OFI 1275: Vertical Integration From Kidding To Shearing To Final Products | Cinde Moore | Cow Creek Ranch

agribusiness, agricultural business coach, agricultural education, agricultural real estate, agriculture, agronomy, animals, branding your business, Business, business opportunity, business plan, cattle, coach, coaching, craigslist marketing, custom podcast production, custom podcating, drone business, entrepreneur, farm, farm coach, farm sitting, farming, ffa, ffa sae, growing a herd, high demand, high profit margin, how to buy a farm, how to market on craigslist, livestock, Marketing, mobile butcher, montana state university, organic farming, pastured poultry, permaculture, podcast marketing, regenerative farming, returning veteran farmer, rural development, rural living, sae, slow paying customers, small business, small business resources, start a business, training, urban farming, using a podcast to connect with customers, using craigslist for marketing

Some time during high school I was exposed to the concept of vertical integration. Even though I did not have any aspirations of running my own business at that time, I was able fascinated with the concept and admired the people who do this. That is still true today.

My guest today, Cinde Moore, is just one of those people. She and her husband Mark started raising livestock and purchased their very first farm after they turned 50 years of age. However, they have a very farmer like philosophy which is that they will indulge their love of livestock and fascination with animals as long as every animal on the farm actually makes money for them. And, if you have been following me for any length of time, you know I like this because they are doing something that benefits them at least twice.

In their search for the right livestock animal to do this with, they eventually came across Angora Goats and the unbelievable fiber that they produce. They started their herd of these goats with the intention of producing and selling yarn. Everything was going just as planned until they figured out that they did not enjoy the marketing and selling of what essentially was a commodity. They wanted more control in their pricing and freedom in the marketing. Convinced that the Angora Goats were the correct animal, it was back the drawing board of how they would market their fiber.

Ultimately a value added product was the answer. Today they do everything in the process except for the carding of the fiber, and that is soon to change. Then, when they have their finished raw materials they produce a variety of products from dog leashes to horse blankets to livestock leads. They have found that their unique selling proposition is the feel of their products from the mohair, so they have their best results selling face to face at shows. However, this allows them to meet their customers and have conversations with them.

They are planning on a big expansion in both goat numbers and infrastructure in 2022. Their focus on a niche raw material as well as a niche market is resulting in success!
More Places You Can Listen to Off-Farm Income And Matt Brechwald: