Starting A Homestead/Hobby Farm - Tips?

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Lemonmoon

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This is probably both the most basic and open-ended question anyone could ask, so hopefully people will have fun answering :)

I've been planning to start a simple homestead (hobby farm might be more accurate) for years now, but only yesterday made a 5-year plan to get me there by the time I'm 29.

This made me realize: holy **** I'm going to own a farm in 5 years. And thought I should probably start learning and researching.
I know a bit, of course. I've worked on a horse farm, had my own veggie garden, I've owned backyard chickens and I've studied agriculture, horticulture and sustainability for a few years so I'm not going in ENTIRELY blind. But right now it definitely feels that way!

So my question is - any advice on where I should go from here? What should I research first? What knowledge did you wish you knew at the start? Basically any little bit of advice to start me in the right direction.

Here's a little bit about me that I hope will help in answering. I'm currently 23 and live (and will buy a farm) in Southern ontario. I'm supported financially by my parents and spouse. I do not plan to own a hobby farm to make money off of it or even break even. I will obviously be starting very slow. I'm thinking of finding a property in the range of 20-30 acres, enough to comfortably keep a few horses on plus the rest of the farm. I'm budgeting for a property of $8-900,000. I know I want chickens and I'd really like a dairy cow but I'm otherwise up for suggestions on what animals to get, what to plant, etc.

Obviously I'm very new to this so I'm sorry if any of you find yourselves shaking your head or rolling your eyes at my little start of a plan. But I'm here to learn so let me know whatnyou think! And thank you so much in advance for taking the time to help me out :)
 
Welcome to the forum, will you have any one else on the farm? $900,000 is a lot of money! And do you want wilderness or rural?
I'd start seeing where I want this place and inding out what kind of people live in the area. Be sure thats where you want to live,
 
The hardest part for me is the planning stage. The animals will give you a good idea of the crops you need to support them and you can calculate the produce you need to grow to feed your family. You talk about horses and a dairy cow so you must have some idea of the time investment that those animals require. The horses need exercise and the cow has to be bred, ween the calf and then you get milk by milking her twice a day. You will get about two gallons of milk a day. That only lasts for about 7 to 9 months, then you have to breed again and the process starts over.
What will you do with your surplus milk? What will you do with the calves? What power do you plan to use and what fuel? Will you have backups for both? Water will be a big (important) necessity. You should have a backup supply and a back-up for the back-up.
What skills do you have? Are you going to be able to maintain your equipment, make things you need or want? You will need to store fuel for any machinery that you use to plant, cultivate and harvest crops. You will need someplace to store your equipment and hand tools as well as a place to work on your equipment. How much land does it take to support the number of horses and the cow and calf for food and exercise room? You will need fences to keep the animals safe and at home.
There are many more considerations but as you go forward keep in mind that there are additional cost associated with everything you need and want. It is not just the price of what you buy, it is insurance, taxes, vet bills, licensing and maintenance costs too. Add to that the time each requires. This is a total lifestyle change and it requires daily work. No days off, and no vacations unless you pay someone to do the work for you.
 
Thanks for your replies! I'll try and address them best as I can.
I want to live rural - my budget accounts for having a large plot of land within 20 minutes of a town. To clarify, Southern ontario is a pretty expensive place to live in most areas, even rural, so 800,000 pretty much gets you the bare minimum in terms of property size and a liveable home.
I'm considering a pretty large area in Southern ontario and plan to narrow it down as I understand what I want on the farm better.
Most of the time it will just be me and my spouse. The farm will likely be my full time job, at least in warm months. Again, I plan to start small - just chickens until I get comfortable with that, then maybe my horse when I'm ready for that and so on.

I definitely realize there's a lot going into this :) I've already started a list of all the research topics I'm looking into, maybe some online courses I want to take. If it helps, I'm looking less for a giant list of all the little things that go into owning a farm and more for resources to get started with, a direction to look into. For example, before I can consider the intricacies of what it takes to own a cow, I first have to consider how long I'd wait after getting the property to purchase one. Or what animals I should get before getting a cow. Hopefully that makes sense :) just any helpful resources, starting points or things you wish you know at the start of your homestead/hobby farm. Like I said I'm not entirely starting from scratch but owning a small farm will definitely be new.
 
Congratulations on a great dream. I got my dream come true homestead/hobby farm about 6 years ago. Honestly, the one thing I wish I did was take some trade courses at the local community college, but they do not exist anywhere near my little ranch. Some electrical, welding, plumbing, engineering knowledge goes a long way when you are away from civilization and the cost and distance make being self reliant essential.

