Farm Questionnaire

[Guest guest]

I just came across this great questionnaire. It is from the Central

TX WAPF. One question I would add is whether or not any of the

animals are fed soy. You can use this as a guideline when you are

looking for farm fresh products.

We are looking to establish a direct relationship with local farmers and

ranchers. The following is a list of questions we have come up with

to learn

more about various practices used by local farmers and ranchers so

that we

might list them on our website as a native foods provider.

PLEASE only answer the questions that apply to you and that you are

comfortable answering. We just want to learn more about you as a local

producer, your farm/ranch and the way you raise and care for your

livestock.

Thank you.

A) General Questions:

1) What do you raise and produce on your farm?

2) What do you have for sale and what are your prices?

3) Can you tell us something about your basic management style

and why

you've chosen it?

4) What is your preferred way of doing business? email, phone,

in person?

Do you like the transaction to be more casual or would do you prefer

something in writing?

General Animal Questions

1) How many animals do you care for? How many acres do they live

on?

2) What breeds do you raise and why did you choose these breeds?

3) Do you breed your own animals? If not, how old are they

when you get

them and where did you buy the animals from?

C) Specific Animal Questions:

1) Beef, Bison, Lamb & Goat:

a) What are the general living conditions of the animals?

Besides grass, what do you feed them? Any grain? Hay?

Supplements?

c) If selling a whole animal, do you sell by the head, live

weight or

hanging weight?

d) Any additional information:

2) Pigs:

a) What are the general living conditions of the animals?

What do you feed them? Do you provide any supplements?

c) Do they have access to grass? If so, how often do they

get moved to

fresh pasture?

d) If selling a whole animal, do you sell by the head, live

weight or

hanging weight?

e) Any additional information:

3) Poultry & Other Birds:

a) What are the general living conditions of the animals?

What do you feed them? Do they have access to grass and

insects? Do

you provide any supplements?

c) Where do they spend most of their time? About how much do

they

spend there?

d) Any additional information:

4) Eggs:

a) Are the eggs fertile?

How fresh are the eggs?

c) Any additional information:

5) Additional Questions:

a) How do you handle sick animals?

What do you use for parasite control?

c) Do you use any other medications, natural or synthetic?

d) Do you vaccinate (the young and/or any breeding stock)?

6) Additional information regarding the care and feeding of your

livestock:

D) Land management Questions:

1) Can you tell us something about your land? How many acres,

how much

is pasture, sources of water (pond, spring, well ..)?

2) How many animals do you feel that your land can optimally

support and

why?

3) How often do you rotate pastures? How do you determine when

to move

your animals to a different pasture?

4) Do you fertilize the pastures? If yes, with what?

E) Processing Question:

1) When is the best time of year to order and/or purchase your

products?

2) Would it be best to order in advance?

3) At what age are the animals usually slaughtered?

4) Do you offer on farm slaughtering and aging, or are you

animals shipped

live to a processor?

5) If we purchase multiple whole animals would you consider

giving a

discount for group purchases, if yes at what number of animals would

this be

feasible for you? Would it be best to set this up in advance? If yes

can you

explain how you would like this to work?

F) Please tell us any additional information you would like us to

know about

your farm: