Making Money on our Small Dairy Farm

[@jeffb8562]

Best damn job I ever had. Small dairy farm. 60-70 cows max. I woke up at 4 am everyday to milk those cows. And then I went to school. After school, I milked the cows again. Saturdays sucked. Sun up to sundown. But Sunday was for ourselves. The one day I worked on a Sunday, when my boss had to leave town, it was weird. The cows were different. Like they knew it was Sunday.

[@zaneymay]

You two are doing awesome and should be happy with how far you have come. Hope you keep up the videos.

[@vnthomas16]

Don’t worry… stay tuned! More to come!

[@joshuakasper7430]

I used to look at the same website. Frances W Owen I believe was the gentleman's name. I actually printed off a lot of the pages in case the site went away. Thanks for the link.

[@vnthomas16]

Yes. It was such an inspirational website to me as a young man interested in dairying. I’m glad someone archived it. I don’t take everything on there as gospel, in fact I even disagree with some. But there is also a lot of great advice and a lot of good experience on there too!

[@sandersonshomestead6818]

We have 3 cows in milk, 40 customers, hours n hours of work. I enjoy your channel.

[@vnthomas16]

Thank you! Glad you enjoy our channel! Dairy cows are a lot of work, but I find it very rewarding!

[@petranora9733]

Love your farm, watching from 🇰🇪

[@richardwilkens4577]

I'm milking 14 right now drying off 2 soon but have 2 heifers going to freshen in the next month

[@vnthomas16]

Awesome! Love small dairies! Thanks for sharing!

[@dave_from_mo]

As 2 90 year old farmers told me "You got to love farming knowing that some years your not going to make a dime". Now that's love.

[@vnthomas16]

I’d like to think it all evens out in the end… thanks for watching!

[@michaelcorning4857]

Being a former dairyman an retired Vietnam vet ,I made it a point never to dip into my retirement. The farm had to pay for itself an pay me.It was hard at times however I did it.Lot of back slapping on my part.Great video.I did other side jobs.Hay beef an replacement heifers.

[@vnthomas16]

Thank you for your service, and thank you for sharing!

[@stevemccoy8138]

More Power to you guys ,glad you are doing well. America needs more farms. 🚜

[@vnthomas16]

Thank you! We sure do need more farms, especially small, diversified, family farms!

[@mtozzy11]

Great insight into how your doing it. Supplementary income for me is beef producing(we bred 30 head a year) hay production (we bale roughly 1000ish small squares a year) contracting to other farms (hay making, timber milling, and general tractor work) as well as Vegetable production (Potatoes have done well this season for us, halfway through harvest of 5 acre's) throwing dairy into the mix is going to be a challenge from time to time but I won't have the issues with having cows in a barn they'll be outside on pasture year round.

[@vnthomas16]

Diversification is key! Thanks for sharing!

[@CathyGoes]

I'd pay quite a bit for good roasting potatoes. The only organic ones I can get around me are fancy little fingerling potatoes regardless of the season.

[@richwhitaker1506]

You are obviously very passionate about the farm and dairy operations. Always great to see the animals.

[@vnthomas16]

We certainly love our cows! Thanks for watching!

[@bucsr.6106]

You two have always planned so well. You are inspiring.

[@vnthomas16]

Thanks! Proper planning prevents poor performance!

[@aaronthomas6732]

Thanks for making this video. I’ve been curious about the finances. It certainly did help that you guys built this thing slowly. Maybe you have already thought about this but I’ll mention it in case you haven’t, after you get to your 6-8 cow number, you should consider raising and selling family milk cows. Gah, you guys continue to inspire me to want start my own micro dairy. Thanks!

[@vnthomas16]

We’ve already bred some of our cows to beef. There’s always a chance we could sell family milk cows. We’ll cross that bridge when we get to it! Thanks for watching!

[@c.o.e.jr.1044]

I just found your channel. It is awesome! Thank You so much!!!!

[@vnthomas16]

Thank you! Glad you found us!

