The REAL Reason Homesteaders and Farmers Are Giving Up!
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- Опубліковано 28 вер 2024
- The REAL Reason Homesteaders and Farmers Are Quitting!
Why are homesteaders and farmers leaving the lifestyle. I think I know why.
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I think people who have never stepped foot on a farm, experienced the hard work 24/7/365 it takes need to find a farmer and work on that farm for minimum 6 - 12 months and figure out if farming is something they really want to do. People watch UA-cam videos and yes, romanticize the lifestyle, decide they want to do it with no realistic idea of the hard physical work, skills & knowledge needed, seasonal challenges, blood sweat tears, upfront and cash flow money for operating costs + much more it takes to successfully operate a working farm business. It’s a ton of work for the ROI received selling the products & many people will not pay the money farmers ask for their product. It is definitely a niche market in some areas and marketing is a absolute must to gain customer base to be able to earn a living at it.
I know the farmer would appreciate the help while someone was deciding if it was for them. Thanks for watching.
My wife and I just moved back to her family land a few months ago. I think part of the burnout for people is not having anyone around. I know if I am doing something and have a question a good five people will be over not only giving advice but helping within a few minutes. If you are moving out and getting started I would highly recommend a place with a great community. Do not think you can move out and know/do everything on your own.
Zach has an interesting take on American Homestead channel recently attributing the “homesteading” quitting issue to anthropomorphism, essentially society elevating animals, nature, etc to human characteristics. In other words, folks are too sensitive to “process” livestock because of societal conditioning for a long time. I certainly agree it’s a factor, but also agree with you that many folks that have never “lived” in the country have a misperception. I grew up “in the country” but left as a young adult. I finally came back as a middle aged adult, and I knew full well that I would have to shed city behavior and worldviews that I had picked up along the way and some I wasnt fully aware I had. You said it best, it wasnt called homesteading before, it was just living. The city creates the communal safety net, but I think its a fragile one. Once you get established in the country, if you’ve been a good neighbor and citizen, you find a “net” exists there too, except that you are a more integral part of it and it’s not as pretty as the city net, but hardier and more resilient. Anyway, keep up the good fight my friend. Appreciate your channel. God bless.
Thanks for watching.
I've tried that city life with all those conveniences and it's just not for me. I call it city dweller burnout. LOL
As a lifelong farm girl, I'll take the hard work, the heartache, the sweat and the tears, cause when I crack open a mason jar in the dark of January and it smells like summertime, it makes it worth it. When I can serve a whole meal that was grown, produced, processed, and prepared 100% by my hands, the relief and sense of satisfaction makes it worth it.
This "lifestyle" isn't for everyone and that's okay! Condo's and Door Dash isn't for everyone either!
Thanks darling! Making me want to try a few turkey lurkeys next year!
Added sheep and dairy goats this year. Last year was pigs and rabbits. I try to limit "new projects" to two per year. I think it helps the drudgery cause I love learning new things!
Blessings from my little piece of dirt in Oklahoma!
Sounds like you have the right “why” in perspective. Stick with it and hang in there! Thanks for watching.
Well said Janice, Blessings from a little piece of heaven in Kansas,
We were like you and have been doing this at this level for over a decade. We have dairy goats we love and the milk products. A friend raises American Guinea hogs so we don’t do pigs and we can give them excess that is over ripe. Another farm raises nice chickens and we get those ready to can or freeze, but we have layers for eggs. Another local farm trades with us what they have that we don’t for what we have in excess and they have a store so we don’t have to sell to the public. Bartering is great!
Life isn't easy. It's just different kinds of difficult. We are able to choose many things about our lives and livelihoods. Thankful you and many others have chosen farming!! May God continue to bless both of you!!
Our grandparents didn't have an option, it was their only way of survival. We can take the best of their experiences, honor their knowledge and move the process forward with modern technologies. It's an honor to raise animals and grow food on the same land they did. We're blessed to be able to share with our "friends and neighbors" what we've been gifted with. For all the romantics in the room I can assure you that 20 degrees are dark is not necessarily what we dream about.
I've come to realize you can live your life with struggles and not enjoy it or live your life with struggles and enjoy it. Choose wisely cause you only get one ticket to ride. Guess that's where that saying comes from " Do what you love and you'll never work a day in your life. " . As for you and your wife Chuck y'all are what's called top self if you ask me. Thanks for your time and knowledge in helping us in this pursuit.
Thanks. There is a stoic principle that says “The obstacle is the way forward”. The troubles are preparing to die better things.
Every style of life has burnout. Starting a business be it a farm or dental office is very hard and way more than 40 hours per week. Taking responsibility for being self employed can be all consuming. The key is to keep your eye on the prize. A happy family life, not keeping up with the Jones. Figure out the effort you have to put out for what the return is, take an honest look at it all. Compare hours spent and prices of supplies, Feeling burnt out? Everyone does. Take time in your garden or watching your kids and count your blessings. We found that we could balance an office, home schooling and a country lifestyle but it meant keeping our priorities straight. Don’t buy anything you don’t need,do not go in debt. Learn to fix things yourself. Include your kids in your life, every part of it. Now that the kids are raising their own kids we have no regrets for putting family first.
Good points. Taking take to relax and be thankful are key. Appreciate y’all watching.
Not burnt out just burnt up lol cutting oak tree head up in 90 degree wv sun. As always a great story and inspiring ways from Chuck thanks for all you do
Man it’s been hot here too. Stay cool!
I think you are partially right, but I think some of us homesteaders are cutting back because of rising costs. My husband and both grew up on farms and after my husband retired from the Air Force, we started our homestead. After 18 years of homesteading, we are having trouble keeping up with the expenses. We raise chickens for meat and eggs, hogs, cows for meat and milk, turkeys, and honey bees. We also maintain a large vegetable garden, fruit trees, nut trees, etc.
This will probably be our last year raising hogs and we've also cut back on our cows and chickens.
You absolutely SHOULD take a drone shot of that area in a few weeks. I want to see that.
I dreamed of having a farm as a little girl. My husband and I are now retired military, so we have steady income. Then my dad passed and left me a little cash. So I dove in to a small farm. Chickens, goats, pigs, gardening. And boy is it work and an expensive hobby. But I wouldnt give up the hard work to have the peace and enjoyments my animals bring to me.
When you stop moving you die.....this keeps me and will keep me moving. BUT its not for everyone.
-Oklahoma
I do it to better myself and family. Learning the hard way most of the way. I can't say i even make a living at it nor a living on media. I do make videos of some of the stuff i do or deal with mostly to get advice, but media is zero help with anything I do. I don't have many interactions from viewers at all. I've been burnt out on UA-cam for that reason but I'm still pushing on with raising my own food. It's fun most of the time but there are some very hard times that come with its Aswell. I love the life and hope my body can keep up for as long as possible. Love ya'll thank you for all you do!
We got home yesterday from work we found 90% percent of our Turkey's dead.
The house for shade that we had set up was flipped upside down very confused not one bird was under the house nor bloody.
Nor was the fence poor down we use electric nating.
Very well said chuck!
Thanks
👍 Well said about burn out. We love the lifestyle of living on the farm and appreciate the effort it takes to make a living out of it. Our goal is to improve our farm and live the dream. I mentioned in one of my videos recently that it’s time to work weather it’s rain, hail or shine.
i think alot of people, like myself, take interest in homesteading for a couple reasons. one reason would be we have become more aware of the crap food we are buying from the grocery store and we wish to have a plot of land to grow healthier , cleaner, better tasting food. Secondly we see costs of horrible meat and food skyrocketing and start to wonder if we can cut our costs. Then the final reason/concern i would have to gain interest in homesteading is sustainability. costs going up, store quality declining, social tensions rising are all factors that can lead one to wonder if maybe they need to become more reliable upon themselves and less reliant upon the current system and distribution of food, water, electricity, etc. Currently if something were to happen to knock our society off its rocker, i would have no means of survival (and im a guy of pretty good enginuity and mulitple talents) but if grocery stores were not stocked, i have only a few months supply before i would starve assuming i could protect my small stockpile.
This is a scary video as a 31 year old finishing school up for ag production but at the same time I think to myself “out with the old, in with the new” don’t want that to offend anyone but it’s my justification to myself that things are changing and the elders I learned from, their ways may not be the way of the future
Yep that Turkey poop has a bunch of extra nitrogen in it. Like 4x as much as chicken manure.
Being dependent on mega corporate international farmers is a terrible direction for us to go.
@@electricspark5271we are already at that destination of dependency we’ve been there for decades. “Heading in that direction”-we are there, the destination. Cities depend on corporate farms and that isn’t going to change.
@@EugeneYusexactly, it's bad to continue going that way. You vote with your wallet which is why I buy from my local farmers.
Thanks for watching.
@@EugeneYusalso, I didn't say "heading in that direction" that would imply a starting point. I said "a terrible direction for us to go". Which in English would imply a past, present and future tense verbage.
Great job ,
Thank you!
Just watched the video. I agree that be it gardening or raising your own meat, it's a full time job in itself. We have grown our own food for 38 yrs. Be it just a garden and hunting or garden and farm animals. It was done for us cause it was what we did a children and we continued the lifestyle. Younger one who weren't raised this way got scared during the pandemic and went wild thinking they could do this. UA-cam does make it look easy due to they don't see the whole start to finish. It's not just growing it's processing and preserving what you have as well. We just live right below you, just down the road. I think anyone who chooses this lifestyle needs to try it before you buy it so to speak. There is a lot of blood, sweat,and tears in this lifestyle. We have been made fun of over the years for our way of life. Nobody was laughing when it got tough. They have approached us to teach them. To someone new I could see burnout really quit. But us we just keep chugging along. Help when we can. God bless. May ride up and visit one day.
Great video Sir. Thanks for speaking on something real for us. Keep doing the good work.
Thanks for watching.
I've heard that turkeys will decimate tick populations. Have you found that to be true? I even heard of some farmers putting turkeys in with pigs (or before pigs go into a pasture) to keep ticks off of them.
When you're raising animals, there comes with it a lot of heart ache as well.
Indeed. It’s inevitable.
I’m Burt out hard. I don’t even have that many animals to care for but with 4 kids and me being the only one taking care of all the animals I’m running out of steam. 😢
Mr. Rhoades makes his living from his media company, book sales and other profit centers. He doesn't hide this from anyone, but it is a bad idea to believe he feeds his family on growing things and raising animals. Same thing goes for Mr. Salatin. My Mother was raised on three acres on a suburban plot of land. During the 30's and 40's they worked the heck out of this land by growing veggies and fruit. Plus, they had chickens and a pig. That was a time of basic survival. It is important to note after she and her seven brothers and sisters moved away from their home, not one of them did any farming of any sort for the rest of their lives. I'll let that fact speak for itself.
Sounds like your mother worked hard. Thanks for watching.
