How Much Money I Made Farming

Here's how much money we made on our small farm in 2020. I've built a few spreadsheets and it calculates our farm profits down to the penny. It's not easy being profitable on a small farm, but somehow we have made money farming.

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Gold Shaw Farm
PO Box 225
Peacham, VT 05862

About Gold Shaw Farm: Gold Shaw Farm is more of a farm-in-progress than an honest-to-goodness farm. Our dream is that someday we are able to transform our 150+ acre parcel of land into a regenerative and productive homestead and farm.

[ybbal]

Please don't call your videos stupid, as they never are.
I watch every add, even the ones that are super long to give what I can back to you.
Your videos bring joy, enrichment, encouragement, and education to my life, and I'm sure everyone who watches your videos.
Thank you for caring enough to give us such wonderful content.

[mikehunt]

my dad was a tobacco farmer. the most steady income was insurance payout when hail destroyed the crop almost every year.

[d-fan]

I, for one, am looking forward to the sponsorships.
"This cow was brought to you by Squarespace!"

[juliusroman]

I'm very proud that you made 5000 dollars this year.

[willow]

Maybe not a ton of money now but the learning and growing has a value that money just can't touch, you have a great life ta boot !

[Beafteck]

I just love how decent and kind you are to your feathered employees. I know they are not pets, but you give them a beautiful place to live and be healthy during their time here.

[cindygreen]

I appreciate that you are willing to share the truths about farming costs and that it's imperative to view it as a business.

[DisdonnPlays]

The growth of the farm has been amazing to see. I kinda figured the income wouldn't be super huge since you have spoken about the "day job" of remote work and the work your wife does. Still, seeing you grow the farm over the last year and a half has been great. I'm glad you are learning to stay realistic and humble.

[DeathJerrie]

I think its valuable to show that everything has humble beginnings. When people find the farm ten years from now and wonder how Gold-Shaw-Farm™ became this world wide multimedia sensation with its own video game, anthem, theme park and five foot omega-duck breed, they will find this explanation and know.

[davesilverman]

I'm in central North Carolina. I'm no longer on the farm I grew up on, and in fact that place is no longer in our family due to a difficult divorce but that life became so much a part of me that after twenty four years I often still dream about being there again as if I never left.
We had roughly 500 archers, about 65 percent in cultivation and our two main crops were tobacco and soy beans but we also grew sweet potatoes and sweet corn.
My ex wife worked for the NCDA as a row crop scientist and I worked as an ornamental iron worker (professional black smith) with my shop on the farm. Even with three rental houses, two outside incomes and several other side hustles there were never enough hours in the day and at the end of the month when we paid our bills it was usually a squeaker. Part of the problem was that by the time we took the place over the equipment that my Dad inherited and repeatedly cobbled back together was so obsolete and worn out that, despite my being a better then fair mechanic we had to replace the majority of the equipment which meant we had notes on nearly everything. We were in the soil conservation program due to some long standing erosion problems, and while we got the tax deferment we couldn't sell what we grew on that portion of our land. The place was fallow for a number of years after my father couldn't manage it anymore (he had a pretty sevier heart condition) so there were a lot of leaky roofs and sagging doors out there and it took several years to get all that under control.
None of it was easy. There was always a feeling of being just a little behind on nearly everything and the bills kept rolling in, even in the winter while not much was going on.
It might have been my perception, but farming was a high stress occupation for me but I loved it and when it was going relatively smoothly there couldn't be anything better but in my way of thinking and from what I see in the news these days it's getting harder all the time. It's hard to compete with the corporations, bad weather, rising taxes, rising insurance and fuel costs and sometimes I thought if we were bigger or smaller it would have been easier to make it.
Now I'm 65 and I'm about worn out but I'd return to that time in my life in a minute if I could, hard as it sometimes was because there's nothing like standing in your kitchen washing the dishes and looking out the window and seeing all that going on out there. Calling your own shots is awesome when it's working.
I like what you're doing. Vermont seems like a harsh environment with long winters, but that might be because I'm from the south. Fruit trees are a lot of work, what with pruning, thinning the blossoms, propping up the limbs and picking but I think you're onto something. I often thought about permaculture and being as diverse and small as you are if you don't have a great year in one area you can still survive. We kept chickens and hogs and occasionally sold a hog or some eggs but that wasn't our focus. We ate our chickens and hogs and only kept as many as we could use ... usually. I wish, like you we had done more with the animals. I always enjoyed hanging around with them. My biggest concern was that it would become too time consuming. I'll probably never know now. It is nice to watch you interact with them all. The videos are a great idea. They're very entertaining. You'll figure it out. There's always something to learn, new ways to do things more efficiently to maximize profits. I think you're doing a great job for the length of time you're at it.
My only advice might be to have a boodle of kids. They cut labor costs and they're usually more fun then ducks and chickens and I'd have a close relationship with my extension agent. They can be a great help.
Thanks for the videos and keep up the great work. Generally farmers are a little underappreciated but I'm pulling for you.

