Things I wish I'd known before I got a Farm...

[Mahonri]

Growing up my father said, "I'm going to work you hard enough so that you'll never want to be a farmer"...

It was tough. We milked morning and afternoon, we fed chickens and cows, we mucked out barns and pens, we plowed, harrowed, leveled, planted, we irrigated NEVER ENDING, we cut, swathed, baled, hauled and stacked hay, we rounded up, branded, earmarked, dehorned and nuetered cattle, we combined grain, we hoed beets, we raised a huge garden, we stored food in an earthen pit and it wore us out. When we weren't "farming" we were fixing old machinery that we needed to run the farm. My father had to work another job to keep the farm going... but my folks didn't really raise cows and chickens and farm crops; they raised kids. All 7 children got advanced degrees beyond bachelor's degrees. Only one lives on a farm now although my sister's husband just bought a beautiful farm in Avon.(UT) I own 7.5 acres of my folks original farm and I'll probably never be able to afford to go back and work the land. I rent it to a dairy farmer at present.

We were POOR but we didn't know it. My kids have it too easy. I'm glad that they've got a garden to weed and plant and chickens now to have some responsibility... even if it's in the city in a small backyard.

Good luck with your farming... it's a wonderful life.

 

[silkiechicken]

Good luck on your adventure! Kudos to the farmers out there who use it to make a living, it's no easy task. My dream is a home out in the country... within fire department service and close enough to a hospital or medical center where I could get help if I needed it. Just a hobby funded from a day job. There are so many definitions of farm now, especially to people who only see the harvest and rewards part of the work. I've run across a fair share of people who thought I lived on a farm just because I'm on more than one acre, have chickens, and a garden... Hardly a farm in my opinion.

 

[chiknlady]

It has finally happened...my show down with neighbors and the officials.

I want to go back to why I started this thread. Something has been building or awakening that I wanted to explore. I have always been the country girl in the city. It was like it skipped my parents and siblings and came to me. It is like second nature. I fish, I can, I garden, I raise poultry, bake, --all very natural for country girls...but I was born and raised in Philadelphia. I moved to the rural suburbs because I wanted cleaner air and space. Now the farm up the road is a development of 300 homes. I was widowed over a year ago and I really didn't know if I wanted to stay in this home--everything is changing. Well I knew there was going to be something coming today--cause the wind blew in an attack from a Kestral on my top Rooster this morning...sure enough, one of my neighbors has complained about the birds free-ranging on my property and the noise from the roosters. The hawk was a sure sign...In any case --the Township inspectors paid me a visit--

They were pleasantly surprized at how healthy the birds all looked.

They were surprized there was NO ODOR (kudos to litter management and composting)

The roosters will have to go--because they are a nuisance...

Every thing else was in order...

So...how can I give up Yoshi, Elvis, Pablo, Sky, Navy and the new Penedesenca roo who arrived today.

The inspector was great--she raised chickens in another life and hunts, fishes, smokes meat, raised 5 kids, and lived without a phone for 4 years. She was good people and felt sorry for me--but had a job to do.

So all of that to say--this is more than a hobby--this is a lifestyle choice and I don't want to go back. I think a place in the country is more feasible than a larger farm and more practical if I want to get in and get out...

This is how I want to live--I just wanted some ideas on chasing my dream...before I have to split up my family.

 

[patandchickens]

I totally understand where you're coming from, lifestyle-wise; but I just want to point out that "hobby farm" generally includes everything (EVERYthing) that is not a profitmaking family-supporting business. So unless you are expecting to support yourself on the proceeds of your land (which is pretty unlikely), then basically IS "just" a hobby farm. As opposed to a self-sustaining business "real" farm.

You may not like the sound or implication of the word hobby, there, but once you get past that part, it really is drawing a relevant distinction. Buying and operating a hobby farm is just totally different than a 'real' farm, so it will help to know which category of advice to listen to

Good luck,

Pat

 

[Jessika]

I am so sorry about your roos!

