02/17/2025
This is so true.
So we've recently discovered a disconnect in paradigm on how people calculate what something cost to do.
Since it's a current topic, let's say eggs.
People are taking this month's feed and dividing it by this month's eggs and coming up with a price. But this is deeply flawed.
That's not the true cost.
As many chicken keepers know, eggs come in waves. Typically a feast-famine wave. It's not steady at all. And guess what? You still have to buy feed when they aren't laying. And not laying is perfectly normal, natural part of the cycle.
So, not even touching on how there's more costs than just feed, let's stick with that. Feed. To find the TRUE COST of feed per egg, it takes a year cycle. The whole year's feed, divided by the whole year's egg production. THAT is your cost of production (ignoring all other costs).
Because year to year the egg flow is much more even comparison, where month to month it is not.
The same is true of milking animals. They're not always in milk, not always producing the same amount. It's a parabolic curve with highs and lows. But the animal must still be maintained through the whole cycle.
Selling something you created is not "making money". It's recouping the funds you already spent to create it. If an item is sold for less than it took to create it, money was not made. It was lost.
Homesteading, farming, ranching... It's not a cheap method or way of life. The more quality that is strived for, the more expensive it gets. Is it worth it? Absolutely! Real food, quality food, is ALWAYS worth it.
There's a cycle in how many folks are trying to homestead. It's about a 2 year cycle. First year of honeymoon bliss, high energy, dreams and hopes fueled by picture perfect YouTube, Instagram and social media that doesn't show the realities or truth. Then year two comes and the financial strain is kicking in, burnout happens from inefficient workloads driven for picture perfect instead of functional reality, and folks quit. Townies want to take the produce for free or cheap while the attempting homestead is drowning in costs.
Nobody can sustain that. A lot apparently don't even know how to calculate their costs so all they know is they're not making it but no idea why.
Calculate your true costs, and please factor in more than just feed cost. You're not a slave working for nothing. You're absorbing losses. You have infrastructure. Educate folks, both those trying and those wanting to partake.
Four decade homestead veteran 💪 You can do it, but it takes honesty. With yourself. With your clients.