[HomesteadDreaming]

Bahaha the quacken were like.. uhhh not sure if we wanna be released

[BBDoesTheThing]

I like how "Release the quakin!" needs to be somewhere in the episode or its not a complete episode.

[bentspoon]

Honestly if one day I can go to a store and find gold shaw farm eggs as other products for sale in other places like whole foods or sprouts, I would be so happy and totally would buy some this is just such a wholesome farm :)

[lauset]

I thought farming was collecting eggs and constantly building some major project that is subsidized or sponsored and just raising things for fun and own personal consumption. That's what I see on other homesteading channels, just a bunch of youngsters wearing dungarees with new trucks, new buildings, new cars, land expansions and the like. You actually have a plan for productivity and new business with saplings (which I totally support). Your channel is very real and a pleasure to watch. Cheers

[xgarren]

I'm no business major but lets not forget the amount of food you grow for personal consumption. That helps reduce overall grocery expenses. I'm amazed that you took the time to share your income with the community, I really respect that. I agree that you should be super proud of the leap from 2019's income to 2020, congratulations your hard work is paying off. And while you're thankful for the community for supporting you throughout this journey, its really your Charisma and the quality of your videos that I feel has kept my interested and supportive, so keep it up. All in all I look forward to seeing the 'Quakin' continue to grow in 2021.

[williamblankenship]

The only time I’ve ever been happy to see a YouTuber get sponsor to promote in their videos is this channel. I can’t wait for 2021

[kevinpoole]

Some of the most genuine content that I have come across on the internet. I'm living my farm dream through you guys! Keep up the excellent work!

[JackieOgle]

I'm enjoying your candor and honesty about the business side of farming. We know it's a misconception that farmers are rich. We enjoy the farm life and your honesty about how it's going. Thank you for that. You both seem like really nice people and that's why we all watch. You're living the life we secretly wish we all could! Blessings!

[oakyafterbirth]

My fiancé and I have been watching you since the beginning here on YouTube and it’s been beautiful to watch Goldshaw farms grow the way it has! Thank you for making the content that you do! I also suffer from bipolar disorder and your videos help me on my rough days.

[brauliocruz]

Oh man, my dads uncle used to raise cattle in Puerto Rico, specially for veal. I remember it being very labor intensive, but he had a great system that allowed him to be very profitable. It had something to do with how he would feed them (among a bunch of other things I bet). I was kinda young when he passed away, so I don't quite remember what was the trick. He wanted to pass on the knowledge to my dad, but pops had no interest in it. Man, I wish I could have learned from him. He had an awesome life and I have never met a happier man. I dont know what it is, but I've never met a farmer that was not happy, even if was a hard life full of struggles. Your disposition reminds me of Uncle Jaime, he was awesome and so are you.