Also, be prepared for an ever growing list of projects that need to be done and things breaking and needing fixing. You will need to manage these items that distract from your agricultural and husbandry activities. So my advice is to build upon these activities gradually if you don't have a lifetime of experience in these areas.

I love this lifestyle, by the way, and would not trade it for anything else. And your are on the right forum for rational discussions on this subject.
 
This is probably both the most basic and open-ended question anyone could ask, so hopefully people will have fun answering :)

I've been planning to start a simple homestead (hobby farm might be more accurate) for years now, but only yesterday made a 5-year plan to get me there by the time I'm 29.

This made me realize: holy **** I'm going to own a farm in 5 years. And thought I should probably start learning and researching.
I know a bit, of course. I've worked on a horse farm, had my own veggie garden, I've owned backyard chickens and I've studied agriculture, horticulture and sustainability for a few years so I'm not going in ENTIRELY blind. But right now it definitely feels that way!

So my question is - any advice on where I should go from here? What should I research first? What knowledge did you wish you knew at the start? Basically any little bit of advice to start me in the right direction.

Here's a little bit about me that I hope will help in answering. I'm currently 23 and live (and will buy a farm) in Southern ontario. I'm supported financially by my parents and spouse. I do not plan to own a hobby farm to make money off of it or even break even. I will obviously be starting very slow. I'm thinking of finding a property in the range of 20-30 acres, enough to comfortably keep a few horses on plus the rest of the farm. I'm budgeting for a property of $8-900,000. I know I want chickens and I'd really like a dairy cow but I'm otherwise up for suggestions on what animals to get, what to plant, etc.

Obviously I'm very new to this so I'm sorry if any of you find yourselves shaking your head or rolling your eyes at my little start of a plan. But I'm here to learn so let me know whatnyou think! And thank you so much in advance for taking the time to help me out :)
A loaded question :)
When I first read the post, my instant reaction is have twice as much in the bank as you plan on spending.
Second was have the facilities in place and feed, breading (dairy cow) lined up and in place prior to getting the critters.
From there, it will be up to you as to what to add. Some people like goats; I don't think I would own one. Some folks don't like sheep. Cattle are big, and on and on and on. One other thing to think about is once you acquire said property, how much will it cost to maintain it, and if it isn't generating an income, you will continue to be dependent. Consider the "what ifs" just as a safe guard. Best of luck!
 
Great advice!
I'm very lucky in one regard - my spouse is knowledgeable when it comes to plumbing, woodworking and electrical work and is a registered mechanic, so I have a long of bases covered. My dad is an engineer and has a lot of home repair experience so thats good too. My spouse tends to love those kinds of projects too (literally telling me- I can't wait for the day you wake me up before dawn to fix a fence!) So thats a pretty good start! Yes, saving up is becoming an increasing concern so I'm glad it's being brought to my attention! I'm thinking I might buy the property and then maybe spend a few years saving more to get ready for real livestock... we will see. My parents are involved in the project and plan to own half the property so that helps.
 
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We started with a similar plan and have been living our dream for 10 years now. We lived in our RV while we were waiting for the property close so I had a lot of time to research and make some decisions. We have tried, and abandoned, many ideas that sounded good on paper but didn’t work out like we thought. Some of them I nixed just by researching and thinking through all the steps to build and maintain it (like a greenhouse).

I have a couple of thoughts I’ll share. Start small and only add what you enjoy and what you can actually manage. It is easy to become overwhelmed if you do too much. Farming, even as a hobby, is hard work and its even harder if you don’t like it. And it can be heartbreaking, especially if you make a mistake that causes harm to an animal.

For example, I love my nanny goats but the smell of a billy goat in rut is disgusting! I found myself hating to go near their pasture. That brings me to next bit of advice: find like-minded friends/neighbors to share knowledge and barter with. I worked out a deal with a neighbor to “borrow” her billy in exchange for helping her with rabbits.

Most important, research each topic from several reputable sources. Many college ag programs have great material for free. I raised all my bottle calves from these sources.

On the other hand- it is a great way to live and I have no regrets! Good luck...
 
Pasture raised chicken eggs & organic fruits & vegetables is a profitable farm.
But you need to check with the State regs, some state will not let you use the term organic for month or years, because of past chemical use.
If you have the land for more than five years with no chemical use, it is a snap. Egg have to be washed in USA, but small farms of under 1000 egg sold to homes, not store, can bypass washing with roll a way nest. The egg stay clean & you can gather anytime of the day, without going in the coop in some set up. Polyface is good place to start. Then there are honey bees, pernnial crops, rabbits,ducks & larger animals.
 
I think I need to ask some finance questions...

900k is a crap ton of money. In the US we need 40% down to buy agricultural land. I don't know what Canadian lending rules are, or what programs might be available to first time buyers there, but you're going to be looking at a helluva bank note. A small farm probably isn't going to make enough to pay that note unless you have a lot more than 40% down. I don't mean to be discouraging - there's always a way, it just might take a lot of digging around for info, and a little luck, to figure it out.

Raising livestock is a pain. I grew up on a cattle/hog operation. I'm not sure how well pasture raised hogs tolerate the weather in Ontario, but if I was going to raise livestock on a small scale, I'd probably choose natural or organic pork. Fencing can be a pain and hogs are stupid/smart - too stupid to do what you want them too, and smart enough to figure out how to do what you don't want them to! But there's a market for natural/organic pork.

Be sure to budget for equipment like mowers, tractors, implements, etc. - having a mechanic for a spouse will be quite handy in that regard because you'll be better able to keep older, cheaper used equipment working...

Good luck with all this! Keep us posted on the process!
 
Wow, I want to know where a 23 year old gets $ 900000 ?! I was lucky when I had $9 at that age....

I can't even wrap my head around that! We worked as professional engineers for 20 years and finally had enough money to sell our Orlando house and buy this farm and have some money left. Our farm cost around $160000 for 35 acres ( plus we own another property ) with the buildings. But it is on a mountain, so not great pasture or soil without a lot of work. What's your goal?
I love our goats but they do require a lot of attention. But we do make money from them ( we have anywhere from around 30-70 depending on time of year)
Chickens also make money ,everyone seems to wants good eggs. I don't blame them either, our eggs taste so much better than walmart eggs.
Horses are a money and pasture drain, unless you are Amish and use them for work and transportation. So unless you really want to ride this horse all the time, forget it! Pasture ornaments...
Cows: never had one, so can't tell you, but everyone around here has cows. They are easier to take care of than goats , you can feed them crappy hay ( compared to goats and sheep) , they are out in the weather, and they don't usually break fences and run away. They don't get attacked by coyotes either I don't think. But you get a ton of milk even from 1 milk cow, more than you will need, and 1 small steer will fill up a freezer.

Keep in mind animals need company. You can't just have 1 goat or 1 cow, have at least 2 of whatever you will get.

I think you should try out small scale stuff and see what you are good at and what you like. I am good at raising goats. I am good at growing vegetables. Husband takes care of the chickens and helps with the goats, but I am their primary caretaker. We are both terrible at fruit trees. My gosh, we have tried everything and I think maybe we either don't have the right weather, or the trees are too old, or we just don't have a clue. We even took samples to the ag extensions office ( do you have those in Canada? They are very helpful here) to see what's wrong with the trees and sprayed a ton of crap on them , still no good. I planted a few new ones, fail!
 
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Yall are like hubby,you really love meat. A slave to the burgers and chops. 😆 .Thats ok I like it too but could live without it.
 
Wow, I want to know where a 23 year old gets $ 900000 ?! I was lucky when I had $9 at that age....

I can't even wrap my head around that! We worked as professional engineers for 20 years and finally had enough money to sell our Orlando house and buy this farm and have some money left. Our farm cost around $160000 for 35 acres ( plus we own another property ) with the buildings. But it is on a mountain, so not great pasture or soil without a lot of work. What's your goal?
I love our goats but they do require a lot of attention. But we do make money from them ( we have anywhere from around 30-70 depending on time of year)
Chickens also make money ,everyone seems to wants good eggs. I don't blame them either, our eggs taste so much better than walmart eggs.
Horses are a money and pasture drain, unless you are Amish and use them for work and transportation. So unless you really want to ride this horse all the time, forget it! Pasture ornaments...
Cows: never had one, so can't tell you, but everyone around here has cows. They are easier to take care of than goats , you can feed them crappy hay ( compared to goats and sheep) , they are out in the weather, and they don't usually break fences and run away. They don't get attacked by coyotes either I don't think. But you get a ton of milk even from 1 milk cow, more than you will need, and 1 small steer will fill up a freezer.

Keep in mind animals need company. You can't just have 1 goat or 1 cow, have at least 2 of whatever you will get.

I think you should try out small scale stuff and see what you are good at and what you like. I am good at raising goats. I am good at growing vegetables. Husband takes care of the chickens and helps with the goats, but I am their primary caretaker. We are both terrible at fruit trees. My gosh, we have tried everything and I think maybe we either don't have the right weather, or the trees are too old, or we just don't have a clue. We even took samples to the ag extensions office ( do you have those in Canada? They are very helpful here) to see what's wrong with the trees and sprayed a ton of crap on them , still no good. I planted a few new ones, fail!

