|
|
Tuesday, September 18th, 2007
|
9:39a - Egg lisensing
So, one of the less pleasant aspects of this whole farm business thing is going to be the insane amounts of paperwork we have to complete. Luckily for us, Washington State has really gone out of their way to not kill small producers with fees and requirements.
(Just so y'all know, Ari and I are also using this as sort of a dumping ground of information, we'll be tagging each entry in the hopes of being able to easily re-find information we've found once before. Hence the really nitty-gritty stuff.)
So if we want to sell eggs out of our house, there are actually no licensing requirements. You simply must store the eggs clean and cold.
To sell at the farmers market, though, there are a few more things.
Master license. Well, we'll need one of these every year any which way. As far as I can tell this gives you a business number so that all your sub-licenses can be tracked properly. Cost of $15.
Egg Handler/Dealer License. This will allow us to sell eggs to the public in a retail setting such as the Farmer's Markets. I'm not sure if it is valid inter-state. Eventually we're hoping to do some internet sales / shipping (not so much of the chicken eggs but the more rare ones) . Cost per location is $30 for the first and $15 after that. I'm not sure if location is the egg-producing facility or the retail place. I think it's the retail place, but that "place" is our booth, the license moves with the booth.
Seals – It looks like we also have to get seals to put on our eggs, which basically say we gave all the appropriate money to the state. Annoying, but not overly onerous, $2.68 for a thousand.
Looks like on-site inspections are only needed if you have more than 3,000 birds, which we won't have to worry about for a while.
All in all, I really think our state government has done a pretty good job balancing between 'keeping the customer safe' and not causing small businesses who just want to make a living selling high quality goods to go out of business.
The plus side is that once we've done all this it's good for any eggs we sell, we don't need to get a separate one for the ducks and quail.
current mood:  anxious (3 comments |comment on this)
|
12:24p - Poultry links
Here are list of links on Poultry in general. Where to get them, coop designs, information on raising them etc.
http://www.mcmurrayhatchery.com
For purchasing birds and all other equipment and meds
https://www.gqfmfg.com/store/front.asp
Quail eggs, quail egg cartons, incubators, cages etc
http://www.backyardchickens.com/
Great site for general information on chickens and unique small coop designs
http://www.gamebird.com/coturnixquail.html
Information on how to raise and market coturnix (Japanese quail)
http://www.nwgamebirds.com/
site that sells Quail eggs (fertilized)
http://albc-usa.org/cpl/waterfowl/campbell.html
On Campbell ducks
http://www.feathersite.com/Poultry/Ducks/Musc/BRKScobies.html
on Muscovy ducks
(9 comments |comment on this)
|
12:29p - Gross income estimates poultry only
It really wouldn't make much sense for us to be doing this if we couldn't make a profit on it right? So here are some estimates we've been doing. This will change over time as we learn more and refine information. This is the estimate before feed, labor, equipment and other costs are figured in. These are when production is in full swing, 2-3 years from start up
Chickens
Eggs
150 total
average egg production: 220 per year
total chicken eggs: 33,000 eggs
total # of dozens: 2,750 dozen (sell 52 dozen a week)
Price per dozen: $3.00
Total: $8,250 per year
Meat
No commercial processing of chicken meat
Quail
Eggs
250 total-1 in five are cocks which means only 200 laying
average egg production: 300 per year (we would remove 1000 fertilized eggs per year for meat)
total quail eggs: 59,000 eggs
total # of dozens: 4916 dozen (Selling 95 doz per week. We need 4-8 restaurants ordering weekly)
price per dozen: $6.00
Total: $29,499
Meat
Processing 1000 quail per year
average dress weight is 1.5 lbs
1500 lbs of quail per year
Price per quail: $10.95 per pound
Total: $16,425
Ducks
Eggs
100 total
average egg production: 310 per year
total chicken eggs: 31,000 eggs
total # of dozens: 2,583 dozen (sell 50 dozen a week)
Price per dozen: $15.00
Total: $38,745 per year
Meat
15 ducks, 3 drakes
Each duck produces three clutches per year of around 15 eggs. So 45 ducks per hen per year.
Total number of ducks: 675
2:1 ratio of hens to drakes.
225 drakes @ 32.00 a piece = $7,200
450 hens @ 24.00 a piece= $10,800
Total: $18,000
Recap:
Chicken eggs: $8,250
Quail eggs: $29,499
Quail meat: $16,425
Duck eggs: $38,745
Duck meat: $18,000
Total: $110,919
(7 comments |comment on this)
|
1:18p - Sheep links
www.icelandicsheep.com
for breeding stock, fleece, yarn etc.
http://www.frelsifarm.com/
same as above!
http://www.stonehedgefibermill.com/index.html#card
AH HA! This is a place you can send unwashed wool for carding or spinning and then get the yarn or roving back!
http://www.nebraskasheep.com/directory/Sheep_Shearers/
Sheep shearers!
(comment on this)
|
|
|
|