Ok, I am wanting to track this down for this coming year.. we are in the heart of winter right now, cold an snow.. but I can see the sunshine that is coming! I have faith that at the end of the year that my numbers will show a positive an then some
Costs for Feb 2017
Hay-$300.00
Feed- $288
Straw- 32
Farm Outputs:
Eggs: 10 dozen at 5 per dozen as eating eggs- $51 dollars
Goose Egg-1 breeding-Hatching egg-5 Dollars
Sheep Milk- 1 liter -Worth 6 dollar per 4 oz feeding if bought at local stores in powdered form and made up. -32 dollars (Milking twice daily)
Manure: Finished composting down.. at least 50 dollars worth of compost produced this month.
Two lambs (current market value per lamb 150 as bottle babies, I don’t know why they are so high this year but none the less) -300
Farm loss’s in Feb
2 Duck Hens – at 25 per hen – (per their adult replacement value)
Still born lamb
Farm extra’s Costs
Building supplies -38
Farm sled- heavy duty big sled can be used winter and summer -can move up to 600 pounds -160
Vet over the counter stock up and supplies for birthing kits an so forth- 217
Farm extra’s..
hardware – 0
Ferrier -$210
Vet- $890 between cats, horse and sheep
Garden Overview Feb
Total Garden Costs -$ 0
Total Garden Return – $248.00
Total Out cost for Jan on for the farm -$2,135
Total output of the farm in returns -$706
Jan – In the hole –1,029
Feb -In the Hole –1,429
total Minus-2,458
Feb was a brutal month on costs going out.. over a thousand out between the vets and ferrier this month and while the cats where planned the rest was not..
I know that this post is coming out one day early but I will adjust if needed but as I am home on the farm and have no shopping plans..
Goals- No selling of anything off the farm is planned, the saving costs are what we would have to pay if we bought in the local free market to replace what the farm produces that improves our lives.
Its a tracking year..
and also I have had and seen a number of comments many times of folks saying, my 5 acres and under homestead needs to pay for itself.. well, I like to think mine does, I like to think that a well-run homestead can do just that! So lets see if I am right or not?
Just another Day on the Farm 
D > This is so hard to do! What’s particularly difficult is putting a value on things that aren’t actually available to buy, locally or by post (like Jerusalem Artichokes or fresh spring cabbage), and which quite possibly if we didn’t grow them we wouldn’t be able to afford to buy.
Very true, I am struggling on figuring out values but I am trying to keep it local value pricing in our small farm -organic prices etc.. Its as close as I can get it within reason.
Thank you for posting this. This shows the real cost of homesteading, not rose colored glasses homesteading.
Glad you enjoyed read it Gail.. and while there are many positive things about being on a small farm, homestead etc.. there are costs an downsides as well.