Here in Europe we have to register our chickens online, so a huge amount of people registered their chickens in their deepfreezers, their chicken wings takeouts, their bath rubber ducks, pigeons in their garden, etc. The site broke with all the registrations, so now, only if you have, I think its more than 6 birds/chickens. Yeah, we are petty
Keep going until they raise that number to only big Agg. Not sure what they number would be, but leave the smaller farms alone. Leave the family homesteads alone.
We taught our neighbors how to homestead, in Massachusetts during COVID. We had been growing/raising everything we could on our one acre suburban lot for over 30 years.They loved it so much they bought 93 acres in Maine and then we got 5 from them and we are building our dream homestead up here. The network is real and good people are everywhere!
YES! This is what I’m talking about! We have experienced it many times too! The power of connecting with like minded people, opportunities like this happen more than if you just search for land on Zillow
I just found a market garden ministry through my church, and I was able to offer my help to his fertigation infrastructure. I also was able to give him several hundred blueberry plants from my commercial farm. Now, he wants to consult over my property to have me operate under his ministry. I'm 3 years into my small property, and he is the first helpful contact I've made. Now, for the first time, I feel like I have some mentorship while I figure out a whole new lifestyle.
When I went to polyface farm about 5 years ago I bought a shirt with Joel Salatin's quote "Everything I want to do is illegal." I am lucky to live in a very farming-positive town, but what is even better is that some of our retired farmers are elected members of our town board. Local laws can be changed, sometimes just by one or two determined people. Thats why networking and building community is so important.
I am vegetable, egg and meat independent on 0.6 of an acre zoned residential. I have 4 chickens, many quails and many rabbits. Small animal farming is more accessible than the space needed for large animals. Sure, I don't have space for my own milk goats or sheep but I have more eggs, veg and rabbit/quail meat than I will ever need. Don't wait, get started where you are.
@@AnnJo24224 The rabbits would be easiest to feed because you can scythe and dry your own grass for hay for winter. In summer my rabbits LOVE greens from the garden especially dandelions and I never run out of those. Chickens traditionally ate table scraps (at least that is what farm families tell me chickens were fed before feed stores came along). And for the quail, and form of vermiculture would keep them alive as long as you can keep your worms warm enough in winter. In the summer they could scratch for their own bugs.
@@rodneymoore7270quail go from hatchling to edible in a very short time (a month or so?). Their eggs are quite large, surprisingly, and they lay proficiently. A handful of quail could easily be backed up quickly to provide protein for your 4 adults. Rabbits are the most efficient protein to raise. You can feed them 100% Mexican sunflower, which is a prolific grower, and can be pelletized. 1 buck and 3 does with a few cages, can get you underway pretty cheaply. Both chickens and rabbits can be fed grass, greens, and the like. I supplement my chickens with feed, only because my birddog won't let me free range them all day. Even still, I was getting 20+ dozen eggs a month from 12 laying hens, at a feed cost of about $40/month.
SO glad I bought my land back in 2006. It was 4250/acre and I got 18 acres. The city is spreading and there are 7 huge subdivisions being built between me and the closest towns (one is 12 miles and the other is 20 miles away). They're selling for 70,000- 80,000 an acre. If I ever have to leave this place, I'll definitely come out ahead. But, I love being on a dead end road, National Forest out my back fence, and most excellent neighbors.
Yeah the price of land varies so much by location. In our area we are looking at about $29k per acre. Hoping to buy 10+ acres, but it's going to eat up all of the equity we have in our current home (that is for sale) and more. So we'll end up with land, but no house. :) Sounds scary, especially since we've got kids to keep safe with a roof over their heads, but oddly the thought of having acreage with no house is more comforting than having a house with no acreage. Probably going to live in a 5th wheel/trailer for awhile.
I have 5 acres in vermont. I can raise about 3 beef cows on it with me rotating them. I have a 1/4 acre fenced off for my pigs to rotate them. I also had 25 chickens before foxes started to take them (One less fox now). If you dont have the right land for cows but your nabor does, you can raise pigs for them and they can raise your cows. We try to barter as much as we can.
Thank you Austin, this was incredibly good and practical information. I took the plunge as a single over 50 woman a couple of years ago and bought just under forty acres. I did most of what you advised, but I should have spent more time doing it before I jumped into it. Solid solid advice. Thank you!
Same here over 50 single women. Took me 5 years to find property outside of our small restricted town. I was patient but not idle. I started by boarding a milk goat on a local farm while I lived in town. Found a farm that needed a farm sitter. Made a deal to board a milk goat there in trade for being their designated farm nanny when the needed a vacation. Paid room and board with labor doing chores after work. Having a trained and trusted farm sitter is like gold. It’s something farms really value. I learned everything I needed by helping them and now we help each other. Eventually I found a property just outside of town zoned right and decent enough to turn into a homestead. By the time I found property I had skills, knew what I didn’t like, and had a plan and mentoring.
We upgraded from 2acres to 5.5. In order to do it affordable, we bought a fixer-upper that’s an hour from a decent sized city with a hospital. The nearest Walmart is a 30mn drive. The previous property was half the size with half the house and some restrictions- and, it was worth 70k more! Guys, if you want affordable, stay very healthy and be happy without seeing other humans for days…also, when power goes out, you’ll be last to be helped. You need diversified generators and propane power, wood burning stove, etc.
Oh ya: 2acre property was 15mn from a major city, 10mn from Walmart. 100yr old, 800sq ft home sold 8ths ago fir 250k- it was snatched up in a day, even at 8% interest!! So glad we got out. Now, we’re outside city limits with NO restrictions
Really great and insightful video, thank you! I totally agree with you. Everything is costing exponentially more with salaries receiving smaller and smaller increases, making everything so much more expensive. Water tanks alone have become so incredibly costly and that's just one item. Thanks for this reality check 🌻
@@Homesteadyshow if we had the size we would 100% have put in a pond. We have 4.5 acres and any water storage has pretty aggressive legislation here. Red tape, as you said. So glad it all worked out for you guys 🌻
The baby steps in building relationships is gold. If you are shy, look up your local conversation district. They will likely offer visits to local farms to demonstrate different things. It's a great, free way to get into places where you are invited but without having to go so much out on a limb at first. And you're going to be surrounded by people who might also be shy who want to talk about the exact same thing.
@@chriswf Back in the 1930s, following the dust bowl, most states and counties established conservation districts, organizations intended to help protect soil and water. In their modern form, they offer all kinds of small classes on soil, water, farming techniques, tools, and so on. They are a great place to learn for free and get out in the community without any investment but time.
You guys are great. Love watching ya'lls videos. I started watching when ya'll had just started out. Thanks for sharing your journey. Something I don't see mentioned much are people with severe allergies who want to homestead. We started homesteading with chickens and then goats to improve the quality of food for our family. After goats my allergies went crazy. We had to sell our goats and chickens. It took us a long to time to figure out it was allergies as I've never had allergy problems before. I've always known I had an allergy to penicillin. After a long hard (very hard) road we figured out I am allergic to the molds that grow on animal poop. Now I can't be around large numbers of farm animals especially during the spring and summer when mold growth is at its peak. We haven't given up on homesteading. We grow fruit trees in our yard, garden, and hunt. I still have allergy issues but have learned how to manage them for the most part. One day we would like to have cows. I think we might have to move states before we can do that. We live in Louisiana which apparently is horrible for people with allergies. Anyways, appreciate you all and would love to hear how other people homestead while dealing with health issues.
Great video as always. The biggest challenge we have found for starting our homestead was time. And that was hinged to money for sure as we couldn't afford to do it without outside income. Chris works 44 hours a week to help fund everything and that only left so many hours to build infrastructure, tend animals needs, build gardens, amend soil and fences.... oh the fencing, it never ends. It is all so worth it in the end, but the lack of time ends up being the biggest hurdle for us. The number of times we have bought materials to do a project and 6 months later they are still in a pile 😆. Looking forward to watching how you help people over come these obstacles in your series.