[@richardcompton2555]

Your dairy farm is the exact right size for the two of you. You are providing for yourselves and contribute to your local economy. You are able to create a high quality product that commands a premium price. The ol' 'you get what you pay for" idea. Your carbon foot print is small and you offset by re-using the byproducts of your cows. There is a need for more small family farms in the USA and yours is good example of how you can do it. Additionally, staying in the Coast Guard that extra 10 years gave you a good start towards the build out of your Dairy. Not everyone has that opportunity but it can be achieved with good planing and hard work.

[@vnthomas16]

I feel you hit the nail on the head with this comment. The decision to stay in the CG was tough, because we just wanted to get farming! But we’re glad we did. That extra time gave us a chance to really learn our land and plan things out. We have been through so many iterations of our farmstead plan it isn’t even funny, but we have no regrets on how it all came together.

[@homesteadinglawyer]

Great video! This is the only sustainable business model for small farms.

[@vnthomas16]

Diversification is key! Thanks for watching!

[@choreboy3906]

I wish you every success. But Ayrshires are my preferred Breed. Much success to you!

[@vnthomas16]

Thank you!

[@janetdupree6353]

You two are delightful, and your videos are always interesting and informative. In addition to your KZbin channel, I follow father and son commercial in southeast Pennsylvania. Watching them working together is inspiring. My mother and step-father owned and lived on a working avocado ranch near San Diego, CA. My mother said the profits payed for their ranching life (which they loved).

[@vnthomas16]

Yup, we watch a lot of other farmer’s channels as well! Farming is a lifestyle we love.

[@douglassmith6448]

Thank you for serving our country

[@vnthomas16]

You’re welcome! 🇺🇸

[@PilotMcbride]

I was brought up on a mixed farm, sheep & cropping, then went into a trade, never went back. But have spent up until I got ill, using my trade working in power generation industry and part-time on local farms helping out where I could and also maintenance (most of it free to the small landholders). Farming is a way of life, there is no "get rich quick", only hard work and a smile at the end of the day (imo). I truly miss being involved with our local guys these days, but health issues have a greater priority these days. Hat off to you guys, respect & love to you both, you're doing ok. 👏👏👏 👋👋👋

[@vnthomas16]

Do you know how to make a small fortune farming? Start with a large one! Haha! It is a lifestyle. If only consumers knew that most farmers were practically feeding them for free… Always appreciate your comments!

[@PilotMcbride]

And that time you actually save money for years, get a bumper crop, pay off debts and buy a brand spanking new car..... What a hoot! Never happened to us, but it happened to friends of ours (fellow farmers) and everyone celebrated. Imagine, a dustkicker buying a new car, unheard of back then. The bonds were (and are) unbreakable. Everyone shared the burden of droughts and floods....... The pain, the heartache, the joy, the get togethers, the jumping in the dam after a dusty day's work, climbing the windmills and getting yelled at, mustering on old "Fatso" our faithful old horse, thank goodness my memory hasn't gone. I'm in my late 60s now and those childhood memories are still quite vivid, as are later memories in our local area. Nowadays I look out over the the valley from our front porch at some of the properties I worked on part-time (while in the power industry) with fond memories....... And I've still got my "armchair stock saddle", never could come at mustering on a motorbike (although I was a keen motorbike rider in younger days), horses are smarter, but don't crack 'em on the bum with your whip, they don't like it. Love you guys, all the best

[@audreyshelton9301]

Honest and inspiring to see you two enjoy your dream

[@vnthomas16]

Thank you for your support!

[@johnwest8583]

Thanks both of you for your service! And thanks for the video updates and instruction. I have a small operation that provides raw milk to a targeted customer base in Missouri and I continue to get inspiration from your videos. Thanks again and continued success to you all.

[@vnthomas16]

Thank you! And glad our videos are helpful!

[@highroad3580]

Thank you for this overview! We have a similar situation with Nubian dairy goats. We milk primarily for us, and overflow goes to a local coop that services the public. I really like seeing what y’all are doing there. Staying out of debt is the top priority.

[@vnthomas16]

Indeed it is! Thanks for watching!

