Thursday, April 9, 2009

Budget Update

I decided to revisit the farm budget today...Sheesh, money sure doesn't buy as much as it used to! We will be modifying the budget soon to free up some of the money that is currently dedicated to the aquaculture/tilapia. We have managed to locate a stock tank that costs half as much as the one that we had originally planned to buy. We also located someone who is willing to sell us a smaller number of tilapia. Most places that sell them deal on a commercial scale and want the purchaser to buy hundreds (or thousands) of fish. We plan to buy only about 50 fish now, which will drive our costs down.

Here is the latest tally of what we've spent so far to get our property ready to be an urban farmstead. On the right side of the blog, you will notice that I added a ticker to help us keep track of the money generated by the incubator. After all, it has to pay for itself! I have separated the expenses by category:

CHICKEN EQUIPMENT - Budget $200 - Only $45 left!
Children's Playhouse..................$80
Plastic Dishpan.......................$ 1
Plastic Crate.........................$ 1
Diatomaceous Earth....................$15
Crushed Eggshells.....................$ 0
Poultry Waterer Heater................$ 0
Poultry Feeder........................$ 0
Oyster Shell Dish.....................$ 0
Brooder Construction..................$ 0
Welded Wire...........................$13
Heating Pads..........................$30
Child's Pool.............................$15

Garden - Budget $300 - Only $139 left!
Member to Member Seedswaps............$ 5
Mushroom Kit..........................$28
12 Raspberry Canes................$26
Assorted Fruit Order..............$63
Plant Labels..............................$ 3
Recycled Wood.........................$38
Concrete Edging.......................$2

Aquaculture - Budget $300

Miscellaneous - Budget $200 - Only $12 left!
1000 Mealworms........................$20
Oatmeal...............................$ 4
Aquarium Brooder.............$ 0
Potatoes..............................$ 0
Plastic Bins..........................$12
Quail Supplies....................$23
Quail Eggs.........................$29
Welded Wire.....................$26
Chicken Eggs....................$74
Wall Thermometer................$ 1


5 comments:

Leasmom said...

Sometimes it works out like that b but you're doing well in the end.

ChristyACB said...

You are doing so well! I'm really envious of how well! I'm embarassed by how much I spent on my garden this year so far. Maybe next year I'll be better. :)

Brad said...

Sounds like you've had good luck with the tilapia. If I wrote down my cost, I'm pretty sure it would make me want to quit!

Carolyn Evans-Dean said...

I am really into this whole sustainable farmstead thing...However, my first instinct really is to try to hide the expenses. This blog keeps me honest because I'm accountable to the whole world. By the way, in case you missed the child's pool expense item....We are going to hatch out a few ducks! This incubator thing is really addictive. My name is TheMartianChick and I am a hatchaholic!

Brad said...

I just put 14 duck eggs in my incubator. I heard the tip about the kiddie pool brooder after I tried the traditional tub and bedding method for about two weeks. After dealing with their mess the kiddie pool is a must!

Brad