 

[MagsC]

chiknlady, I can completely relate. Its why I decided to get a small farm and hopefully we can get everything done and be moved into it asap. I like my close neighbors but there are others in this rinky dink little town that almost make a living of getting into everyone elses business.

If someone has a problem with me, I would rather they come and try to discuss it rationally, work out a solution, than having the police on speed dial...
Best of luck, you can do it!

 

[Rusty Hills Farm]

I totally understand where you're coming from, lifestyle-wise; but I just want to point out that "hobby farm" generally includes everything (EVERYthing) that is not a profitmaking family-supporting business. So unless you are expecting to support yourself on the proceeds of your land (which is pretty unlikely), then basically IS "just" a hobby farm. As opposed to a self-sustaining business "real" farm.

You may not like the sound or implication of the word hobby, there, but once you get past that part, it really is drawing a relevant distinction. Buying and operating a hobby farm is just totally different than a 'real' farm, so it will help to know which category of advice to listen to smile

I, too, DETEST the phrase "hobby farm"! It conjures up visions of manicured lawns and swimming pools and Hummers. I drive an old Chevy pickup and I prefer to call my venture my homestead.

 

[kstaven]

Quote:
The one thing I learned the hard way was to make sure I had people who could run the WHOLE operation if I got hurt. Small acres can turn very good dollars if you target what you do and can market it well. I gave up a thriving business and career to do this and can say from my own experience that IT CAN BE DONE! These days I laugh when people say there is no money and agriculture related endeavors.

 

[kstaven]

Quote:
I can relate! I have gone back to it and love every minute of it. Personally I think the world would be a far better place if more where raised with this type of experience.

 

[FlockEweFarm]

I think that the hard work that I performed as a child, is part in parcel why I have been able to survive so much of what I have been through in my life. I was mucking out calf pens, treating calves for scours, roping, castrating, dehorning, vaccinating, and feeding and haying and hauling firewood, and chopping holes in the ice so my critters could get water in winter and then popping wolf worms out of the same critters with Coke bottles in the Summer from the time I was 8 years old. I dont think the exposure to malathiaon, lindane, and all the pestacides did me any good, but that is past and I am still alive and I do not use them on my place. I wish I had more land away from my evil neighbor, but I make the most of my paltry 1.5 acres in the mountains, and between here and my friends place, we have 8 goats, 31 ducks, 55 chickens, 1 sheep, and we are on the hunt for more sheep and a couple of pigs. I milk my goat twice a day, feed the chickens twice a day and I work my butt off all day long. I have dropped down to a size 3, and I find myself dozing off in my recliner in the evenings, and anytime I slow down. I have no social life, my GPA for my Masters is not a 4.0 any longer, but it is still a 3.9, though that is with me cutting out all but 3 hours of sleep a night.
Farming is not only tough work, it is stressful, expensive, and time consuming, and you never smell right. I seem to shower twice a day, every day, and my laundry level is getting a little crazy, and I still manage to go pick up my kids with chicken poop or goat runs on me most days. My kids seem to enjoy leaving the barn door open for the goats, and one of them loves to eat until she gets the runs and then I spend the night worrying about here and trying to force enough medicine down its throw to stop them. I have to watch for fevers, drooping combs, predators, bad feed, bad neighbor, feed prices that are through the roof and $15.00 a bale alfalfa. I have to say that the fluctuactions in the feed prices have been the most difficult to deal with, but hopefully things will get better! Being prepared for the unexpected is the thing that you have to do if you want to be a farmer, and you have to understand that your work is never done, and that it has to be your passion, and your devotion that sees you through it, because no one else will love it like you do. I have 1.5 acres of my own, I am in debt, I own critters, I work very hard for little yield, I have made a little money off what I do, but that is not why I do it, I do it because it is what I feel most at peace doing, I am a farmer.