I don’t think folks realize how hard homesteading is. We have 64 acres of land that doesn’t take care of itself and four children who require a lot of our attention. We started raising pigs and quickly found out how much work and time they take. When we had two litters of piglets at a time, there was no leaving the homestead, because we didn’t have anyone we trusted to take care of things here. We also have rabbits and chickens we raise for meat. I am a stay at home mom and my husband works a full time job and there is not enough of us to go around to make a profit on our farm just yet. For now we are happy to raise one litter per year, which is enough meat for our family, and sell the extra wholes and halves to friends and family. I think everyone should start somewhere so that they then learn what is best for their individual situation and budget. The homesteading life is not glamorous. It is hard and takes every bit of effort from your whole family to make it work. If it is truly important to you then you can and will make it work. It is the life we chose and at the end of the day we are happy to be able to live it this way.
conveniences have their own price whether that's money or our time working a different job or our health, farming also has it's own price and you make the decision of which you are ok living with.
What kind of freezer is that?
And the homesteading is not a choice for me I have to 'cause I live on a disability pension which only pays$800 a month and I have to pay all the bills from my house and my food luckily my house has never had a mortgage on it I built it myself and paid cash for everything that's the only thing that has saved me but there's still bills $800 does not get you very far but with the farming raising animals rabbits chickens turkeys quail and then the gardening for vegetables from now on I'll be getting my vegetables just from the food bank depending on big farmers around the valley to donate to the food bank because in town too many rats was not that many rats here 7 years ago but now the town has expanded out to us and we get the rats but you don't see the town doing anything about it because it's their rats I never had rats here before until they moved out here
I think burnout is high potential for those who romanticize this life. A few miles up the road a young man has got into farming. Has two brand new high end tractors and all sorts of implements. A herd of cows that are wild as a buck. He’s gone with work often. But I don’t think it will pan out in the long rin
Good point Chuck been just watching and observing everyone and waiting to figure out if I had a UA-cam channel what would I say
First and foremost is the hard work I am 64 soon to be 65 I started this at 63 years old. I fortunately have a business still that subsidies the farm but being in business for myself my entire life I am used to hard work. So I could not just hang it up and cash in but as someone who has a business that builds what we sell and markets directly to customers. I understand the $ & cents. Most small farmers underestimate their capital investment both the labor time materials or infrastructure cost. They price & sell products like they are a commodity and they are working for nothing. We are just getting started and I understand business marketing & money very well. Not only the hard work but people have to understand to build something like polyface farm or what Greg Judy or even Chuck has takes years of hard work. It is the same in business I had offers on my business two years in a row. A pile of cash but I have a successful brand in a niche that looks like it only took 10-12 years to build. However it was 30 years of failure in brick and mortar retail combined with 7-8 years hard work 60-70 hour weeks. That now at 64 I don’t do anything but council and advise my people who run my business for me.
I don’t dream that I can now build a farm business similar as at my age realistically I really don’t have the time left on the clock. I do hope however to build it up over next few years enough to at least hire a younger person to help me as currently I do almost everything solo. I have my wife helps with farmer’s markets but other than this I take care of the animals. We have sheep, pigs, cattle and do some meat chickens.
God Bless you will keep you both in my thoughts & prayers
Between the labor and capital expense I don’t think people get it. As far as the typical ones using UA-cam it’s just fun for them cuz clearly looking at their 500k$ house they have money from something else or a whole lot of debt. It’s hard but I love it. I’d rather do it than my typical 9-5. Burn out is def there. That’s what separates the fakes or part times from the real ones.
Agree. We try to keep it genuine.
A good bit of people are buying less than desirable land to farm/homestead. Making an already difficult task even worse. Especially for someone inexperienced
A lot of people coming to farming have never farmed but they have watched hundreds of hrs of youtube farmers and they jump in with two feet and want to do it all. Those new to farming are not use to having so much work you never get caught up. There is always work to do. And if you can not manage your time, stress, and money you will fail. It takes lifetimes to build up a well run farm. If you are starting from nothing you will never get to where your dreams are because it takes generations.
To many people that are getting into it have become to comfortable with the instant gratifications of todays society... and to many of them that are getting out dont understand that they will be forced to go back to it or die.
Nobody wants to put in the dirty work anymore.
Farming is nothing more than a lifetime of failures, your crop will always be undersized the market will always under pay and you will always have some kind of loss in your livestock. What you do with the failures is what determines your success.
Your options, slave for a company that does not value you for 8 to 10 hours a day and get a paycheck, or put 10 to 14 hpurs a day into working on what is YOURS.
Thanks for such a good video. Why people get into now? a year of this video? Fright! Look how many times it is mentioned on line, on t.v., just everywhere - how prices are going up, supplies are going down, quality is a joke and fear of government and illegal immigrants taking over, poisons in our air, water and food! Folks rush to 'safety' with no thought of how they'll survive on their own hard work with such a lack of information or training. God help everyone!
Can't give up all I have is whats left of the family farm its make it or break it
I get it. All of it. I've been a homesteader for decades, but not to the extent as some others. It was never my goal to be self-sustainable. Fact is, you simply cannot. Even back in the day when many people farmed, they relied on goods and services from others. I owned a own small business that brought in a good income, and I lost money doing the homestead. However, we eat better than royalty and my kids had an interesting life. Not surprisingly, they all live in a city now, but really enjoy coming to visit, where it is peaceful and quiet. They also enjoy all the good food. However, none of them want to do the hard work. They would rather stream videos or play video games. That is what many of the latest generations do. I see it as a tragedy, but it works for them... for now.
