I did just that. Duke was a year old now, and pretty much done growing. Labs tended to take longer to mature, so he still had a lot of puppy in him. I threw the ball until Duke lay down at my feet and batted it with his paws. Since he’d apparently had enough, I snatched it up, and he happily followed me back into the house. I’d just gotten inside when Mom came home.
“We watched you on TV. We recorded all your interviews so you can watch them when you get home.”
“Thanks. I’m about ready for this part of it to be over,” I said and then smiled. “Can we go to Monical’s for dinner?”
“You’d rather have Monical’s than have your mom cook for you?” Mom asked.
“I’m buying,” I offered.
“Call Greg and have him reserve the banquet room.”
“Good call. That’ll mean free appetizers.”
After calling Greg, I called Zoe.
“Hey, it’s me,” I said.
“Hey me, where are you?”
“I’m home. Tell your family that we’re going to Monical’s for dinner. Greg reserved the banquet room.”
“Does that mean I should start the call tree?”
“Yeah, I want to see everyone,” I said and then glanced over to see if my mom was listening. “I want to see you, too.”
“Can you come over? Maybe you could take me for a ride,” Zoe said.
I chuckled at her double entendre while looking at the clock.
“I’ll be right over,” I said.
Mom shook her head as she gave me a look, but she knew I would make it to Monical’s on time. I gave her a hug and got my Charger out of the garage. It felt good not to have to be driven around. Granted, I didn’t have to deal with LA traffic. I loved to drive my Charger, and after my driving classes, I felt much more comfortable behind the wheel. Of course, I wasn’t about to push it. It was 24 degrees out, and there was always the possibility you would run into black ice.
When I pulled into the Pearson farm, Zoe ran out of the house and jumped into the passenger seat.
“Take me somewhere where we can be alone,” she ordered.
I drove us to my new farm, just down the road from her house. As I pulled into the drive, I saw the limo and my grandma’s car. Caryn and my grandma came out of the barn and waved.
“Sorry,” I offered Zoe, but she just shrugged and got out of the car.
“I was about to call you,” Caryn said.
“Who’s your friend?” Grandma Dawson asked.
“Zoe Pearson, I would like you to meet my grandma, Lorraine Dawson.”
“Nice to meet you, Mrs. Dawson,” Zoe said.
Caryn was in business mode, so she interrupted our discussion.
“Your mom put me in contact with the Ag professor who helped evaluate the property. I contacted him to get an update on the market. I have some bad news about egg production: it seems some of the larger producers have invested heavily into reestablishing the production of eggs after the bird flu problem. He originally predicted the higher prices would hold, but now he’s predicting that by this summer, eggs could fall to as low as a dollar a dozen.
“If that happens, we’d be crazy to reestablish the egg production. My numbers say we’d be in the red for the next five years,” Caryn surmised.
“I think she’s being generous with the numbers,” Grandma Dawson said.
“The professor gave me some alternatives. Of course, you know about cattle. They’re relatively low-maintenance. He says the demand for organically raised beef, milk, and cheese is rapidly increasing. And all of it sells for a premium. The downside is cattle require more space than other options.
“A second option is goats. Seventy percent of the world’s population regularly eats goat meat. Most of the United States’ supply of goat meat comes from other countries. There is a demand for locally grown goats. Particular breeds, such as angora and cashmere, are raised for their hair, which can be sheared and sold. Goat’s milk is used in a variety of products, from cheese to soaps to candles. Goats require less land and food, and smaller living quarters, than cattle, meaning that farmers can raise more goats than cattle for the same dollar amount.
“The third option is organically raised chickens. Their meat and eggs command a significant part of the local market, and they are among the easiest forms of livestock to care for. Chickens are the least expensive livestock option to raise and care for. They also require the least amount of space and eat the least amount of food,” Caryn said.
“So, what are you recommending?” I asked.
“For livestock, I would start with goats,” Grandma Dawson said. “It aligns better with your produce-stand idea.”
I looked at Caryn, and she just nodded. Goats sounded like a good option, and I trusted Caryn and Grandma to make it work. I’d been reading about the egg production business, and it was very involved. You had to have your people dress in special suits when they were in with the birds to keep from contaminating them. The more I read, the bigger the hassle it sounded like. In a way, it was a relief.
