What are your SS goals for 2009?

[2dream]

I completely forgot about this thread.

I went back and looked at MY GOALS posted on the first page. LOL Fell out laughing at my self. Lots started but nothing finished.

The declutter happened in 1 room. No chicken house moved and on and on. As January progressed my goals completely changed.

Here I am in mid June and my goal for this year is saving my garden from the heat and getting what I can saved and canned.

I had also planned to can 52 chickens and rabbits by year end. I will be lucky to get 1/3rd that amount done. Hatches have not been good and litters keep dieing.

It seems the best laid plans will meet with the most resistance.

 

[FarmerChick]

Hmm...I am not sure if I want to downsize or up-size in the farm...LOL...so on the fence which way I am committing resources.

BUT

I will plant some apple and peach trees at my other farm. I wanted to do this last year, no time. Heck with the deer and such....get them in the ground and growing. Deal with problems later..LOL---I want my mini orchard!

update is this: since almost 1/2 a year gone, I decided to plant just a few trees come fall. not for selling like I kinda planned, I am doing for the family only.

YES I am downsizing the farm definitely!!



Tony bulldozed my WILD blackberry area along our long long long driveway up the hill.......SO now I need to plant some blackberries and blueberries and raspberries in a true orchard fashion.

Animals are set. No more.....just to maintain 400 hens give or take-----manage my 30 goats left----manage my 20 cattle----manage my 100 hogs. No more critters being added----so that is a goal I guess...not to increase!

Get my farm business on paper. I do not truly track sales etc. I make good money...where does it go??? After all these years time to do this. I have a business planner etc. on Microsoft that I am going to use this year. I will track this farm for one year to every penny and where it went and see just what is going on! ---starting today, Jan. 1
Yippee

not much more. just to conserve, cut back, save money, do things more for myself, and try to find that simpler life.

goal for 2009 is also have more vacations. mini long weekend types camping. I gave up alot of years going nowhere while farming. time to gain back some fun time!

that is about it. not tackling anything major. I have all the coops, barns, tractors, etc. etc. that I could need...now time to use them to their fullest potential I guess.

So just updating a bit and was interesting to see what I wrote earlier.

 

[nightshade]

get the quality of pasture improved thanks free I forgot that one

 

[user251]

my plan is to expand everything except bills in fact i am getting rid of services (cell phone, call id, cable tv is already gone) we dont NEED, i have already expanded my garden and have a sharecrop agreement with 2 other farmers, 1 of which we are sharing cattle and deer meat, the other we are sharing pork. purchase an incubator so i can selectively hatch eggs from good layers from our flock, we are looking into raising turkeys for meat. we have planted a small orchard of apples and blueberries, i am going to expand my water collection system by another 150 gallons and any thing else i can get away with without getting divorce papers. lol

 

[jambunny]

I wasn't registered when this thread started. It's fun to look back and see what I did get started.
Plant some fruit trees ( some are doing awesome, some look dead)
Plant my garden in a way to make weeding easier.
I need to make more goat soap
Can more Veggies
make more cheese
actually sold a couple of goats for a fair price.
get more of my meat rabbits bred and get live babies (rabbits aren't as prolific as people think)
get my chicken breeds seperated into different pens so I can sell some fertile eggs next year.
get one or two eggs to hatch in my incubator.
get my bourban reds to adulthood and breeding next Spring.

 

[me&thegals]

*Try growing meat birds.

*Further reduce the electric usage.

*Try to keep the house temp down to not waste wood.

*Increase income from my gardens in my CSA and farmer's markets.

*Research beekeeping and look into finding someone to possibly share some of the equipment with (my friend might be starting, too).

*Declutter and continue/increase purchase of used instead of new clothing, equipment, materials.

*Keep getting great ideas here!

I thought I would revive this old thread now that we're more than halfway through the year.


1. Our electric usage was WAY down all winter, up now with dehydrating, canning and dehumidifying this summer.

2. I will have to remember to chill out again this winter to use less wood

3. Income is the highest ever from my CSA this year. The markets have been slow, but my customers are very happily buying extras.

4. I have bees!! Started with 2 hives, now have 3!

5. Decluttering? Not so much. But, I'm not buying anything either since summer is so busy! My poor kids are outgrowing everything and need to wait for mom to take a breath and go shopping.

6. Additionally--butchered 25 dual-purpose roos this winter, raised and butchered 100 meat chickens, had hubby build 2 bat houses and helped him build 4 beehives, and am raising 10 Bourbon Red turkeys

7. Plan to: Store enough potatoes, onions, garlic, squash, carrots and beets to get us to spring.

8. Have a canning class scheduled with my CSA customers.

9. Have a corn processing day also in process of being scheduled for same customers.

Wow! What a year!! How are you all doing?