A while back I thought I would start a UA-cam channel so I could teach other people some things, as I am a big DIY person. I learned a lesson quickly that there is a Google algorithm that must be met for your channel to be seen. There is no way that a homesteader can meet that bar and still homestead the way they should. Thus, I stopped doing UA-cam videos. It was never about being a high-traffic channel for me. And fact is; it was the video making that was causing burnout because my productivity tanked on the homestead and then things began to go to heck in a hand basket. I didn't even do that many. Fortunately, I learn things quickly.
Yes, homesteaders with popular UA-cam channels are making money as entertainers and are not real homesteaders anymore. Their homestead is simply a prop. Many now hire people to get the homesteading work done and/or to do the videos. While I don't see anything wrong with that, at the same time they do things that are really stupid and people think that they are being taught something valuable from an expert homesteader. Folks, they are entertainers, not homesteading experts. They do thing to get views. They MUST keep putting out content and they no longer care if it is good content. Some even endanger the lives of their children to get views. That part freaks me out.
This year I got burnout because in December I got the type A flu simultaneously with RSV. I coughed so hard that I injured two ribs in my back that took 1.5 months to heal. It was very difficult to get my work done. At the same time, unknown to me initially, the intense coughing started a small hernia. As springtime work came up, it began to get larger. At one point I was pushing my intestine in 4 times a day so I could get work done. I had surgery and they botched that. My wife tried to so some of my work, but she is not the type of person to do that kind of work. We did manage with me helping as best as I could. However, I could not sit or bend over for almost two weeks because the surgery was bad. Eventually, something tore inside (serious pain!) and then I began to heal afterward. The point I am making is that homesteading is difficult when you are healthy, and darn near impossible when you get sick or injured. You are always on the edge of not being able to make things work out. Each of my adult kids gave me one day each to get some things done. (They do not live close by.) One opened the gardens by tilling in the cover crop and putting up garden trellises, another planted plants and seeds, and the other planted fruit trees and grapevines. I taught my daughter how to work a John Deere tractor. She actually did good and liked it.
It wasn't over. I had the sickness that just kept giving. The pain from the botched hernia made me clench my jaw, causing a capped tooth to crack. That was painful and led to a tooth infection. I have been on two type of antibiotics to keep the infection down... because it takes 6 months to get and appointment to extract a tooth. And first, You must spend $200 to be told that you need a tooth extraction. I'm still waiting to get the tooth pulled. It gets better...
I now have a tick disease. This is number 13 for me. There are hazards when farming and homesteading. Ticks are at the top of the list. As a homesteader, we MUST work outside. If you have ticks, you WILL eventually get a tick disease. Hopefully it is one where the tests can determine what it is. They still have not been able to determine what type mine is. I need to argue with the doctors many times to get the antibiotics. I have had it 13 times. I know the symptoms all too well. They do not understand how much time I spend outside, and thus, how exposed I am to ticks.
Because of the health issues, I have decided to stop expanding and let attrition scale back my homestead slowly. If a certain type of tree is too difficult, I will cut it down and not replace it. No new gardens or new plants. Eventually I will scale back the chickens. I also do not see any new projects in the future. Hopefully, that will make it so I do not burn out as I get older, but I will still have the homestead to live in.
Do I regret being a homesteader? No. It is a lifestyle that I must live. While it is hard work, when I could not do my work I was miserable. And even when I am completely exhausted, I do try to find a few minutes to sit on the porch with my bride, drink a glass of my estate-made wine, and watch the butterflies and humming birds. And I am sure to sit outside at night whenever a full moon rises over the mountain, while watching the bats catch bugs. Do not ever put me in a house in a regular community where I have nothing to do. I will implode.
I am a homesteader. That is what I do and that is what I am. When I die, bury me in my garden so the microbiome will take my body back from whence it came. My spirelumina will return home from whence it came and I will live in a world that I created right here by being a homesteader. There is more to homesteading than many realize.
It ain't that easy
Not at all!
Homesteading is continuous work. Conscious, consistent, deliberate, planned work everyday. When you live homesteading, you realize the origins of the saying, "Idle hands are the devil's playground."
You going be a farmer you must be persistent and hard working everyday there are no days off
To paraphrase Dirty Harry, "A Homesteader has to know his limitations".
Just remember it's 24 7 365 Days a year. It's called Farming..
Yes it is. Never stops. Thanks for watching.
👍
I think some people can and will raise chickens,ducks ,turkeys & pigs and what ever else. There’s an end product as harvesting them, sounds good until you have to get the gun, knives and make it happen . So sorry for those get burnt out and now the gleaming in the eyes are gone!
I think some new people who start homesteading/Farming they have an idea but they have no idea. My best advice is to get a internship from a Homestead/Farm and you will learn some knowledge. You know my Dad never gave me an allowance, I was 12 years old and he said that I had to figure it out for myself to earn money. I got a loan from my grandfather $20 and I bought baby chicks and ducklings and feed and I flipped them about 8 weeks old. I paid off my grandfather the loan and I just kept on repeating. That's how I got started.... Now 56 years old I own 200 acres in Oregon and I'm still doing the same thing just at a larger scale.
We wouldn't want to do it for a "living"...that is too much stress financially...been there done that as a kid growing up as a dirt poor farmer. We both have full-time jobs and use that to support the building the homestead. Once we are on it full-time we will be financially secure and pick and choose what things we want to work on...what food we want to grow or buy. We love the country and aren't afraid of any of the work, but watching you work all day selling $40 worth of steaks was painful. We wish you the best of luck farming! Tractor Hard! 🚜💪!
It’s hard depending on it for income because it’s so volition. Thanks for watching.