Really good thoughts especially about the animals. We have simply chosen not to have them even though the original homesteader who built our place did. I grew up around farm animals and they do need company and attention.

We also live on a mountain with rocky soil and it took us about three seasons to get our gardens and soil just right. Now they are prolific.

Again, really good thoughts in your post all around.
 
It sounds like you have some mobility on your location since you're looking at the region of southern Ontario and not a specific area. You might consider looking into other locations before investing in Ontario. Not suggesting you give up the idea but take a serious look around for a location that might be less expensive and more productive for your purposes. If nothing looks better that's great but at least you'll have checked on the possibility.

Are you looking for bare land that you'll have to do all the improvements on including buildings? You might have good luck finding an existing farm for sale that will give you a huge head start, maybe a little less expensive and easier to finance. Okay, I confess, with me it's all about the money. 😊
 
I live in central Texas, and planted my first crop last week, with the way things are going in this crazy world I am trying to be more self sufficient. My first crop is winter wheat, planning on making my own flour after I harvest it. I live in a small subdivision... unfortunately I don't have a ton of space but i have dedicated about 300sq ft to this current garden, I also planted an avocado tree and lemon tree earlier in the year. Plan on getting the vegetables and some melons in the ground after the wheat. Any advice will be much appreciated. Can I grow dwarf fruit trees in containers?
 
I live in central Texas, and planted my first crop last week, with the way things are going in this crazy world I am trying to be more self sufficient. My first crop is winter wheat, planning on making my own flour after I harvest it. I live in a small subdivision... unfortunately I don't have a ton of space but i have dedicated about 300sq ft to this current garden, I also planted an avocado tree and lemon tree earlier in the year. Plan on getting the vegetables and some melons in the ground after the wheat. Any advice will be much appreciated. Can I grow dwarf fruit trees in containers?
Welcome to the forum! Please introduce yourself in "new introductions"! I grow lemon trees in containers, they do really well! I'm in N central Tx, looks like a pretty hard freeze this weekend!!
 
If there is something similar to the cooperative extension service or use web to find one with similar growing conditions. They have very good materials and recommended variety lists for different types of produce n such. Canning or soil ph samples. Tree diseases or recommendations.
Your plants won't look like the ones in the catalog.
We raise meat rabbits. Our costs are probably 3.50 pound or so. The manure is excellent for gardens or pots, buckets.
Buy all the garage sale tools, coffee cans of nuts n bolts plumbing electrical parts you can. You will need them.
Raise crops that make you the most money per square foot. Potatoes are cheap here. Broccoli is expensive.
Do every repair project. If you can't do it , figure it out.
We homeschooled n fashioned some science classes towards gardening. Cooking baking. All science n math. Animal husbandry n such. Not for everyone but worked great to have the kids around us and teach them life skills along with school
work.
Get used to saying, you'll have that. And keep going.
We all pound a nail in differently. Learn what works for you and focus on your wins. Don't let others say you can't and don't settle for , well that's good enough. Or you'll be back fixing it sooner and it will cost more.
If you replace a part that can wear out, buy 2 while you're there n get the best you can afford.
Mostly enjoy the ride man. Involve your family. And may the Good Lord watch over you and yours
 
My twenty nine acres are valued about $29000.00 to 50,000. Now.
 
First location is key! Location Location Location You want to be south facing if you're on an slope of any kind. Then comes the second most important part WATER try and find land with creeks or springs at the least. Then comes the quality of the soil itself so look in to that as you look at places see what the water and soil are like. Good soil is built just like everything in life you get out of it what you put in.

I would also keep an eye out to see if one area has better resources than another IE: guy one mile away chips tons of trees and that rots in to some of the best compost you will ever find. So look for waste that may benefit you. It's amazing what an open eye can find. Access to things you may want or need is always nice to have.

Good Luck!
 
Hello and welcome, anymore I tell people the first thing to look for is water, mainly because water is needed for growing everything and without it a person will not survive but a few days. If you can find land that has a mountain behind it, see if it has springs that can be used for a gravity feed water system, that is what we did on our property and it's really good not to have to pump water, we use the overflow from filling the cistern at the top of our property to fill a large tank just above our garden area and the overflow out of that tank supplies the chickens or potentially livestock, with drinking water. I'm adding a 1,100 gallon black poly tank to the 1,100 gallon concrete cistern we built when we first moved here. We should have made a much larger tank to begin with as our spring outflow gets low toward the end of summer, thing is If I had been smarter we would have looked for property with a better water situation. I would add here that the quality of soil is important to look for, our soil is highly acidic, great for fruit trees and blueberries but not so good for vegetables, we've had to bring in many loads of composted soil before we got a good highly productive garden.
 
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