[@CathyGoes]

"It's how much money you keep." Absolutely. I'm about to head off to live on a ship processing fish in Alaska for the next 6 months. The pay is decent but I'm also saving at least $7500 in rent, utilities, food, transportation, etc by being on the ship. I should have my debt paid off shortly and from there it's all about piling up money for a farm. I hope to buy a van to convert into an RV when I get back from this next season. It should lower my housing costs in between fishing seasons and allow me to visit farms.

[@vnthomas16]

Tough work. Be safe up there. Know your emergency procedures! Thanks for watching!

[@fishfiction7823]

Love your video you guys! You are living such a blissful life. Raising cattle is something I have always wanted to do! Keep up the amazing work and love ❤️

[@vnthomas16]

Glad you enjoy our videos! Thanks for watching!

[@DennysCountryLife]

Lots of good information there. I can say firs hand that your cheese is fantastic, and absolutely worth buying! You guys are awesome, and I'm very happy for you. You're living the dream!

[@vnthomas16]

Glad you enjoyed the cheese! Hopefully all was well… It maybe spent a little extra time waiting for Snoqualmie Pass to open!

[@cottontop4223]

You guys are awesome and I appreciate all of your videos.

[@vnthomas16]

Thank you! We appreciate your support!

[@farmertylerranch4399]

Keep up the good work! The real profit is the lifestyle!

[@vnthomas16]

You get it! A lot of people don’t!

[@andrewveitch8515]

Thanks for all the great pointers and advice. You guys are an inspiration for us starting out in our farming adventure. Have you considered being " Harvest Hosts" by allowing RV folk to park in a spot on your farm overnight and pay you by buying produce ? Also consider "Hip Camp" . Great ways to diversify and add to income without any outlay.

[@vnthomas16]

We let people we know come visit us. Otherwise we’re so busy that we just don’t have enough time host people.

[@7pdude]

thank you sooo much! those were some very interesting insights. personally i'm not into farming, just helping out here and there. in our area dairys with 60, 80 or even a 100 cows are often not profitable anymore forcing the farmers to give up. in the end it all boils down to not how much you gross but how much you keep, just like you said! interestingly enough most people primarily talk about revenue ... i prefer 1k rev from which i can keep 200 over 10k rev from which i can keep 100 anytime

[@vnthomas16]

Exactly. I wouldn’t be surprised if we make more money than dairy farms much bigger than us.

[@joansmith3492]

Glad all is OK.

[@vnthomas16]

Doing great!

[@zippypony1]

So happy for you 2 , glad things are going well and wish you continued success. Glad the cheese holds over longer , was getting worried about when the KW showes up with my order that it might be moldy , i feel more at ease now LOL . Keep up the good work and the videos !!!!!!!

[@vnthomas16]

Someday soon, maybe a KW video! Santa brought me some parts! (But some are back ordered… hopefully arriving soon!)

[@gods_soldier971]

Living the dream!! Awesome!!

[@vnthomas16]

Thanks!

[@leorademaker1837]

Mooie vlog met uit leg. het belangrijkste hoe begin je. koop je een boerderij met geld van de bank en wat kost het land daar per ha hier kost 1 ha 150.000,00 euro . je tractor had je al. en inderdaad als je handig bent in techniek kan je gebruikte machines kopen en opknappen. Ik vind het knap dat je zo geld kan verdienen. Bravo.

[@wilmalong5654]

I remember the Owenlea Wensite. I used to print some of that info. onto actual sheets of paper.

[@vnthomas16]

I still have some printouts from websites back from the 90’s. Glad I did, as there is still some good info in there and the websites are long gone…

[@natevanlandingham1945]

And add to the staying in the military till retirement is a steady retirement income check! Thank you for your service by the way!!🇺🇲🦅

[@vnthomas16]

Healthcare really was the deciding factor for us. The retirement check is nice, but we’re happy the farm can pay for itself. Thanks for watching!

[@natevanlandingham1945]

@@vnthomas16 yep healthcare can take a lot of money to pay for...or roll the dice till 65 and most likely loose it all.

