More on duck herding

The main questions are:

1. Is it possible to manage predation without a human being present?
2. Is it possible to manage predation with a human being present, and if so, is it possible or profitable to have a human being present at all times?
3. How much can food cost be reduced by extensive foraging?

This is basically an intensive rotational grazing system for ducks. 

The price point should be $7-8 per dozen. The profits for myself and Elana/kids if washing eggs should be $60k net after taxes. Which means ~$80-90k net before taxes.

The expenses are labor, an egg washing machine, shelter, dogs (2 Australian sheperds). The shelter can be towed and parked near the fields you are working, or, if at Jubilee for example, could be stationary, and the ducks herded to their new area each day, or kept in a certain area for a few days to a week, if a large area. That's what the wild ducks seem to do -- occupy a certain pond for a few days or more at a time, then move on.

Indian Runners or Dutch Hook Bills, which may be able to forage for all their food. 

In and ideal scenario, with the ducks foraging all of their feed, you might get suboptimal egg production (150 eggs/year) but with no feed costs. Thus, 100 ducks would lay 15,000 eggs or 1,250 dozen per year, which at $7.25 would be ~$9k in profits. If you have no variable costs then the profits would accrue almost entirely after the capital was paid down. Your monthly expenses -- fuel, supplements, dog feed, etc, would remain. Still, if after capital and monthly expenses you lost a quarter of your profits, you would still hit $60k after taxes at 1,200 birds.

Start with 50 birds. Learn to herd them on the weekends. Keep them in a stationary shelter during the day on weekdays, except Elana can let them out when she's out.

Duck herding -- "Foragers NW"

FORAGERS NORTHWEST

A farm business herding ducks to various properties, or at least around one large farm, foraging wild foods truly in their natural habitats.

500-1000 laying ducks. Indian Runners. Foraging in wetlands and meadows and cleaning up crop residues or slugs before planting.

A man with a pole, maybe a couple of dogs.

A road-legal trailer to bring around places.

Fed free choice corn and soaked grains, but mostly foraging.

High nutrient density SUPERFOOD.

Market to the health foodies -- particularly the crossfit and paleo fitness crowds -- as well as to ethnic populations and, of course, the natural foods folks.

Could also keep 500 laying chickens on Erick's compost piles, and run meat birds in pasture behind cows to control flies, though more work if moving houses.

300 eggs = 15 dozen/day = 100 dozen per week = $500-1000 per week for 8 months of the year = $20-40k gross returns.

eBook ideas

"The Efficient Gardener"

The Permaculture Guide to the BCS Walk-Behind Tractor

A Living Farm Museum

Like Old World Wisconsin except with an East-West emphasis, and spanning more historical time.

In Western Washington, we could have a Native American garden, a Norwegian settler's homestead, and a 1940's market farm. We'd also have medieval European peasant fields, organized in strips and worked collectively, a Neolithic hoe-farm, and a flock of sheep with a shepard. Oxen would provide animal traction where applicable, horses where applicable, and old tractors would provide it for the 1940's pre-Industrial farm. We would also have an Asian farm, with terraced rice paddies worked by water buffalo. There would be an example of a house for each. This could be located near Camlann Medieval Village.

Old World Wisconsin's charity navigator page.

Thought Experiment: One Teacher, Five Students

Learning stripped down to its essence. One person dedicated to a very small number of students, completely customizing their educational experience, with both individual learning experiences and group experiences/socialization.

Faith in this idea: Give me (or any competent teacher) five children to focus on, and I will ensure they are educated much better than most of their peers.

If we needed to take home a salary of $60,000 (equivalent to a 5-year Seattle teacher with an MA), then the per-child cost would be about $15,000, accounting for the need to pay taxes as a small business. Unless we ran as a nonprofit with the parents as board-members.

Alt model: A dozen kids with a co-instructor (paid $30,000) = $10,000 per kid, or about $7,500 if nonprofit.

This is assuming no costs. Work from home? No van?

If six kids per instructor, and 2*1.5 hour individual chunks per kid, half our time would be spent in individual sessions and half in group activities. That means the kids would spend half of each day either working on individual projects, or on team projects without direct supervision, or just enjoying group activities.

If we had a van ($1000/mo for payment and insurance), we'd charge and additional $1000 per student.

It would also be great to have

(a) a nice space to spread out for games and activities

(b) a battery of nice computers for online learning, projects, and games

(c) a yard/farm for outdoor activities, although field trips might suffice