We can’t do it for income for sure either but more so for preparing and knowing where our food comes from. We feeling the burn tho. Working 60 hrs a week and building our farm as we go. We have chickens and doing some gardening but that’s it for now. We are going to add pigs when we have the means to get the starter pen put up and the materials for the portable netting. We have lots of woods on our property so eventually hoping the little piggies can help with clearing some. God bless and thanks for sharing another great video.
@HTH117 that is what keeps me going. I know what my pigs and others eat. Everyone that we sell or give food to always say it is the best pork they have ever had. I have to agree with them. Proud of my product!
I think more and more people are doing it because they are sick of the prices on something (food) they need and the quality (trash) for which they pay. They think I can do it better and much cheaper. Problem they find out is yes quality can be better no question, but price... it ain't cheap being a farmer and it isn't cheap raising your own food. This idea farmers are rich is the most ridiculous thing, rich in quality of life, raising kids, and good food yes. Rich in money though 🤣 no that's called credit and debt
Exactly! Thanks for watching.
Agribusinessmen are debt donkeys
I think people are longing for simpler times, and thinking there must be something better than working for others. When they find out they are working for the animals, having trouble with the crops, and sweating in the hot sun, they wonder if they made a mistake. It is important not to give up when things get difficult. Homesteading can be very rewarding and heart-breaking at the same time. Perseverernce is a hard lesson to learn, but it makes a marriage and a homestead work.
Ol farmer brown cope.
I think many of these homesteaders or so called farmers are making their living not with the farm, but being a UA-camr and social media. Example- Justin Rhodes.
Yep. And some even admit to that.
Most folks in our area will NOT acknowledge the healthier food and the care taken with it....they talk about eating healthier and such but scoff at paying a few dollars more for a pasture-humanely raised chicken and say they can buy the "same" at WM for $4. They just wont do it, not here anyhow. Its a waste of time, effort and sweat. Cant compete with the big box, one-stop-for-everything store. Sad but true.
Yes, I know a few people who actually "know" a few folks who run very successful YT "farming" channels that are fakes....some even have livestock on their property that they actually do not even own, leased pasture land, etc., but "portray" that the stock is theirs and they are "farming"...just for YT. Very deceitful and dishonest where the rubber meets the road. Thats sad, but true.
This is what I experienced in Oklahoma. They say you can just buy it at the store for cheaper
Good point. We have folks that will walk past our booth drinking an $8 coffee but complain about $9 ground beef.
I have to laugh at "homestead" channels that romanticize the life. I've seen so many that actually don't really care about the animals they're raising. They'll feed them and take care of their needs from what is seen on their videos but I can tell when someone is kind to animals and truly cares for them.... even when they're going to be food in the table. Animals deserve kindness and care 24/7... not just when the cameras are rolling. Farming/Homesteading is hard work and their are no vacations. Your animals depend on you to work like clockwork and there's never a day to sleep in when you've got to get the milking done and you know their belly's are talking. It's also a very dirty, muddy, poopy smelly job LoL. The rewards for me outweigh the difficulties. I guess it's all a matter of perspective and it all depends on whether or not you have a heart for it. There's a valuable lesson in every single aspect of homesteading.❤
Agree. If you are really doing it the work never ends and not just when the camera is off.
I've watched more videos of garbage and you can tell by the content they was just making a video to get some views and thumbs ups. My wife and I have done this for years and holding down jobs and keeping a farm up keeps you wore out but reaping the rewards of the work is well worth it all.
Indeed it does. Hang in there. Thanks for watching.
The family farm was and still is the life blood of this nation. The family farm produces fresh veggies, chickens, pork and beef. It also builds strong family ties and healthy strong children. I grew up on a family farm in Mississippi and loved every second of it. My Grandpa taught me how to build a house, hand milk cows and plow behind a pair of mules. Don't feed your mules before plowing a bottom field as there is no breeze and mules can get rather flatulent after eating corn.
Sounds like he was a wise man. You’re lucky to have had him to learn from.
There is no family farm
I agree. But at least there are a lot of people who are learning how to do useful things by hand - build, grow, make, preserve, and take care of themselves, even if they get tired of all the work and uncertainty and move back to town finally.
Our parents families lived this way, but they had extended family and kids to make the labor easier. Couples who homestead have a harder time, but it’s doable. Determining the size of operation to the number of people is a good practice. Animals seem to take less time than gardens and orchards but more funds and infrastructure. The most time is the seasonal harvesting and putting up of summer produce. Winter can be designed to be much easier. Such as having most animals go to freezer camp early fall and breeding goats, sheep, etc for spring babies when the pastures are growing again. Knowing that fall is right around the corner encourages me to stick with the harvest season. We have been picking, freezing, canning, and dehydrating foods for the summer months almost daily. Now there are only grapes and sweet potatoes plus a few stragglers in the garden. Not working? Take what you learned and redesign your homestead. Tweak it until it works.
Great advice. Thanks for watching.
LOL, that was some good commentary. Way to much work for my liking at that age. If I want chickens, I will stop in and buy some from somebody like you. If I want a cow, I will go to the auction, buy one and send it to slaughter. No, my days are already full playing with grandchildren, fishing, hunting and traveling. People don't realize how much work farming and ranching really is. It's 24/7, there is no break, EVER. At one point my great great grandfather and great grandfather were farming and ranching 660 sections, not acres, but sections, SCREW THAT. God bless all those that do ranch and farm in this country, my hat is off to you.
Thanks. Some folks choose not to tan and we respect that. There are other ways.
@@SheratonParkFarms LOL, that's funny. Good luck and I sincerely mean that.