[@richardwilkens4577]

I have my retirement from Wal-Mart to help and have access to almost 200 acres to bale hay off of and I sell the excess that I don't need

[@vnthomas16]

We sold hay before we had cows. Now we keep everything! Haha!

[@Paelorian]

Is there enough income with a diary your size that you could live comfortably if you didn't have military retirement income and healthcare? I'm wondering if a business like yours could be profitable entirely self-reliant. Your lifestyle is appealing, and I think what you're doing is really great. But without a pension or healthcare paid for, I wonder if I could really sustain a family with income from just a couple of cows. Let's say starting out debt-free with decent land and a barn and other necessary structures equipment. Is running a small dairy farm like yours something you'd recommend without additional income? Thank you for this video and the others. I really enjoy and learn from your videos. You're an inspiration to me. Much like the Man in Ohio was to you with his 1990s website. I sometimes fantasize about a family cow, but I wouldn't want to have a herd animal alone and lonely, so if I had cows I'd probably have a few cows and more milk than I'd ever consume. So my cow fantasy turns to having a couole of cows as you do, it would have to be a small dairy operation processing the milk into cheese, butter, and other dairy goods. I don't have any pension or discounted healthcare coming to me (which I'm sure you well earned!), so I need to be careful about being able to live off of whatever business I get into. Maybe I could retire to a hobby farm someday, but I'd rather spend my working years living a lifestyle that makes myself and my family, friends, and community healthier and happier. But I have to make it work financially.

[@jlurenzjr]

This is so amazing. You both are so inspiring. Some passion and hard work and you can make your life into anything you want it to be and you both are incredible examples of that! Love watching your videos and learning about what you do. Keep it up!

[@vnthomas16]

Glad you enjoy our videos!

[@johnsquires9645]

Great video and good luck in your dairy

[@vnthomas16]

Thank you!

[@samwiginton339]

Great job , you have a beautiful farm

[@vnthomas16]

Thank you!

[@michealhanner8216]

Great video . When will we see update on the HO layout

[@vnthomas16]

I have a few different projects I’m working on I’ve been filming… Stay tuned!

[@robertkatje3760]

Thank you for sharing. I love what you are doing! You are producing a very premium product and your prices are reasonable. I have done heardshare but plan on getting into processing to have more sales possibilities. Currently dumping a lot of milk. With processing and selling six cows is plenty. What you have built is inspiring! Suggestion for a future video-what sells the best at the farmers market and how do you determine how much of each to produce. Also is being certified organic worth it?

[@vnthomas16]

You’re welcome! Cheese sells the best at farmer’s markets. Hands-down. Plus, it’s “concentrated” so there is “less” to haul. We definitely think being Certified Organic is worth it. We believe in the principles, even if corporations are trying to undermine them, and for a consumer who doesn’t know us personally, it conveys a lot of information about our farming practices very quickly. Thanks for watching!

[@joshs.5937]

As a Coastie passing through 13 years of service, I feel like I'm staring in a mirror. You're doing exactly what I've always planned to do post retirement! Just like you, I keep jumping back and fourth between staying to 20 or starting now. Do you think you wouldve survived if you started before retirement?

[@vnthomas16]

Well, I would say at 13 years, you’re already on the downhill run and to stick with it. Are you legacy (High-3) retirement? Would we had survived if we got out at the 10 year mark? I think we would have, but it would have been hard. I still would have had to get an off-farm job to pay for building up the farm, and I wouldn’t have had the benefits of retiring. I would love to learn more about your plans. Feel free to email us at info(at)clovermountaindairy(dot)com.

[@davidmyers2391]

Good information

[@vnthomas16]

Thanks! Happy you got something out of it!

[@ryanellsworth1946]

Clover Mountain Dairy Caramels and Peanut Brittle! Long shelf life. ;)

[@vnthomas16]

Sounds delicious to me!

[@jacobfarms650]

This is very good content.

[@vnthomas16]

Thank you!

