An average day on the farm begins with computer work before daybreak, feeding and milking at daybreak, and then the day moves on to whatever is electronically scheduled (soap/lotion production, packaging, and anything else – what really soaks up the time – involving the “real” nitty-gritty operating of a business). The day ends with another feeding and milking, and additional computer work, planning for the next day, or week, or month.
I have learned to pare down products to manageable numbers (the base soap list, the base lotion scents), and now I am learning to do the same with the goats. The difference is, though, a pair of eyes, a history, a relationship, and some warm-air-breathing enjoyment coming from my lifetime passion – animals.
But, here is the scoop. Goat overhead is also a big part of my business. I must be careful. I feed. I fill the water buckets. I become the resident vet. And time is money. The balance to that is, I raise goats so other people can enjoy them. This is where my heart is finally trained to set aside the attachment. I make my life and pocketbook easier to manage, and I add happiness to someone else’s life (and possibly a business if they so choose).
There you have it. Another solid business decision made. I am slow at these things, I will admit. The heart has had to toughen up. It has been a work in progress.
The motto on the farm: keep one, sell one (goat). Keep a soap type (discontinue a soap type). It is all manageable. It is all good. It is smart.
Annie’s Goat Hill Handcrafted Soaps – Smell and Feel the Goodness
Annies Goat Hill Handcrafted Soaps 
I know about the goat business since we’ve been there, done that but now of course we’re not selling or breeding goats anymore though! I’m not sure if you knew that we had to put one of our Great Pyrenees to sleep on Thursday.
Amy, I am sure that was a difficult thing to experience. We have to do it as an act of love, I know. God bless. Mary
It was hard but we found out he had bone cancer so it was the best decision we could make for him since we didn’t want him being uncomfortable and we didn’t want him going through another hot summer, the vet told us that she didn’t think he would make it until Summer anyways, we’ve had this vet since we got into goats and she is very kind and will help us in our decisions, etc., if she doesn’t know the answer she will research it for us when dealing with our goats!
She is softhearted vet too, when she moved to a clinic we have used before and she bought this clinic too and it is now run by all women! She bought the veterinary clinic from 2 male vets but now they have only hired females there now. We also have a good friend that’s a veterinarian which we use sometimes as well but the woman vet is a bit closer to us!
But we’re not planning on getting anymore dogs, cats, goats, etc. once the ones we have aren’t here anymore though.
My brother and sister-in-law just a got a new puppy which is half bulldog and something else not sure what but I just posted a picture of him on my blog today.
Sorry for the long comment.
I love our bulldog, but he is a mess. He has a mind of his own, smart, right at 17 months old now. How old is your brother’s puppy?
You have a good vet, that means a great deal. We like a couple of different vets, one for the dogs and cats, one for the goats. It is difficult to find one that does it all, and one that shows an interest in the care.
I loved your long comment, Amy.
It is hard finding a good vet around here that will do everything and helps us make the best decisions for our animals. The veterinarian clinic she used to be at, the one male vet in there didn’t like goats and you can tell our vet was upset with him at times since she told us about him and disbudding when she made a farm call here. They sent us a nice card when we had to put my brother’s Boston Terrier/Beagle mix dog to sleep. So that is reason why she moved to another veterinary clinic and bought it so she didn’t deal with the male vets anymore and one of her assistants and vet techs came with her from the other clinic.
Glad you liked my long comment. Anyways I think my brother’s half bulldog is 3 mos. old, we think he might be French bulldog (he has the French bulldog ears). We do have a good vet and she means a great deal to us when it comes to our four-legged friends, she has nicknames for them too and really gentle with them and treats them nice. Our old neighbor’s sometimes still asks for her veterinarian clinic number when dealing with her Kathadin’s!
Amy
Great post Mary. It makes me wonder what area of my business I need to make better decisions with and keep it moving forward in the right direction. It takes guts, heart and strength to make those hard changes.
Very inspirational
Thank you, Dawn. The pruning and shifting has to happen, and once it starts, it becomes even more obvious where the changes need to be made.
This is exactly why I cannot have a business like yours. I get attached. When I was young I wanted to be a vet. Then I realized I was too sensitive toward animals and could not deal with a suffering animal.
The barn is quieter again today. A gentlemen came out and picked up the remainder of the kids, all 8 of them.
Vet school is difficult! I looked into it about 4 years ago. I realized then that I was nearly too old to devote that many years to school. I wanted to be an old time type of vet, do my job on the road, not in an office. I still like the idea, but can you imagine the calls at all hours?
Oh we woke up our old vet once when we ran into a kidding problem and we even beat him to the vet clinic! People who know me say I should become a Vet Tech but I could never work it into my schedule to become one anyways even though my Dad has helped our good veterinarian on several occasions and my Mom and I get to chat with his wife which is actually his 2nd marriage and now it is just the 2 of them working in the clinic which is next door to their house.
Amy