We have a state custom processor 5 miles down the road but no one can sell meat from them because the usda took over all processing. Our local grocery store wanted to sell our rabbits. The closest usda plant that will process rabbits is 5 hours away from us and requires a butcher schedule a year in advance. There is a bill called the “prime act” that is supposed to be included in the next farm bill. It would allow state inspected custom processing again so small producers can label for resale within state lines. There is push to keep renewing the old farm bill but hopefully soon the new bill with the prime act will be considered.
YET what does that look like with property taxes raising higher each year. Insurance (some cannot even get insurance on their homes or property now days).. Regulations by the government on what you can do with your property... Government regulations on what you can sell from your farm ... ect... NOT to mention the property values decreasing because of government increasing "affordable " housing. YOU are so right .... Most likely when you purchase now it wont be worth what you paid for it if you can even afford to keep it under government regulations.
One of the biggest hurdles I faced was and still is time. I work 7am till the job is done 6 days a week. One thing I discovered is that time and money are inversely proportional to each other the more time you can dedicated the less money you need the less time you dedicate the more money you need for auto feeders auto watters. so I had to develop a system that lets me get up at 5:30 get chores done be on the road in just 45 minutes any time of year any weather
Another awesome video. The more I watch your videos, the more I love you guys! We just moved from New England to Tennessee where we were able to buy affordable land to start our farm actually near my husband's father and step mother. I saw this as a sign! So here we are. Just moved back in July. We have chickens and just got some pigs. I have been fortunate to find a vet not too far away that sees pigs so we were able to get our male castrated since I was too nervous to do it myself (pig was 15 wks old already). Also, I got a connection to someone who is actually opening a butcher operation. Unheard of, right? I am starting to meet new ppl. Some have their own farms & are willing to teach me how to hunt & butcher rabbits, chickens and hopefully a deer when I get one. I would like to make my own products soon, but I know how important it is to get all of the regulations right first. It will definitely take time and more money that we don't have atm to build up our homestead, but at least we own our land and were able to buy a tractor and side by side. I'll just have to wait for my big greenhouse, barn & milk cow, but hopefully in time. I wish everyone the best of luck on their journey. Thanks again for the encouraging video! Btw- Do you have any videos on how you make a profit from your homestead? Thanks and God bless.
With the internet now days and the choice of videos we taught ourselves how to butcher and now do all our processing and packaging on property. Cattle, sheep, pigs, chickens, turkeys, ducks, chukar, pheasant, quail and rabbits... We are in our 60s and started 7 years ago.. Its a lot of work but if we can do it anyone can do it!. IF your wanting to save money, homesteading is not for you... It is expensive to raise the animals and if you use processors even more expensive. BUT the health benefits and knowing how the animals are raised and treated is well worth it. Taxes on farm property is increasing terribly.. The government trying to tax families out of their farms... So glad to see you and your family back and posting!..
Thank you for this video. I have no money, living in an apartment, but haven't given up the dream. Solid, actionable advice here. I'll start reaching out this week.
Wow, this was a really informative video. Had a FOAF who wanted to open a butcher business. 3 different rural cities that would have benefitted economically blocked him in red tape, so he gave up.
You did not mention the new legislation that took all the animal antibiotics and many dewormers off the market without prescription. This is harming many small farmers who are now unable to treat animals for simple problems like puncture wounds, skin infections, parasites like giardia, bacterial infections... vet costs are so prohibitive that it is often cheaper to put the animal down. This is completely unfair to the poor animal and is causing a lot of suffering and upset in my rural community.
Happening here, too. Also all the large animal vets are retiring or switching to office only. I’m hoping to convince my cousin and uncle to start their own on-farm butchering business.
I'd recommend starting an herb garden. Many of these dewormers and such have herbal origins. I don't know much but I've been starting to realize the power of herbs personally because the medical field has been forcing me to learn to treat my own illnesses because of the "oh it's a virus, there's nothing we can do". Does that sound familiar? I think it's bogus so I'm turning to herbs and essential oils rather than going to the doctor as soon. Who would have thought our grandparents actually knew what they were talking about?
I stRted2 years ago with 3 acres of raw land and still trying to get the utilities, it's very expensive. Got 9 chickens in a nice set up so having fresh eggs is keeping me hopeful that I can make the dream develop.
It also depends on the country you are in too, I am in Canada and my parents have one acre of land. They were able to have chickens and some meat rabbits, my mom’s parents had roughly half an acre and they were able to have some farm animals as well. Nothing huge like cows, but they had chickens and maybe a few pigs.
Wow, the first part of this video was very depressing! We've gotten the land, last year, but it's going to be quite a while before we'll be able to get cows, pigs, sheep. We have chickens and a garden currently. Money is definitely the defining factor in how long it will take us to move forward.
I am in michigan. I worked in a slaughterhouse and do my own butchering of deer and such. I am currently looking into what is required to start a mobile butchering business for poultry, pigs, goats and sheep.
Just to note, everything you said is true, but you will find it more in the more populated areas of the country. If you live in a primarily rural county, the issues will be lower. If you live closer to a more highly populated area, the regulations will increase dramatically. When looking at available properties first step is to see the zoning and understanding the regulations regarding that specific zone. For what I'm looking for, the properties are going to be incredibly rare because I want as much leeway in what I do with my land while also having the fastest available broadband as possible. The Broadband side must be CAREFULLY researched because the providers LIE, They will claim broadband is available in an area to receive federal dollars for bringing broadband to rural areas while the property you look at can NEVER have broadband. Even thought the providers will say you can in reporting to the feds, they will never provide you broadband.
Yup, and complaining about it isn't going to fix it and most people probably don't want all the legal trouble of fighting these battles. Rural residential or rural zoning usually allows more flexibility with rural zoning being the least restrictive.
@kalilafischer2915 Visible cell phone provides us phone and Internet for $45 per month out the door. It is truly unlimted. I work from home using the hotspot for Internet.
My area is 15k an acre for farm land... I've been planting a food forest the past 5 years. And I practice gardening, I'm building an aquaponic system. I am ready for chickens next year .. I might start a big farm to feet the fish and chickens
We have a very small homestead- 1 acre with our home…but we paid it OFF this year! We have a small fruit orchard with 25 apple /peach/cherry trees, that we free range up to 20 chickens in the orchard area. We have raised pigs- and allowed the pigs to eat our massive excess of fruit and butcher the pigs younger around 4 months… We’ve been here 16yrs- each year we grow and add to our home/homestead- Don’t get discouraged- do it now!!!
Just a building lot in Utah is over $125K and a so called farm with no water rights is listed at $500K for 4.55 acres. It’s a joke here in the west. Overbuilding and water shortages not being addressed by local government except to put restrictions on outdoor watering and then they issue building permits like crazy.
My advice to people is to go all in on animals that are cheaper to feed because the feed costs are ridiculous and supply chains are now unreliable. Rabbits are so underrated. Geese need way less grain than other poultry, musovies are better than ducks in that regard too. Pigs can eat nuts unshelled, fruit peels, and seeds that other animals can't process. I watched a kune kune eat a grapefruit peel like it was candy and I realized at that moment I was going to be a pig farmer like my old pap, tho I'd never intended to and I don't even eat pork! Grazing animals are obvious, especially if you grow tree fodder like locust. Here in Hawaii most of us are aware that if the barges stop coming then we will all soon run out of animal food really fast. And it's hard to make profit margins here when costs are crazy high.
