Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
they're in for an extra $5 or $10 for a job well done, they'll be a little more
careful.
Packers who handle a lot of sheep realize a small income from the sale of
pelts from the animals being processed, but you can ask for your pelts back.
On the other hand, packers who handle few sheep may demand that you pick
up not only the pelt, but the offal as well (trimmed fat, intestines, and so on).
This is because the companies that haul off cattle by-products for further pro-
cessing won't accept sheep by-products mixed in with the load. Pick up the
offal as soon as possible. The best way to dispose of it is to bury it in a large
compost pile if the pile has lots of dry, carbonaceous materials, such as dried
leaves, straw, sawdust, or shredded paper.
Machine-washable pelts (which are prepared using special tanning tech-
niques) are popular as bed pads for people who are bedridden because the
grew faster than I had expected and consequently took up more time and space
in the house than I had planned. In hindsight, I should not have advertised in a
national magazine. If I had kept my marketing to word of mouth and advertise-
ments in festival booklets where I was selling, it would have grown more slowly,
and perhaps I could have planned ahead better and dealt better with the prob-
lems associated with growing the business.
“I took a class about starting a business and writing a business plan. Now
I would suggest anyone thinking of such an enterprise should do so as early as
possible. One needs to be aware of one's faults, to be self-critical, and to be will-
ing to adapt (something that is easier said than done, sometimes).”
A few days later in a follow-up e-mail, Donna added: “I was quite disap-
pointed my fi ber-processing business didn't work out, and while talking with
you, I realized I still am. But I met so many people from all over the country.
I learned lots, and I got to experiment and play with many kinds of fi ber!”
Donna still sells her yarn from the farm at shows and through regional
yarn stores. She also sells some fl eeces directly to spinners and sells knitting
kits using her yarns. Although her path didn't work out quite the way she had
planned, she still loves her sheep and loves working with their fi ber.
