weigh animals and feed.
• Nutrient requirements are
based on size (weight) of
animal.
• Need to know how much
animals are eating and how
much they are wasting.
• Need to know nutrient
composition of feeds.
– Can use book values or feed
tags for some feeds.
– Should have forages and by-
product analyzed, as their
nutrient content can vary.

11. Ration balancing
• Rations are usually
balanced for energy
(TDN), protein (CP),
calcium (Ca), and
phosphorus (P).
• They can be balanced for
other micronutrients.
• Can balance by hand, use
a spreadsheet, ration
balancing software, or
web site.
http://www.sheepandgoat.com/rationsoftware

12. Feed least cost rations
• Shop around for feed ingredients.
• Buy by weight or know cost per lb. or
ton.
– $5/bale
$333/ton for 30 lb. bales
$250/ton for 40 lb. bales
$200/ton for 50 lb. bales
• Compare feed cost on basis of
supplying certain nutrient.
– Cost of energy
– Cost of protein
– Cost of minerals
• Compare ingredients of commercial
products.
– Bagged feeds
– Mineral mixes
– Nutritional tubs

13. Balance feed costs with labor
• The most expensive way to
provide nutrients is via nutritional
tubs and blocks.
But they save labor!
• There can be substantial waste
when feeding round bales,
especially without well-designed
feeders.
But it reduces labor!
• When given free access to feed,
ewes (especially) and does will
eat more than they need.
But it reduces labor!
• If you put lambs and kids on self-
feeders, they will eat more and
have reduce feed efficiency
(feed/gain).
But it reduces labor!

14. Feed whole grains
• Once lambs and kids have functioning rumens,
they are able to process whole grains.
• There is no benefit to processing grains for small
ruminants.
• Some whole grains will pass through digestive
system, but loss is minimal.
• There are less digestive upsets with whole grain.
• Feed efficiency is improved with whole grain
feeding.
• No forage source is necessary when feeding whole
grains to growing/finishing lambs (goats?).
• You can balance simple, cost-effective rations
utilizing whole grains, forages, and supplements.

15. Consider alternative feeds
• Soyhulls and corn gluten are
good sources of highly
digestible fiber.
• Distiller’s grains are a good
source of energy and protein.
• When feeding alternative
feeds, need to consider
nutrient composition, storage,
quality factors, and nutrient
imbalances.
• Compare cost to supply
nutrient(s), alternative feed vs.
traditional feedstuff.

16. Invest in feed storage
• You can reduce feed costs
considerably by purchasing
feedstuffs in bulk quantities.
• It doesn’t take a large flock
or herd to justify the cost of
a bin or other feed storage.
• Improperly stored or
covered hay deteriorates
rapidly in quality.
• Storage gives you flexibility
in your feeding program.

17. Minimize feed wastage
Properly designed feeders Don’t overfeed

18. Select and raise efficient livestock
• Are your breeds appropriate for your
environment, production system, and
intended markets?
• Are you using breeds in their
appropriate roles?
• Are you culling unproductive,
unprofitable females?
• Are you recording performance and
using records to select your
replacements?
• Are you buying and using genetically
superior males?
• Are your yearlings the best animals in
your flock?

19. What is your percent lamb/kid crop?
• Percent lamb and kid crop is the
primary factor affecting
profitability of the sheep and
goat enterprise.
• Percent lamb/kid crop =
Number of females exposed ÷
Number of offspring marketed
(or kept for replacement)
• ASI has made increasing the
reproductive efficiency of the US
flock a priority and has created 12
fact sheets focused on increasing
the lamb crop.

20. Best management practices to
increase your lamb crop
1. Accelerated lambing cycles
2. Breeding ewe lambs at 7 to 9 months
3. Disease prevention and treatment
4. Optimal nutrition
5. Select for prolific genetics
6. Manage for seasonal changes in reproduction
7. Match reproduction to management
8. Reduce lamb loss
9. Select for prolific genetics
10. Test for pregnancy status
11. Test rams for breeding soundness
12. Use crossbreeding
http://lambresourcecenter.com/production-resources/best-practice-resources/

21. Effective marketing
• Market lambs and kids at the most
profitable weights and times.
– Know when demand is highest
– Learn what kind of animals your
market wants.
• Reduce or eliminate middlemen.
• Add value to what you’re selling
– Meat
– Fiber
– Dairy
– Breeding stock
• Aim for highest net price not
necessarily highest price, as different
marketing options have different
costs associated with them.

22. Manage your flock or herd like a business.
• Know your cost of production.
– Cost of maintaining female for one
year
– Cost of growing/finishing
lambs/kids for market
– Most profitable weight to sell
lambs and kids.
– Cost per unit (milk, cheese)
• Calculate break even
• Calculate benchmarks
– Percent lamb/kid crop
– Pre-weaning losses
– Post-weaning losses
• Identify areas for improvement
• Don’t be afraid to spend money
to make money.

23. Now, let’s see if we can make money
raising sheep or goats on paper.
http://www.sheepandgoat.com/spreadsheets

32. Thank you for your attention.
Questions? Comments?
SUSAN SCHOENIAN
Sheep & Goat Specialist
University of Maryland Extension
sschoen@umd.edu- sheepandgoat