Our Geese (American Buff) and Muscovy are, literally, FREE. They free-range/forage 100% of their feed needs. They graze The Field just like a herd of Cattle. We don't feed 'em. We don't water 'em - there is an acre-and-a-half of pond surface out there across 2 ponds on the property. We dont even house them. They roam out there with the wild/native Canada and Mallard. Let 'em do their thing in the Spring (makin' Babies). By Late August we can start harvesting. By November we load up the bus for Freezer Camp. ** We haven't nailed down The Rabbot just yet, but in 4 years we've reduced the Feed Bill by 70% by growing/harvesting our own. The bulk of that is a 1/5th acre Hay Plot we harvest for 3 cuttings with an old-school, human powered Scythe. We do all three, and could support about 2,000 pounds of meat production without even breaking a sweat. We currently harvest about 450-500 pounds a year to feed 2 adults. Our land base would support 16,,000 to 18,000 pounds of meat production, but that would be a near full-time job for one of us and $$$ infrastructure $$$ we'd have to build out.
This! I think sheep are really underrated in the US as well, we are just getting started with hair sheep but they are so cost effective to raise for meat.
They don't ignore lagoons. Lagoons are heavily regulated and those farmers are completely beholden to the EPA with regards to the lagoon. Most of those farmers end up selling when it comes time to update those lagoons to new "standards" the EPA comes up with. I hate lagoons and think those systems are terrible but it's just not true that they ignore them.
Texas, average price is $100k+ per 1 acre no exaggeration The price continues to increase 📈 and water issues. Some counties have had a 5+ year drought and still ongoing People may find some gems depending on their criteria and how flexible they can be with it 💎
So, chickens on property is VERY state dependent and if their zoning laws don't want you to have chickens then that's not the property you want unless you're will to do a lot of time consuming legal fights. What I know about zoning from VA is that if you're property is zone residential it doesn't matter how big the lot is you'll have to deal with a lot of legal issues trying to move it to a homestead with animals. If on the other hand it's zoned rural residential then it's a lot easier to have animals. If it's zoned rural, you can do pretty much whatever you want. That was VA years ago.
i live in Washington who usually has a lot of regulations, but mostly with building houses and structures. since i live rural in washington i am allowed to have any animal i want. Well they do have laws about owning any wild animals (possums, racoons, skunks, bobcats, etc.) there are states that allow you to own "wild animals" but we can't here.
I live in the US. I'll fight the government tooth and nail if they say I can't grow my own food. It's simply unconstitutional and tyrannical. I love being able to grow my own things and that will be the line in the sand for me when it comes to my personal liberties and freedoms.
The pig thing really does make sense. Pigs have a lot of diseases that are spread easily to humans and a lot of people don't know how to properly care and take care of their animals (you'd be surprised). The regulations aren't for people who know what they're doing, they're for people who don't. 9 times out of 10 if you live in a farming state (Texas, Kansas, Oklahoma, Missouri, Illinois, etc.) as long as you live in the county and not within city lines you can do what you want with your property. It is expensive, but its easier to buy a house outside of city limits with about an acre of land, and later expand when you are more knowledgable about homesteading. Missouri especially is very good about the farming laws and also often pays farms and farmers if they produce (not sell) a certain amount in the high seasons. For example, the USDA offers operating loans to farmers just starting out, but it is usually restricted to those who have prior knowledge and experience farming (second generation farmers). Contact the USDA and your local government to read up on the regulations and opportunities in your area.
A key to regulation in the US is that the Federal government doesn't have much power over what you do on your property. However, they have decided that the Commerce clause means that they can have any power they want over transactions. So as long as you aren't trying to sell something to others in a non-cash way, you are pretty well free to do it however you like. Municipal/HOA laws are more intrusive so it is better to farm outside those local governments. Laws also vary a lot from state to state and topic to topic. Selling fresh vegetables is easy. Selling dairy requires huge compliance costs. Selling animals for meat is easy, selling meat by the package is hard.
I think it's finally time for 2 or even 3 families who know eachother well, to consider buying land together, and share the load, while teaching the children this lifestyle. A contract can be signed by all parties to stay in the agreed arrangement for 5 years or whatever, and whoever is able, can buy out the others. There is also a program called SKIP that helps people inherit land, but I think we can network ourselves by getting to know the community. If you are an older person who doesn't want your beloved farm to be sold to developers, try to find a family who has already proven themselves, and share your land with them until you know they are the real thing, then give your land to them. This is for older people who don't have kids to pass their land on to. Some even refuse to give their land to their kids, knowing they will just sell to developers. Keep the homesteading dream alive.
Great information video on something I’ve noticed especially in vet med. Not many people see cows/goats/sheep/pigs/chickens anymore due to less agriculture & farmers. So less knowledge and interest for these types of animal and their health compared to cats & dogs. I myself didn’t even know the different types of cows & pigs until college. :( Farming seems like a good plan B but it’s becoming very cost prohibitive for someone like me who is middle class from the city. So now I am wanting to work with somebody who does it already but goodness there’s so little farmers open to having a city girl work with them & their animals/plants in exchange for a basement/attic/car to sleep in.
land was a very hard hurdle for me and i live in a area thats not good for homesteading, I got lucky and found some owner financing on land way better than my area
I began the very little steps I could two years ago. I'm further than I was but not where I want to be. I began a garden. Now I have a larger raised bed garden, make my breads, cook from scratch, make bone broth, render tallow, and buy local and farm fresh where I can. Building my homestead book collection, make and dry my own herbs, teas and some natural medicines. I'm building my emergency stock supplies, building my stocked pantries and learning the skills I can. However it's still small steps toward the bigger picture. I'm much further than two years ago but still so far away from my homestead dreams. We had to move so I still don't have my homestead property sadly but it wasn't for lack of looking. We were transferred to a new area hours away so every property that would have been perfect we couldn't get to in time. Soon we were left with too many too expensive properties and not able to raise chickens or goats on them or with homes that were not habitable and we don't have the resources or skills to rebuild.
So long story short we had to buy on the edge of a small rural town literally farms around the corner from me. We had to buy a home that I can only garden on and I'm still making out that space and trying to connect with local farms around me.
I find the biggest problem is that everyone wants paid for everything. Buy my book, pay for my podcast, pay for my workshop, pay for my printable, pay to visit my farm or shop, buy my recipie or plans or notebook and on and on. It gets very expensive very quickly just to look into it. I swear no one makes money homesteading they only make money off of talking about it or videos or books or lifestyle podcasts.
That's because we don't want California moving in. I have left two states because they moved in, rents quadrupled and they brought their politics. Peace and the ability to survive was gone.
I don't operate under compelled performance of any act, bill or statute that infringes upon my life liberty and security of my family. These government regulations are not law and are solely for revenue and control. I don't agree with them, therefor I reserve my right under ucc 1-308 which is universal law based on biblical precedent that states I do not operate under compelled performance of any contract I've knowingly or unknowingly signed into. Code is law, courts recognize code as law. To be convicted of a crime, a damaged party must be brought forth I.e if you're being charged with theft, there must be a victim, as is with murder etc... there is no such thing as a victimless crime. If the government can't bring forth a damaged party, you are the victim.
Because Homestead Lifestyle is for many living in Disney paradise. Most people don't get it that the self sufficient life 100 years ago was hard and painful. People had many kids not only because lack of contraception but also because hands were needed to work with animals and on the field. All family members had daily chores and obligations that they could not not to do it just because they fell tired or a little bit of sick. If whole family didn't work there was no diner and no pizza order for diner. A lot families were working very hard and eat very little or low nutrition food. Yes, people were less traveling, less involved with sports and music and etc, so they had more time but the their world was often 10-20 miles around and that's it. ( If they had a horse with wagon). We are going back to those times when only the healthiest and strongest will survive and others will be dying just like around 100 years ago.
We have ten chickens, eight cows and three pigs. The pigs and our steer go to freezer camp this month. On an almost four acre farm. Hopefully more chickens in the spring and more pigs. We are just the right size for us. We also do meat birds. Learned to process meat birds from UA-cam.