Farming, homesteading, even gardening your food, is hard work! It's not work that can be 'done later' when you have more time or energy. I can totally see why people give up. It's a calling really, a vocation. You have to love it. I've worked on a range of farm sizes and types throughout my life, and right now I have my hands full with my mini-homestead which is less than an acre. I would always recommend anyone new to the work to start small and build up to it! Thanks for this video saying things that need to be said.
Well said. Great video. We started about 10 years ago. Only just a year ago we started documenting everything and making videos as we moved to set up a new homestead. We wanted to share our experiences in hopes to show others that it can be done but what level of work has to be invested into it. I worked in the trades my whole life. Now I homestead full time and every day is more laborious than the hardest days on a jobsite but I love every minute of it. Nothing more enjoyable than putting in a hard day's work and reaping 100 % of the rewards. Spending full days out in the barn or the pasture or the garden. Breathing fresh air and surrounded by animals. The work is real though and never ends 24/7. Several times, within the first few years especially, during the deepest parts of winter there were moments when selling it all and moving back to the city seemed like a better option. I'm glad we didn't make that choice and plan to never return. We believe anyone that wants to experience this lifestyle should have access to as much information as possible. These videos helped us during our journey and we want to pay that forward. Thank you for the video.
Farming is a 365 job. Not a part time. You have to love what you are doing. GOD BLESS ALL.
It sure is. Thanks for watching.
Dealing with customers in any profession is a pita.
It can be. We’ve been fortunate. Thanks for watching.
I guess people want to step out of the system and think homesteading is the way out.
I think so. Every lifestyle has its issues. Thanks for watching.
We are in our first year doing this and I was surprised at how much work it is to own and maintain land and raise animals. We love it though and have wanted it for years and years. Thanks for all the inspiration you guys provide in your videos!
I'm not a serious homesteader (a few chickens, 2 pet mini-goats, 3 american guinea hogs, 2 geese, 4 cats) and I did come into this with a little bit of a romanticized version in my head. However, the reasons I chose this life are too strong to keep me from leaving it any time soon. I think a big storm's coming and being self sufficient is going to be very important. Plus, I appreciate the connection it gives me to the land and my God.
I think there is definitely farmer burnout. The thing that gets me is not enough time to get everything done with me being a part time farmer and working a full time job also. I sometimes just get overwhelmed.
Man we feel you on this! My husband works full time for the neighbor (drives 45 mins one way) and I homeschool the kids. But with cows, pigs, goats horses and chickens (layers/meat) we don’t have time to do much. It’s hard and stressful.
You are so right. It’s never done.
well said chuck........... you and Sandra are the real deal
Thanks. Appreciate y’all watching.
You hit the nail on the head. It’s not for everybody.
So true. I think it takes a certain degree of fortitude to stick with it.
You pay for everything you learn and have in life
Blood, sweat and tears. It gets easier because you know how things work , and the process involved, but no vacation or days off. You don't feed they don't eat you don't pick you don't eat. 55 years and still learning.
My mother was a farmer's daughter in West Texas. From the age of eight she had to clean a 200-cup cream separator every day. She picked cotton. she worked hard. Moved to Alaska and wouldn't even grow a veggie garden! My hubby and I are in our early 70s. We have 2.48 acres of pasture in S.W. Missouri. We've planted a small orchard, have 14 Wyandotte hens, and four raised beds. We mow the acreage for hay and mulch. Next spring we'll add four more raised beds; that's about what I'll be able to handle. It really is work. I hate getting out in the hot weather we've had this summer; but I must. We don't sell our eggs but share them out at church as many people bring veggies and fruits to share. God bless you all with peace and plenty.
!00%, you nailed it! I'm a city boy who loves the outdoors & inherited 45 acres of my great grandparents "homestead". Their house still stands about 50 yards from my little getaway cabin. I spent enough time on the property growing up, to see first hand what it takes to survive that lifestyle. It's a 7 day a week career to care for animals & tend to crops. Cows have to be fed & milked everyday, hogs have to be slopped, eggs have to be collected & chickens fed. Plus the mule that my grandfather plowed with had to be cared for. Besides farming, my grandfather drove a school bus & had a one chair barbershop six miles up the road. My grandmother milked the cows, collected the eggs, tended their garden & prepared the meals. My mom was one of 7 children & every summer we would spend 4 weeks there when it was time to harvest & start canning. Our evenings were spent on the front porch shelling peas & beans, normally with a couple of her siblings & my cousins, some of my best memories. My grandparents could never take a vacation together, because someone had to be there to care for the livestock. I always thought I would grow up to be a farmer, until one summer in my early teens I was enlisted to help my uncle harvest watermelons. This was before utility vehicles, we had to walk out in the field, pick the watermelons & walk them back to the pick-up. That one truck load of melons change my mind about career choices. I still went into the manual labor force, but it wasn't hauling watermelons in the hot sun. Still, I've always piddle with growing trees & vegetables, sometimes wishing I had followed in my grandfather's footsteps. I still spend 4 to 6 weeks a year on the homestead, working pretty much sunup to sundown, just taking care of my cabin & little chores that arise while I'm not there. It's still my happy place.
Sounds good farmer charriot!
