Grit

Big Payoff from BIG BIRDS

When Justin and Lucie Stephens settled on their property in Missouri, they wanted to raise an animal that could supplement their income.

“We thought cattle, but everybody does cattle,” Justin says.

In the end, the Stephens decided on a red-meat animal that provides large profits and fills a vacant niche in the meat market. However, this animal is so uncommon in the United States that few farmers consider it: ostriches.

Ostrich Market

Raising ostriches probably isn’t the first thing that comes to mind for budding farmers. But Justin and

Lucie did their research and found that ostriches are remarkably lucrative.

“The benefit of farming ostriches is … supply and demand. There’s very low supply and very high demand,” Justin says.

Lucie adds that there’s a high market demand for almost every part

You’re reading a preview, subscribe to read more.

More from Grit

Grit5 min read
Thrifty Gate Repair
Keeping metal and wooden gates in good repair is an important part of homesteading. A sagging or broken gate can be a chore to open and shut. It might also tempt an animal to jump, lean over, or crawl through, potentially injuring itself in the proce
Grit7 min read
Rookie Prepping Mistakes
For years, I’ve used the analogy of prepping as a three-legged stool: One leg is supplies, the second leg is skills and knowledge, and the third leg is community. If you remember your high school geometry (three points define a plane), you know a thr
Grit2 min read
Our View
Few things ring truer to me recently than the Creole quote “One rain does not make a crop.” It reminds me, particularly lately, that many of the changes we wish to see don’t happen instantly, but through time and good work. Often, we get so busy tryi

Related Books & Audiobooks