There is a difference between homesteading and being a yeoman farmer. One puts more heavy emphasis on self-sufficiency while the other - like you kept highlighting in the video - demands a communal network. I can't imagine reallocating those burdens that are whole separate occupations onto yourself is ideal when you have cattle.
Do not assume the government always wins. That attitude is why people think the government always wins. Because most don't try to fight. This is why anyone who means to homestead must have a conversational knowledge of law on top of everything else.
There are already laws on the books saying if you own a cow no one can drink the milk except the owner, for example. That means not even family members are legally allowed to drink. I saw it with my iwn eyes in 2019. Which is also when I learned Covid was coming, the shots were let's say bad, and I learned about Social Distancing. I couldn't wrap my head around social distancing until it happened. Oh, and I bought a case of toilet paper in 2019. I say this to give validity to my initial statement.
I believe in general that you are correct. But, your example of the address labeling really is not a big deal. There have been real issues of people selling their products without any good safe training or understanding of the ingredients in a product. It may not be an epidemic of people getting ill or dying, but it has happened. The fact that it has happened is the reason their is a reguation on labeling, etc. Again, before i get attacked, i do believe people should have the ability to easily homestead and produce saleable products.
It sounds like you have confused homesteading for self sufficiency with farming or ranching? Most folks who have a dream about homesteading are aiming at self sufficiency and a simple though harder life, not necessarily a business.
Land about 30 minutes to an hour outside of KC, MO where we live is running $15,000 - $20,000 an acre. I wish I could find land for $8,000 an acre around here! It's been rough looking for affordable land at 5 - 10 acres at our budget. We ended up finding a house that is on 5 acres that was reasonably priced (currently in contract) but up until recently all houses on acres are about 20% more than houses not on acres.
I bought 30 acres in 2003and built a 3100sq foot house with a four car garage with a mortgage of 242,000. I had a ton of sweat equity when I was done but was forced to sell due to divorce. I bought 5 acres 2.5 years ago with no improvements for 76k what a difference 20 years makes. My bare 30 was only 61,500. I feel destroyed for not figuring out how to keep the house I built on such a great acreage. Oh and the house I built on that 30 acres is currently on the market for 749,900….crushes my soul
16:19 big ag interferes. CAFOs do smell bad. People make assumptions about a few pigs based on the smells (and destructive practices) of Tyson, et al. Different topic; nobody wants a single chicken 😢that would be cruel because they are flock animals. Minimum of 3 is necessary. You can change the politics on the local level. Seattle can now have chickens within city limits. And ducks.
I get that times are tough, but with God all things are possible. Don't give up on your dream of homesteading. Be willing to do the work that's necessary, but don't believe it's too impossible to start. Pray and work!
I got lucky. I'd been heavy gardening when I was a child and for10 years prior to getting a place. I inherited near 13 acres because I was the only one in the family that ever expressed any interest in carrying on the family tradition. Not everyone was happy about it, but we eventually worked it out and we moved in to the house build by my grandparents both of whom were the children of Confederate veterans. Now I'm 3rd generation on this land. I can grow 90% of the vegetables we consume here. I learned to butcher chickens watching my grandmother. I used to raise and sell hogs but things have changed and processors won't buy from anyone with a contract now. First time in history you can't make a dollar off a hog. I'm fixing to learn to butcher them myself though and I'm planning a refrigerated smokehouse because temps don't stay low enough for long enough now. course everyone might consider one of my mottos, "Never ask anyone about doing anything. You simply give them the opportunity to say no and bestowing on them the authority to do so." And vote republican, not because they're great but because the lesser of two evis is the only choice you've got. And stay on their ass once you do.
A lot of blame goes to the government. But really, where I live... It's the people. At least in East Tx. Every time something new wants to come to town, they pull out the red tape IMMEDIATELY. Town halls where everyone goes to protest. Everything is poison. Everything is loud. Everything is smelly. Controversial opinion... But I think we're doing this to ourselves.
@@duckfarmer8630yes you are correct 💯 that's the minimum and average. It can take even longer if they want to "specialize" in anything beyond domestics like dogs and cats. The cost of living including college is increasing, making it even more difficult for some to attend the schooling from start to finish. A painful truth is that the majority of what they learn in school doesn't apply to their career. The majority of the knowledge that veterinarians and their staff learn is from day to day experiences instead of the school. All of that money is spent to get a degree and what's taught is not applicable. It's a long time and years of debt to be in school. Basically a bunch of red tape. I very much support education 📖 Education needs a big reform much like many other aspects around the planet
Just $100 a month gives you 1200 in just 1 year that plenty to rent 2 acres of land and have a decent size flock of chickens and a copple pigs but you will be paying in time driving to your farm every day
Here in Europe we have to register our chickens online, so a huge amount of people registered their chickens in their deepfreezers, their chicken wings takeouts, their bath rubber ducks, pigeons in their garden, etc. The site broke with all the registrations, so now, only if you have, I think its more than 6 birds/chickens. Yeah, we are petty
I love that response 😂 I have a bag of Dino nugz do those count?
😂😂😂😂 cool way to fight the govt 😊
Amazing work, keep it up!
Brillant
Keep going until they raise that number to only big Agg. Not sure what they number would be, but leave the smaller farms alone. Leave the family homesteads alone.
We taught our neighbors how to homestead, in Massachusetts during COVID. We had been growing/raising everything we could on our one acre suburban lot for over 30 years.They loved it so much they bought 93 acres in Maine and then we got 5 from them and we are building our dream homestead up here. The network is real and good people are everywhere!
YES! This is what I’m talking about! We have experienced it many times too! The power of connecting with like minded people, opportunities like this happen more than if you just search for land on Zillow
@@sblauss Maine and NH are like peak farmer areas in New England
I’m near that area , can you get me in touch with someone to get started? I’m ready to buy some land. Thanks
I just found a market garden ministry through my church, and I was able to offer my help to his fertigation infrastructure. I also was able to give him several hundred blueberry plants from my commercial farm.
Now, he wants to consult over my property to have me operate under his ministry. I'm 3 years into my small property, and he is the first helpful contact I've made. Now, for the first time, I feel like I have some mentorship while I figure out a whole new lifestyle.
That is so awesome! We lived in MA my whole life until a few months ago. We def could NOT find any affordable land there to start our homestead.
When I went to polyface farm about 5 years ago I bought a shirt with Joel Salatin's quote "Everything I want to do is illegal." I am lucky to live in a very farming-positive town, but what is even better is that some of our retired farmers are elected members of our town board. Local laws can be changed, sometimes just by one or two determined people. Thats why networking and building community is so important.
I learned a lot from my grandfather and a lot from books.. UA-cam has been a bonus.. libraries are a huge missed resource
I am vegetable, egg and meat independent on 0.6 of an acre zoned residential. I have 4 chickens, many quails and many rabbits. Small animal farming is more accessible than the space needed for large animals. Sure, I don't have space for my own milk goats or sheep but I have more eggs, veg and rabbit/quail meat than I will ever need. Don't wait, get started where you are.
How will you feed them without feeding store? Im sure there will be more things added to feeders to depopulate the backyard meat growing.
Rabbits are an amazing workaround for strict zoning and small acreages! Well done, you!
@@AnnJo24224 The rabbits would be easiest to feed because you can scythe and dry your own grass for hay for winter. In summer my rabbits LOVE greens from the garden especially dandelions and I never run out of those. Chickens traditionally ate table scraps (at least that is what farm families tell me chickens were fed before feed stores came along). And for the quail, and form of vermiculture would keep them alive as long as you can keep your worms warm enough in winter. In the summer they could scratch for their own bugs.
How many in your immediate family are you feeding? We are 4 adults.