You are a farmer in denial 😂😂😂
A real farmer faces the work and knows they are blessed . We get tired but we know tomorrow is a new day
😆@@justusmochoge6577
Yes a lot of hard work i've only been gardening for three years and I'm stopping this is my last year for gardening on certain stuff I will be only doing potatoes garlic kale because here on Vancouver Island I am dealing with an animal that is smarter than a humans because humans have not come up with any kind of poison or trap that kill them this animal is called rats last year they ate all my carrots over 60 feet of carrots and all my cherry tomatoes probably 150 plants of cherry tomatoes that ate all this year they ate all my beats over 60 beats my turnips were all chewed up and they're eating my tomatoes again I have yellow plum cherry tomato plants growing all over my yard that come up too late in the year to produce so it will only be garlic because they haven't eaten my garlic yet and they haven't eaten my potatoes yet I hear they do eat potatoes too but have not touched mine yet so next year it will be garlic potatoes and kale no more tomatoes no more root vegetables because it's a waste of time
Amen!! Commitment is the name of the game . Unreal expectations do more harm in life than about anything. The whole time you were talking, l was thinking about a dear young relative who is giving up on a marriage....not quite the same kind of ''burn out'' you were speaking about, but pretty close. Anyway, your talk was timely and will hopefully help some folks to ''get real''. Regards from the Ozarks.
A rough marriage is no fun place to be in. Good luck to your family member.
It is a hard way of living but once your done at the end of the day and have a full freezer and pantry it is really worth it
Yes it is. We just had a meal with our eggs, bacon and homemade applebutter. Amazing!
God Bless America, and
God Bless the farmers!!
I’ve got up to 10 bourbon red turkeys 25 egg layers 25 meat birds. I’m selling everything I’m done.
Can’t blame you. It’s a lot of work.
For many I would say they do it just to make videos I watch your channel and few others who it's their lifestyle it's what pays the bills and that would be me before homesteading & farming was a popular thing on UA-cam I did farming and homesteading and still do it pays my bills
We try to keep it real. Thanks for watching.
In 2007 we bought 57 acres (35 woods/15 hay & 6 yard) in southern OH with the intention of being as self sufficient as we could. We invested the money for the feeders, waters,... I built a 20x48 building for all the animals! We had 150+ chickens, rabbits, guineas and a couple turkeys. I was spending $350-$400/month on feed. Even though they were free range brown eggs... No one was buying eggs at $2/dz when they could go to a local gas station and buy white eggs for $1/dz. I was giving 12/dz to the homeless shelter, 12 dz to the Salvation Army soup kitchen and 12dz to the Battered Women's Shelter!...so I sold out of everything!! Now 3 years later...I again bought 45 chickens, built new hutches for the 6 rabbits and the 9 ducks are a new addition. And again...the price of feed is a concern. It's gone up over 40%... and I still have surplus eggs!
Because they ain't got a clue to what it takes I been ranching all my life and I'm 72 years old would not change anything but I was born in to it we are running 250 mama's cows and 50 does rabbits to and I love it and I will die doing it
Sounds like y’all are super busy. Thanks for watching.
I have recently moved back to the family home place. Working steadily to build it up for off grid living and plan to live here in my retirement, which is only a few years away. I plan on feeding myself as much as possible from my land, growing and raising what I am able I have had my first garden out here this summer and it surpassed my wildest dreams for just breaking the prairie open I’m working to feed myself and maybe a few other people, but not planning on a business. It is hard work but I see it as necessary. I am hopeful more people recognize the need for small scale self sustainable farm/ranch choices and that will help move away from the vertically integrated agri-business model
Great work! Thanks for watching and commenting.
Chuck, been a while since I watched farming/homesteading videos. So glad that yours popped up on my personal channel as a suggestion. We are a small farmer, yt’br (no content in a couple yrs), that went through this burn out. Luckily, God guided us to ‘extinguish our yt production/viewing before we totally burned out on the farming. Angela and I were your number 1 fans before the burn (lot of competition there). We still produce some of own meat a few veggies. About ready to ramp back up… but just for ourselves and immediate family. Went through a lot in the past couple of years but God guided us on what was important… just as he guided me to this video. Thanks as always, friend - James w/ 3 Creek Farms
3 pigs have been enough for my hobby farm, just finding a butcher that isn't booked out over a year has been very difficult to find I had to call a dozen places
Same situation here. Thinking of co-oping a butcher shop
That’s one of the issues with this lifestyle, those support services like processing and feed.
Decades/centuries ago, the term used was ‘Homesteading’. Farming is different... not every farm is a homestead in the sense that it’s a self-sustaining enterprise. I can’t tell you how many 5,000+ acre farms I’ve visited that would starve if SHTF. Homesteaders are secure.
I so agree in what you’ve said ,” mental health” but I’ve found that homesteading or farming is a lonely experience because it’s the market day that you actually get to chat or a get down to earth reality talk with a person you relate to,even thou you go into these ventures with a partner and family ,it you and you a lone in the tractor cab for hours or mucking out for hours or getting up at 4am 6 days a week and 6 am on the seventh ,even if you want to take on labour - the suns don’t add up ,so it can get you down if you can’t get off the homestead or farm - we once said that you should have your own family group and another but another that equally share the responsibility but can be there when your off the farm or homestead but an homestead is your home and you’ve expanded into making a business out of it at the same time ,some have a full time job and do the homesteading as a side line until that day comes - but here in the UK suicide among farmers as a group of people is high ,next group is of men under24’s - it good to talk , it’s not all “sweet roses “
I've been into commercial ag production all my 60+ yrs....If it was easy everyone would be doing it!
I work in power generation. I know many dudes that don't farm anymore and just homestead and work with us for this reason. They love farming but it will burn you slap out.
It sure will. I bet those guys are hard workers. Thanks for watching.