[@nicoleolson1416]

Love the shirt Virginia 🥰

[@vnthomas16]

We love the Blue Creek Mercantile!

[@stewartking9653]

Are you able to work on your horse drawn equipment? I would love to see you two and the horses in action. Are the beef cows you have, are they the bull calves you had? You two seem to plan your work and work your plan. Keep up the great work you and you will get the rewards.

[@vnthomas16]

We’ll probably wait until spring before we do any horse work. We don’t have any beef cows now, but we have some cows bred to beef bulls. The steers we’ve sold have been dairy steers. Thanks for watching!

[@randyrejer4219]

You two are great.

[@vnthomas16]

Thanks! You’re great too! We always appreciate you watching our videos!

[@waynemiracle8928]

Is there much money to be made by selling off new yearlings each year, since you have reached your maximum herd size? Great video!

[@vnthomas16]

Yes, in either bred heifers or organic grass fed beef for the steers.

[@mennoreuten1563]

I see thats working for you guys, but as you were saying you have to love what you do, so if there is something special is it possible for you to leave the farm i mean do you have some backup, in my case i can call one of the kids or neigbours, thanks and greetings from a Dutch dairyfarmer

[@vnthomas16]

We have a neighbor kid who takes care of things (including milking) when we have to get away. We always take at least one longer vacation every year, but we plan that during the dry period.

[@2galshomesteading]

You mentioned yogurt. Do you pasteurize prior to adding the culture? Can you sell raw milk yogurt? If you pasturize, was it hard to educate your cutomers on how or why you need to pasteurize?

[@vnthomas16]

The education isn’t too hard. There really is no such thing as raw yogurt, since in order to denature the proteins to allow the yogurt to thicken, you have to heat the milk to 180°f, well above the 145°f required for pasteurization. Yes, the cultures are added after the proteins are denatured (and thus, also pasteurized) and the temperature of the milk is brought back down for the optimal temperature for the specific strains of bacteria you’re using. Great questions and thanks for watching!

[@Yeshua73732]

Should look into honey aswell

[@vnthomas16]

We have. Not sure it’s the best fit right now though. Thanks for watching!

[@jennyfox1398]

Wonderful video. Why not go with CSA vs registered dairy and cut the costs?

[@vnthomas16]

All about passion. Something isn’t worth doing if you don’t have the passion. Our passion is dairy cows, so that’s why we do it. I’m not very good at growing vegetables anyway.

[@jacobfarms650]

If you would be willing could you talk about the cost to start and operate a small dairy? You could talk about it in the broad hypothetical general sense. I am just curious what it takes or what could be reasonably expected if stepping into the business.

[@vnthomas16]

It’s hard to pin down an exact number because we have worked on it so long… I started acquiring dairy equipment in 2007. Some of it was acquired in exchange for labor, so I don’t know how to put a value on it. I would have to guesstimate we have $100K in the barn. That was before lumber and other building supplies skyrocketed. The basic pole barn kit was $30K. The wood siding was from a local mill. We did all the labor (carpentry, plumbing, electrical) ourselves with the exception of placing the concrete (I did do the base, forming, rebar, and equipotential plane myself) and the refrigeration work on the bulk tank. I wouldn’t be surprised if we payed someone to build the same thing, and outfit it with new equipment, it would cost 3 times as much. This probably wasn’t very helpful, but if you get anything out of it, it is to learn to do as much of everything yourself.

[@vnthomas16]

It’s hard to pin down an exact number because we have worked on it so long… I started acquiring dairy equipment in 2007. Some of it was acquired in exchange for labor, so I don’t know how to put a value on it. I would have to guesstimate we have $100K in the barn. That was before lumber and other building supplies skyrocketed. The basic pole barn kit was $30K. The wood siding was from a local mill. We did all the labor (carpentry, plumbing, electrical) ourselves with the exception of placing the concrete (I did do the base, forming, rebar, and equipotential plane myself) and the refrigeration work on the bulk tank. I wouldn’t be surprised if we payed someone to build the same thing, and outfit it with new equipment, it would cost 3 times as much. This probably wasn’t very helpful, but if you get anything out of it, it is to learn to do as much of everything yourself.