@@rodneymoore7270quail go from hatchling to edible in a very short time (a month or so?). Their eggs are quite large, surprisingly, and they lay proficiently. A handful of quail could easily be backed up quickly to provide protein for your 4 adults.
Rabbits are the most efficient protein to raise. You can feed them 100% Mexican sunflower, which is a prolific grower, and can be pelletized.
1 buck and 3 does with a few cages, can get you underway pretty cheaply.
Both chickens and rabbits can be fed grass, greens, and the like. I supplement my chickens with feed, only because my birddog won't let me free range them all day. Even still, I was getting 20+ dozen eggs a month from 12 laying hens, at a feed cost of about $40/month.
SO glad I bought my land back in 2006. It was 4250/acre and I got 18 acres. The city is spreading and there are 7 huge subdivisions being built between me and the closest towns (one is 12 miles and the other is 20 miles away). They're selling for 70,000- 80,000 an acre. If I ever have to leave this place, I'll definitely come out ahead. But, I love being on a dead end road, National Forest out my back fence, and most excellent neighbors.
Yeah the price of land varies so much by location. In our area we are looking at about $29k per acre. Hoping to buy 10+ acres, but it's going to eat up all of the equity we have in our current home (that is for sale) and more. So we'll end up with land, but no house. :) Sounds scary, especially since we've got kids to keep safe with a roof over their heads, but oddly the thought of having acreage with no house is more comforting than having a house with no acreage. Probably going to live in a 5th wheel/trailer for awhile.
I have 5 acres in vermont. I can raise about 3 beef cows on it with me rotating them. I have a 1/4 acre fenced off for my pigs to rotate them. I also had 25 chickens before foxes started to take them (One less fox now). If you dont have the right land for cows but your nabor does, you can raise pigs for them and they can raise your cows. We try to barter as much as we can.
Thank you Austin, this was incredibly good and practical information. I took the plunge as a single over 50 woman a couple of years ago and bought just under forty acres. I did most of what you advised, but I should have spent more time doing it before I jumped into it.
Solid solid advice. Thank you!
Glad you made the jump though! Some people never get there because it stays a “someday dream”
Same here over 50 single women. Took me 5 years to find property outside of our small restricted town. I was patient but not idle. I started by boarding a milk goat on a local farm while I lived in town. Found a farm that needed a farm sitter. Made a deal to board a milk goat there in trade for being their designated farm nanny when the needed a vacation. Paid room and board with labor doing chores after work. Having a trained and trusted farm sitter is like gold. It’s something farms really value. I learned everything I needed by helping them and now we help each other. Eventually I found a property just outside of town zoned right and decent enough to turn into a homestead. By the time I found property I had skills, knew what I didn’t like, and had a plan and mentoring.
We upgraded from 2acres to 5.5. In order to do it affordable, we bought a fixer-upper that’s an hour from a decent sized city with a hospital. The nearest Walmart is a 30mn drive. The previous property was half the size with half the house and some restrictions- and, it was worth
70k more!
Guys, if you want affordable, stay very healthy and be happy without seeing other humans for days…also, when power goes out, you’ll be last to be helped. You need diversified generators and propane power, wood burning stove, etc.
Oh ya: 2acre property was 15mn from a major city, 10mn from Walmart. 100yr old, 800sq ft home sold 8ths ago fir 250k- it was snatched up in a day, even at 8% interest!! So glad we got out. Now, we’re outside city limits with NO restrictions
Really great and insightful video, thank you! I totally agree with you. Everything is costing exponentially more with salaries receiving smaller and smaller increases, making everything so much more expensive. Water tanks alone have become so incredibly costly and that's just one item. Thanks for this reality check 🌻
Yeah, pond was cheaper than water tanks for us 😂
@@Homesteadyshow if we had the size we would 100% have put in a pond. We have 4.5 acres and any water storage has pretty aggressive legislation here. Red tape, as you said. So glad it all worked out for you guys 🌻
I've been following you guys from the beginning and I'm so grateful for every bit of advice you give! We're looking for our homestead now!
Good luck to you. We just recently found ours out of the state we lived in after searching for quite some time.
@RemRoseHomestead So glad that you did! We decided to start looking out of state too!
The baby steps in building relationships is gold. If you are shy, look up your local conversation district. They will likely offer visits to local farms to demonstrate different things. It's a great, free way to get into places where you are invited but without having to go so much out on a limb at first. And you're going to be surrounded by people who might also be shy who want to talk about the exact same thing.
What is a local conversation district?
@@chriswf Back in the 1930s, following the dust bowl, most states and counties established conservation districts, organizations intended to help protect soil and water. In their modern form, they offer all kinds of small classes on soil, water, farming techniques, tools, and so on. They are a great place to learn for free and get out in the community without any investment but time.
You guys are great. Love watching ya'lls videos. I started watching when ya'll had just started out. Thanks for sharing your journey. Something I don't see mentioned much are people with severe allergies who want to homestead. We started homesteading with chickens and then goats to improve the quality of food for our family. After goats my allergies went crazy. We had to sell our goats and chickens. It took us a long to time to figure out it was allergies as I've never had allergy problems before. I've always known I had an allergy to penicillin. After a long hard (very hard) road we figured out I am allergic to the molds that grow on animal poop. Now I can't be around large numbers of farm animals especially during the spring and summer when mold growth is at its peak. We haven't given up on homesteading. We grow fruit trees in our yard, garden, and hunt. I still have allergy issues but have learned how to manage them for the most part. One day we would like to have cows. I think we might have to move states before we can do that. We live in Louisiana which apparently is horrible for people with allergies. Anyways, appreciate you all and would love to hear how other people homestead while dealing with health issues.
Great video as always. The biggest challenge we have found for starting our homestead was time. And that was hinged to money for sure as we couldn't afford to do it without outside income. Chris works 44 hours a week to help fund everything and that only left so many hours to build infrastructure, tend animals needs, build gardens, amend soil and fences.... oh the fencing, it never ends. It is all so worth it in the end, but the lack of time ends up being the biggest hurdle for us. The number of times we have bought materials to do a project and 6 months later they are still in a pile 😆. Looking forward to watching how you help people over come these obstacles in your series.
We have a state custom processor 5 miles down the road but no one can sell meat from them because the usda took over all processing. Our local grocery store wanted to sell our rabbits. The closest usda plant that will process rabbits is 5 hours away from us and requires a butcher schedule a year in advance. There is a bill called the “prime act” that is supposed to be included in the next farm bill. It would allow state inspected custom processing again so small producers can label for resale within state lines. There is push to keep renewing the old farm bill but hopefully soon the new bill with the prime act will be considered.
Watching your videos two or three years ago was one of my first dominoes. Thanks for what you guys do. Keep fighting the good fight.
They shut down That 1840 Homesteads road side stand, for the reasons you stated.
For land, don’t think about what it was ten ys ago, think what it will likely be in ten ys fm now.
YET what does that look like with property taxes raising higher each year. Insurance (some cannot even get insurance on their homes or property now days).. Regulations by the government on what you can do with your property... Government regulations on what you can sell from your farm ... ect... NOT to mention the property values decreasing because of government increasing "affordable " housing. YOU are so right .... Most likely when you purchase now it wont be worth what you paid for it if you can even afford to keep it under government regulations.
One of the biggest hurdles I faced was and still is time. I work 7am till the job is done 6 days a week. One thing I discovered is that time and money are inversely proportional to each other the more time you can dedicated the less money you need the less time you dedicate the more money you need for auto feeders auto watters. so I had to develop a system that lets me get up at 5:30 get chores done be on the road in just 45 minutes any time of year any weather
Very good advice! I dont have money for my dream, but I got my community garden plot last year and have been learning, growing, enjoying. : )
Another awesome video. The more I watch your videos, the more I love you guys! We just moved from New England to Tennessee where we were able to buy affordable land to start our farm actually near my husband's father and step mother. I saw this as a sign! So here we are. Just moved back in July. We have chickens and just got some pigs. I have been fortunate to find a vet not too far away that sees pigs so we were able to get our male castrated since I was too nervous to do it myself (pig was 15 wks old already). Also, I got a connection to someone who is actually opening a butcher operation. Unheard of, right?