In watching various channels and different viewers comments, I have to say that I'm not seeing the "off grid" channels addressing the most important subject of all - soil type. Purchasing land with poor producing soil is going to make it a lot harder to grow food. Having poor soil will become an extra expence to the farm because of the need to purchase soil amendments, fertilizer, and top soil for those expensive and often toxic raised beds. Another problem I see is that those same channels promote buying a small piece of land, 10 acres or less. This leads to an inability to properly design the farm layout and ultimately creates more work for the farmer. Interesting to note I was doing family research and some of my relatives on the agriculture census were listed as owning 80 acres but would only work 40 of it. That's a great concept for hunting, timber, firewood or farm expansion. Also, the off gridder channels due to poor soil and small space have to purchase hay and feed from other sources. That is not being self sufficient and as we have seen over the last couple of years it has been very hard to find those items and extremely expensive when they are available.
I'm doing it because my father did it, and also because food insecurity is more real than people think, my set up isn't as advanced as yours, I'm practically still building infrastructure to become more productive, now in my defense, I produce a couple thousand pounds of bananas 🍌 lol
this is all about surviving in an upside down world ! I work from sun up to sun down every day at 69 yrs. old . When things crash, people will starve. We will feed our family and friends first ! God help people in the big cities ! This is not going to be pretty .
It seems like a fun way of life...until you have to figure out how to carry a 50 pound sack of feed, while you're on crutches, since even though you are injured the critters still need to eat.
Yep. Because those animals still have to be fed.
ask anyone who milked cows 7 days a week if they had farmer burn out. resounding YES from all I ever knew. so grumpy
I hear people talking about how hard it is, but I love it. And for me all the work is part of norm, and I wouldn't trade it for anything.
As the Mom of a child in Research in order for your claim to be considered
I need Data lots of Data from more than one source
Thanks
I use to watch a guy on UA-cam that would romanticize the old rural life and hard manual labor. He thought that is how we all should live. My grandparents lived that live and my parents did not want to have to work that hard just to almost pay the bills. You are exactly right - it is a hard life. My parents wanted an easier life. Thinking of the hard manual labor my grandfather did, it is no wonder he had back issues and I remember my grandmother slaving over a hot stove in the heat of the summer to can food for winter. Today I have a small garden and we do a small amount of canning and freezing of the food that we grow, We enjoy the better food quality and flavor, but is really for the enjoyment not because it is necessary.
Kudos for the work you do. It isn’t easy.
It is hard work and if you are in it for the wrong reasons burnout will happen for sure. Even being in it for the right reasons we have tired days and days that are tough to get going. My wife and I tend to compliment each other well and cover the other ones chores when they aren’t feeling it. Over all the peace, healthy food and environment that we are raising our kids in is what we want. It is and always will be a work in progress.
Greetings from the LooseNatural farm in Andalusia Spain where we currently live through a drought and we are creating swales and plant drought resistent plants. This drought really drains energy from humans, animals and plants.
Yes it does. We’ll pray for rain for y’all.
Really, really, really good video Chuck!
Thank you so much!
I’m a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Forty or fifty years ago the president of the Church reminded us all to plant a garden, also berries and fruit trees, and provide for ourselves the best that we could. So, we did. We also started raising chickens, tried turkeys, ducks, pigs, sheep, and a cow. We now have just chickens and several diverse vegetable gardens all over the yard. Even though I’m getting older, I still find joy in doing new farm projects and the daily chores and upkeep. Over the years, I’ve acquired a deep appreciation for our beautiful earth and the good people in my life.
Good for y’all!! Appreciate you watching.
Always appreicate your videos. However this one in particular was sobering for many I'm sure. Great job, channel, and faith! God bless, brother.
Thank you so much.
Nailed it man! I started posting some videos for this reason. I am tired of people that are trying to sell something telling everyone how easy it is. I have talked to many older people who were the original "homesteaders"... of course back then it was just survival. None of them would want to go back to that life. All these people that are coming and buying land wanting to live this "romantic" lifestyle... are likely to run out of the west coast money one day.... and then the reality is going to set in. Things are cheaper in some places for a REASON. I live in KY. Watch Peter Santenello latest documentary about the drugs in Somerset, KY.... our rural areas are slammed with dope. Many problems. There is no such thing as waking up to a day without a challenge in front of you. I do not feel sorry for myself and do not ask for "sympathy" for my own choices.... I can't stand self pity. I made the choices to do what I do and live how I live. I have experienced both worlds.... well paid with a "traditional" lifestyle.... and struggling to build something I dreamed of doing. My grandparents were "homesteaders".... They were as poor as anyone I ever saw. Everything around the house was always broken. I don't remember anything that wasn't broken and it was almost like it just beat them down over the years struggle was just normal. As far as making it work... you can if you put yourself in a do or die situation and refuse to give up and always focus on growing and expanding.
Great points. Thanks for watching.
Excellent comment. I really feel the suffocation of farm life here, really burnt out and ready to sell the farm and hit the road
Uh huh, same here in London. At least y’all got better shopping in Somerset. lol We left living just south of Nashville to come here. Land was a lot cheaper and the company we drive for lost the bid for the account we we’re driving on so we found a company here driving parts for Honda so it made sense to make the move. Plus my husband has family here.
To many people fail because they chase every gimmick that comes along. Every time someone trys a new animal or breeds, they jump on the band wagon. From Idaho pasture pigs to milking camels. Home steading isn't a business it's a lifestyle. Original homesteaders raised most of their food, and feed. They didn't have market gardens, or sell processed meats. Today we want a "Homestead " business. These are the ones that fail. I have sold meat raised on my farm 42 +years. I butcher hundreds of hogs and cattle annually. Most customers don't want fad animals, they want quality animals. My grandmother passed away 45 years ago, they raised chickens in tractors many many years before Joe showed up on the scene.
You are 💯 right. Stick to the basics. We have people ask us all the time ally why we don’t try this or that. We just stick with the tried and true.