[@ajlewis9454]

Best video so far. When you get to the number of cows you want will you be selling off your heffer calves in the future?

[@vnthomas16]

Probably. Even right now, half our herd is bred to beef. Thanks for watching!

[@cedricgates9976]

diversify cant say it enough the only way to do it nowdays worked for generations on small farms no reason wont work now that and as i learned no employies thats a killer

[@vnthomas16]

Yup. Specialization is the proverbial putting of all your eggs in one basket. Thanks for watching!

[@bc8968]

Can you do this without retirement income??? I would think this plays a significant part in the balance sheet!

[@vnthomas16]

Short answer is yes. As we mentioned, my retirement is primarily for health insurance. The dairy makes a profit.

[@C.Hawkshaw]

Do you guys get more per gallon for Jersey than if you had Holsteins? I switched to all Jersey milk, also known as A2, and my intestines are much happier.

[@vnthomas16]

Definitely. When we started, we found it surprising how educated our customer base already was. They knew about the different breeds and their attributes. They already knew about A2. I my opinion, Jersey milk is just a higher quality milk.

[@rommelherrera7913]

​@@vnthomas16

[@wilmalong5654]

How much do you cows produce each lactation? Butterfat % and protein%. Just wondered.

[@vnthomas16]

Last DHIA butterfat was between 6% and 7.5% depending on the cow. Protein was between 4.4% and 5%. About a month before dryoff we we’re getting about 20-30# on OAD milking.

[@harleewead9725]

Do you guys have any advice for selling your own bottled milk

[@vnthomas16]

Dairy farming is full-time job #1. Processing is full-time job #2. Marketing and Distribution is full-time job #3. It’s a lot of full-time jobs, but we really love it and love creating wonderful products with our amazing milk. Just don’t underestimate how much of a commitment it is.

[@sbfd201]

Do you plan to milk once a day for their entire lacation?

[@vnthomas16]

We have been milking just once-a-day for this entire lactation. We have about 3 weeks to dry off. We love it! We will never go back to TAD. Thanks for watching!

[@richardspade2738]

Ur actually classified as a micro dairy with the herd size. Nothing wrong with that tho. It boils down to herd size as to how much milk you need to produce by produces and monthly profit

[@vnthomas16]

The phrase “micro-dairy” has always intrigued me. It’s not a term commonly used in this area for sure. Our state has classified us as a “small dairy”… But I’ve never been able to find a consensus on definitions. I know the federal government and our state government define small dairy in two completely different ways. The only micro-dairy definition I’ve found is from the UK. Regardless, we’ve made a commitment to milk cows! Haha! You’re completely right on the profit part. I like to say “it’s not how much you make, it’s how much you keep”… I wouldn’t be surprised if we were more profitable than dairy farms many times our size! Thanks for watching!

[@richardspade2738]

@@vnthomas16 I actually believe if there were more micro dairies here then there wouldn't be commercial dairies taking up so much land. Small dairies are 30-50 cow operations so ud fall into micro or even be considered backyard dairy get my point u have the opportunity to produce a better product and on a micro scale which is what is needed

[@jameslittle1250]

Fred Owen is who your talking about

[@vnthomas16]

Yup, that’s him.

[@wandahunt5238]

don't you get a retirement income from the 20 years of your military service? Oh by the way Thanks for your service!!!

[@vnthomas16]

We get a little bit, but the biggest value is by far the health insurance. Thanks for watching!

[@r.scotthill3082]

If you were really making money you would have paid cash for that new pickup.

[@vnthomas16]

We love our new truck and our cows are providing for it. I asked the cows to go ahead and give us a few years production so we could have all that cash at purchase, but they said that’s not how cows work. 🤣

[@hjhuesing1863]

Who is pregnant

[@vnthomas16]

All the cows and our one yearling heifer. Should have 5 next season. Thanks for watching!

[@jimmyhawks6078]

Do yall AI breed are use bull

[@vnthomas16]

We AI. Thanks for watching!