I am starting to meet new ppl. Some have their own farms & are willing to teach me how to hunt & butcher rabbits, chickens and hopefully a deer when I get one. I would like to make my own products soon, but I know how important it is to get all of the regulations right first. It will definitely take time and more money that we don't have atm to build up our homestead, but at least we own our land and were able to buy a tractor and side by side. I'll just have to wait for my big greenhouse, barn & milk cow, but hopefully in time. I wish everyone the best of luck on their journey.
Thanks again for the encouraging video!
Btw- Do you have any videos on how you make a profit from your homestead? Thanks and God bless.
2:54 the government doesn't win. Stop asking for permission
Property in our area has gone up 3-6 times per acre from what we paid 10 years ago. It’s outta control.
I agree. Cursed housing market is affecting everything!
Yes! We bought our acreage 11 years ago for $4200 per acre. Last year the farmland just 1/5 mile down the road was listed for 20k an acre and IT SOLD.
With the internet now days and the choice of videos we taught ourselves how to butcher and now do all our processing and packaging on property. Cattle, sheep, pigs, chickens, turkeys, ducks, chukar, pheasant, quail and rabbits... We are in our 60s and started 7 years ago.. Its a lot of work but if we can do it anyone can do it!. IF your wanting to save money, homesteading is not for you... It is expensive to raise the animals and if you use processors even more expensive. BUT the health benefits and knowing how the animals are raised and treated is well worth it. Taxes on farm property is increasing terribly.. The government trying to tax families out of their farms... So glad to see you and your family back and posting!..
Good for you! That's amazing!
Thank you for this video. I have no money, living in an apartment, but haven't given up the dream. Solid, actionable advice here. I'll start reaching out this week.
Wow, this was a really informative video. Had a FOAF who wanted to open a butcher business. 3 different rural cities that would have benefitted economically blocked him in red tape, so he gave up.
You did not mention the new legislation that took all the animal antibiotics and many dewormers off the market without prescription. This is harming many small farmers who are now unable to treat animals for simple problems like puncture wounds, skin infections, parasites like giardia, bacterial infections... vet costs are so prohibitive that it is often cheaper to put the animal down. This is completely unfair to the poor animal and is causing a lot of suffering and upset in my rural community.
Happening here, too. Also all the large animal vets are retiring or switching to office only. I’m hoping to convince my cousin and uncle to start their own on-farm butchering business.
I'd recommend starting an herb garden. Many of these dewormers and such have herbal origins. I don't know much but I've been starting to realize the power of herbs personally because the medical field has been forcing me to learn to treat my own illnesses because of the "oh it's a virus, there's nothing we can do". Does that sound familiar? I think it's bogus so I'm turning to herbs and essential oils rather than going to the doctor as soon. Who would have thought our grandparents actually knew what they were talking about?
Amazing video, you will want to watch this if you're trying to get into farming. Where there's a will, there's a way. Believe it.
Speaking of regulations; greetings from Germany, the Homeland of bureaucracy. It is driving us insane
I'm so glad I was able to buy land in a no zoning area
Tell me where ? What states?
@@SamuelGriffinNH. Read the town master plan for the individual city. Not in the south of the state.
I love your channel thank you for your content plz never stop making videos your channel has gave me the inspiration to start a homestead
Same here.
I stRted2 years ago with 3 acres of raw land and still trying to get the utilities, it's very expensive. Got 9 chickens in a nice set up so having fresh eggs is keeping me hopeful that I can make the dream develop.
It also depends on the country you are in too, I am in Canada and my parents have one acre of land. They were able to have chickens and some meat rabbits, my mom’s parents had roughly half an acre and they were able to have some farm animals as well. Nothing huge like cows, but they had chickens and maybe a few pigs.
Wow, the first part of this video was very depressing! We've gotten the land, last year, but it's going to be quite a while before we'll be able to get cows, pigs, sheep. We have chickens and a garden currently. Money is definitely the defining factor in how long it will take us to move forward.
No chickens on 2 acres? That's insane. Everyone should be allowed to grow food. Food is a human right!
Government wants to control everyone. That's why.
just disobey. Gouvernments have lost their mandat with destroying the human rights in 2020
I am in michigan. I worked in a slaughterhouse and do my own butchering of deer and such. I am currently looking into what is required to start a mobile butchering business for poultry, pigs, goats and sheep.
Just to note, everything you said is true, but you will find it more in the more populated areas of the country. If you live in a primarily rural county, the issues will be lower. If you live closer to a more highly populated area, the regulations will increase dramatically. When looking at available properties first step is to see the zoning and understanding the regulations regarding that specific zone. For what I'm looking for, the properties are going to be incredibly rare because I want as much leeway in what I do with my land while also having the fastest available broadband as possible. The Broadband side must be CAREFULLY researched because the providers LIE, They will claim broadband is available in an area to receive federal dollars for bringing broadband to rural areas while the property you look at can NEVER have broadband. Even thought the providers will say you can in reporting to the feds, they will never provide you broadband.
Yup, and complaining about it isn't going to fix it and most people probably don't want all the legal trouble of fighting these battles.
Rural residential or rural zoning usually allows more flexibility with rural zoning being the least restrictive.
@@johndoh5182 I try to look at primarily agricultural zoning with broadband availability. It's tough matching the two.
I finally got starlink and it was a game changer for me.
We also have Starlink and can take it anywhere! Would recommend
@kalilafischer2915 Visible cell phone provides us phone and Internet for $45 per month out the door. It is truly unlimted. I work from home using the hotspot for Internet.
My area is 15k an acre for farm land... I've been planting a food forest the past 5 years. And I practice gardening, I'm building an aquaponic system. I am ready for chickens next year .. I might start a big farm to feet the fish and chickens
Really really helpful, thank you! So grateful that you share your knowledge and experience 👍😊
We have a very small homestead- 1 acre with our home…but we paid it OFF this year! We have a small fruit orchard with 25 apple /peach/cherry trees, that we free range up to 20 chickens in the orchard area. We have raised pigs- and allowed the pigs to eat our massive excess of fruit and butcher the pigs younger around 4 months… We’ve been here 16yrs- each year we grow and add to our home/homestead- Don’t get discouraged- do it now!!!
Just a building lot in Utah is over $125K and a so called farm with no water rights is listed at $500K for 4.55 acres. It’s a joke here in the west. Overbuilding and water shortages not being addressed by local government except to put restrictions on outdoor watering and then they issue building permits like crazy.
My advice to people is to go all in on animals that are cheaper to feed because the feed costs are ridiculous and supply chains are now unreliable. Rabbits are so underrated. Geese need way less grain than other poultry, musovies are better than ducks in that regard too. Pigs can eat nuts unshelled, fruit peels, and seeds that other animals can't process. I watched a kune kune eat a grapefruit peel like it was candy and I realized at that moment I was going to be a pig farmer like my old pap, tho I'd never intended to and I don't even eat pork! Grazing animals are obvious, especially if you grow tree fodder like locust. Here in Hawaii most of us are aware that if the barges stop coming then we will all soon run out of animal food really fast. And it's hard to make profit margins here when costs are crazy high.
Our Geese (American Buff) and Muscovy are, literally, FREE.
They free-range/forage 100% of their feed needs. They graze The Field just like a herd of Cattle.
We don't feed 'em.
We don't water 'em - there is an acre-and-a-half of pond surface out there across 2 ponds on the property.
We dont even house them.
They roam out there with the wild/native Canada and Mallard. Let 'em do their thing in the Spring (makin' Babies). By Late August we can start harvesting. By November we load up the bus for Freezer Camp.
**
We haven't nailed down The Rabbot just yet, but in 4 years we've reduced the Feed Bill by 70% by growing/harvesting our own. The bulk of that is a 1/5th acre Hay Plot we harvest for 3 cuttings with an old-school, human powered Scythe.
We do all three, and could support about 2,000 pounds of meat production without even breaking a sweat. We currently harvest about 450-500 pounds a year to feed 2 adults. Our land base would support 16,,000 to 18,000 pounds of meat production, but that would be a near full-time job for one of us and $$$ infrastructure $$$ we'd have to build out.
This! I think sheep are really underrated in the US as well, we are just getting started with hair sheep but they are so cost effective to raise for meat.
And, Muscovy ducks replicate like rabbits. We have baby ducks of all ages ov
Amazing that the EPA goes after small farm chicken coops but ignores manure lagoons.
They don't ignore lagoons. Lagoons are heavily regulated and those farmers are completely beholden to the EPA with regards to the lagoon. Most of those farmers end up selling when it comes time to update those lagoons to new "standards" the EPA comes up with. I hate lagoons and think those systems are terrible but it's just not true that they ignore them.
Texas, average price is $100k+ per 1 acre no exaggeration
The price continues to increase 📈 and water issues. Some counties have had a 5+ year drought and still ongoing
People may find some gems depending on their criteria and how flexible they can be with it 💎
I just bought in East Texas- 10 + acres for $5,700 an acre…
Much needed. Thank you so much.
So, chickens on property is VERY state dependent and if their zoning laws don't want you to have chickens then that's not the property you want unless you're will to do a lot of time consuming legal fights.
What I know about zoning from VA is that if you're property is zone residential it doesn't matter how big the lot is you'll have to deal with a lot of legal issues trying to move it to a homestead with animals.
If on the other hand it's zoned rural residential then it's a lot easier to have animals. If it's zoned rural, you can do pretty much whatever you want.
That was VA years ago.
Yeah, I agree, DON’T buy the property is the zoning says NO to chicken, look elsewhere!
i live in Washington who usually has a lot of regulations, but mostly with building houses and structures. since i live rural in washington i am allowed to have any animal i want. Well they do have laws about owning any wild animals (possums, racoons, skunks, bobcats, etc.) there are states that allow you to own "wild animals" but we can't here.
I live in the US. I'll fight the government tooth and nail if they say I can't grow my own food. It's simply unconstitutional and tyrannical. I love being able to grow my own things and that will be the line in the sand for me when it comes to my personal liberties and freedoms.
The pig thing really does make sense. Pigs have a lot of diseases that are spread easily to humans and a lot of people don't know how to properly care and take care of their animals (you'd be surprised). The regulations aren't for people who know what they're doing, they're for people who don't. 9 times out of 10 if you live in a farming state (Texas, Kansas, Oklahoma, Missouri, Illinois, etc.) as long as you live in the county and not within city lines you can do what you want with your property. It is expensive, but its easier to buy a house outside of city limits with about an acre of land, and later expand when you are more knowledgable about homesteading. Missouri especially is very good about the farming laws and also often pays farms and farmers if they produce (not sell) a certain amount in the high seasons. For example, the USDA offers operating loans to farmers just starting out, but it is usually restricted to those who have prior knowledge and experience farming (second generation farmers). Contact the USDA and your local government to read up on the regulations and opportunities in your area.
Money and land although I'm starting right where I am
A key to regulation in the US is that the Federal government doesn't have much power over what you do on your property. However, they have decided that the Commerce clause means that they can have any power they want over transactions. So as long as you aren't trying to sell something to others in a non-cash way, you are pretty well free to do it however you like. Municipal/HOA laws are more intrusive so it is better to farm outside those local governments. Laws also vary a lot from state to state and topic to topic. Selling fresh vegetables is easy. Selling dairy requires huge compliance costs. Selling animals for meat is easy, selling meat by the package is hard.
I think it's finally time for 2 or even 3 families who know eachother well, to consider buying land together, and share the load, while teaching the children this lifestyle. A contract can be signed by all parties to stay in the agreed arrangement for 5 years or whatever, and whoever is able, can buy out the others. There is also a program called SKIP that helps people inherit land, but I think we can network ourselves by getting to know the community. If you are an older person who doesn't want your beloved farm to be sold to developers, try to find a family who has already proven themselves, and share your land with them until you know they are the real thing, then give your land to them. This is for older people who don't have kids to pass their land on to. Some even refuse to give their land to their kids, knowing they will just sell to developers. Keep the homesteading dream alive.
The up side is that with fewer farmers, the pay off will increase for what you produce.
Food is now a black market .
Call the chickens your anxiety support animals and get a doctor's note. We have to outsmart them
Great information video on something I’ve noticed especially in vet med. Not many people see cows/goats/sheep/pigs/chickens anymore due to less agriculture & farmers. So less knowledge and interest for these types of animal and their health compared to cats & dogs. I myself didn’t even know the different types of cows & pigs until college. :(
Farming seems like a good plan B but it’s becoming very cost prohibitive for someone like me who is middle class from the city. So now I am wanting to work with somebody who does it already but goodness there’s so little farmers open to having a city girl work with them & their animals/plants in exchange for a basement/attic/car to sleep in.
land was a very hard hurdle for me and i live in a area thats not good for homesteading, I got lucky and found some owner financing on land way better than my area
Love that you found owner financing! Great way to make it happen!
Seems like the right way to do it these days. Find a rich old person who has a lot of land and can’t farm, and become their farmer.
Hello, can you make a full video about milking your cows with the milking machine❤
Where’s that beautiful Jersey cow and calf print behind you from?
A beautiful gift from someone you may see in the comments! @grannybesshomestead938 , and it’s Ladybug, Luna and Honeybee 🥰
I began the very little steps I could two years ago. I'm further than I was but not where I want to be. I began a garden. Now I have a larger raised bed garden, make my breads, cook from scratch, make bone broth, render tallow, and buy local and farm fresh where I can. Building my homestead book collection, make and dry my own herbs, teas and some natural medicines. I'm building my emergency stock supplies, building my stocked pantries and learning the skills I can. However it's still small steps toward the bigger picture. I'm much further than two years ago but still so far away from my homestead dreams. We had to move so I still don't have my homestead property sadly but it wasn't for lack of looking. We were transferred to a new area hours away so every property that would have been perfect we couldn't get to in time. Soon we were left with too many too expensive properties and not able to raise chickens or goats on them or with homes that were not habitable and we don't have the resources or skills to rebuild.
So long story short we had to buy on the edge of a small rural town literally farms around the corner from me. We had to buy a home that I can only garden on and I'm still making out that space and trying to connect with local farms around me.
Cost is the biggest factor stopping us currently and also lack of available farm land with homes that we can actually raise animals on.
I had to move 2k miles to Missouri so I could get enough land to homestead
Great Information, Thank you.
I find the biggest problem is that everyone wants paid for everything. Buy my book, pay for my podcast, pay for my workshop, pay for my printable, pay to visit my farm or shop, buy my recipie or plans or notebook and on and on. It gets very expensive very quickly just to look into it. I swear no one makes money homesteading they only make money off of talking about it or videos or books or lifestyle podcasts.
Tell us what states to buy land?
Nobody ever says WHERE is best????
That's because we don't want California moving in. I have left two states because they moved in, rents quadrupled and they brought their politics. Peace and the ability to survive was gone.
These negatives are mostly for the large homesteader, which is 10x harder than the small 2 acre homesteader with a fraction of the animals.
Great video what a gold mine
I don't operate under compelled performance of any act, bill or statute that infringes upon my life liberty and security of my family. These government regulations are not law and are solely for revenue and control. I don't agree with them, therefor I reserve my right under ucc 1-308 which is universal law based on biblical precedent that states I do not operate under compelled performance of any contract I've knowingly or unknowingly signed into. Code is law, courts recognize code as law. To be convicted of a crime, a damaged party must be brought forth I.e if you're being charged with theft, there must be a victim, as is with murder etc... there is no such thing as a victimless crime. If the government can't bring forth a damaged party, you are the victim.
Because Homestead Lifestyle is for many living in Disney paradise. Most people don't get it that the self sufficient life 100 years ago was hard and painful. People had many kids not only because lack of contraception but also because hands were needed to work with animals and on the field. All family members had daily chores and obligations that they could not not to do it just because they fell tired or a little bit of sick. If whole family didn't work there was no diner and no pizza order for diner. A lot families were working very hard and eat very little or low nutrition food. Yes, people were less traveling, less involved with sports and music and etc, so they had more time but the their world was often 10-20 miles around and that's it. ( If they had a horse with wagon). We are going back to those times when only the healthiest and strongest will survive and others will be dying just like around 100 years ago.
We have ten chickens, eight cows and three pigs. The pigs and our steer go to freezer camp this month. On an almost four acre farm. Hopefully more chickens in the spring and more pigs. We are just the right size for us. We also do meat birds. Learned to process meat birds from UA-cam.
Never tell this on the system of the enemie n
There is a difference between homesteading and being a yeoman farmer. One puts more heavy emphasis on self-sufficiency while the other - like you kept highlighting in the video - demands a communal network.
I can't imagine reallocating those burdens that are whole separate occupations onto yourself is ideal when you have cattle.
Very good advice! Learned this the hard way 😂
Do not assume the government always wins. That attitude is why people think the government always wins. Because most don't try to fight. This is why anyone who means to homestead must have a conversational knowledge of law on top of everything else.
So true
What is your favorite pig breed to raise and why?
Love the addition of the AK license plate!
It’s a part of me now.
Thanks i needed this advice
I was a quality coordinator for a large manufacturing company. I thrive in dancing around BS guidelines. I wrote guidelines. I’m not afraid.
Excellent topic
There are already laws on the books saying if you own a cow no one can drink the milk except the owner, for example. That means not even family members are legally allowed to drink. I saw it with my iwn eyes in 2019. Which is also when I learned Covid was coming, the shots were let's say bad, and I learned about Social Distancing. I couldn't wrap my head around social distancing until it happened. Oh, and I bought a case of toilet paper in 2019. I say this to give validity to my initial statement.
I believe in general that you are correct. But, your example of the address labeling really is not a big deal. There have been real issues of people selling their products without any good safe training or understanding of the ingredients in a product. It may not be an epidemic of people getting ill or dying, but it has happened. The fact that it has happened is the reason their is a reguation on labeling, etc.
Again, before i get attacked, i do believe people should have the ability to easily homestead and produce saleable products.
Definitely money! Everything has gotten so expensive in Florida!
Great video thank you very much.❤
It sounds like you have confused homesteading for self sufficiency with farming or ranching? Most folks who have a dream about homesteading are aiming at self sufficiency and a simple though harder life, not necessarily a business.
Especially when he says you need a vet. That not sufficient or healthy.
Do you have a video on how to take care of a goose 🪿 🤔
its ridiculous and it's just getting worse. Thank you for the tips.
Actually, there shouldn’t be any smell with animals when done with Permaculture.
Speaking of casterations, not many know how.
Land about 30 minutes to an hour outside of KC, MO where we live is running $15,000 - $20,000 an acre. I wish I could find land for $8,000 an acre around here! It's been rough looking for affordable land at 5 - 10 acres at our budget. We ended up finding a house that is on 5 acres that was reasonably priced (currently in contract) but up until recently all houses on acres are about 20% more than houses not on acres.
Holy smokes that’s a lot! 20,000 an acre! Glad you found a place with a house, often the combo is the best deal!
Wow! 200k per acre in CA valley!!!!!!
I bought 30 acres in 2003and built a 3100sq foot house with a four car garage with a mortgage of 242,000. I had a ton of sweat equity when I was done but was forced to sell due to divorce. I bought 5 acres 2.5 years ago with no improvements for 76k what a difference 20 years makes. My bare 30 was only 61,500. I feel destroyed for not figuring out how to keep the house I built on such a great acreage. Oh and the house I built on that 30 acres is currently on the market for 749,900….crushes my soul
16:19 big ag interferes. CAFOs do smell bad. People make assumptions about a few pigs based on the smells (and destructive practices) of Tyson, et al.
Different topic; nobody wants a single chicken 😢that would be cruel because they are flock animals. Minimum of 3 is necessary. You can change the politics on the local level. Seattle can now have chickens within city limits. And ducks.
The farmers need to get together and go against the government.
"You will own nothing and be happy"
I get that times are tough, but with God all things are possible. Don't give up on your dream of homesteading. Be willing to do the work that's necessary, but don't believe it's too impossible to start. Pray and work!
I got lucky. I'd been heavy gardening when I was a child and for10 years prior to getting a place. I inherited near 13 acres because I was the only one in the family that ever expressed any interest in carrying on the family tradition. Not everyone was happy about it, but we eventually worked it out and we moved in to the house build by my grandparents both of whom were the children of Confederate veterans. Now I'm 3rd generation on this land. I can grow 90% of the vegetables we consume here. I learned to butcher chickens watching my grandmother. I used to raise and sell hogs but things have changed and processors won't buy from anyone with a contract now. First time in history you can't make a dollar off a hog. I'm fixing to learn to butcher them myself though and I'm planning a refrigerated smokehouse because temps don't stay low enough for long enough now. course everyone might consider one of my mottos, "Never ask anyone about doing anything. You simply give them the opportunity to say no and bestowing on them the authority to do so."
And vote republican, not because they're great but because the lesser of two evis is the only choice you've got. And stay on their ass once you do.
I am learning how to butcher my own too. Yep, we need to take care of all our own needs. We'll figure it out.
A lot of blame goes to the government. But really, where I live... It's the people. At least in East Tx.
Every time something new wants to come to town, they pull out the red tape IMMEDIATELY. Town halls where everyone goes to protest.
Everything is poison.
Everything is loud.
Everything is smelly.
Controversial opinion... But I think we're doing this to ourselves.
Lack of finding the land, there is some land, but most are way too expensive and too big for what we want.
hey Howdy from Central Texas! I have a hell of a
ugh time starting up myself.
Fewer not less
There be less homesteading.
Your MORE button doesn't give more info. Can't even see the whole title of the video
The "only" good thing our horrible governor did for our state was sign that farmers didn't have to put their address on their products.
Privacy-good
Speaking of veterinary care are they in decline?
It's like 8-10 years of college to be one. Regulation again
@@duckfarmer8630yes you are correct 💯 that's the minimum and average. It can take even longer if they want to "specialize" in anything beyond domestics like dogs and cats.
The cost of living including college is increasing, making it even more difficult for some to attend the schooling from start to finish.
A painful truth is that the majority of what they learn in school doesn't apply to their career. The majority of the knowledge that veterinarians and their staff learn is from day to day experiences instead of the school. All of that money is spent to get a degree and what's taught is not applicable. It's a long time and years of debt to be in school. Basically a bunch of red tape.
I very much support education 📖 Education needs a big reform much like many other aspects around the planet
@@RaeFaeM ☹️
Also the suicide rate for people in the Veteranary med is pretty high.
Just $100 a month gives you 1200 in just 1 year that plenty to rent 2 acres of land and have a decent size flock of chickens and a copple pigs but you will be paying in time driving to your farm every day
We are going experience 1st with out land hopping to get the land one day