Idea for my future farm!

[Back to Nature]

It depends on the well. Some wells last 30 years, some longer some less. The depth of the well and the aqueducts that feed it.

Here in NC there are a lot of internships with farms that work with NC State, the problem is MOST of the college students filling the slots have no real intention of "farming". They just recently decided to offer internships to REAL FARMING kids...that are not college students. These kids have been born and raised with farming in their blood and would love to learn more unfortunately they were not welcomed into the program before. The college kids were just getting their tickets punched so to speak. :/

Have you considered looking throughout your area ( maybe several counties) and asking for a visit to see different farm management practices?

We do pretty tight bio-security here but we always welcome those that are considering goats or poultry etc. We share what and how and why we do certain things, what we'd like to change. We share our philosophies, as well as others so the person can see there are more ways than one. The individual purposes play a huge role in your management practices.

Building a herd vs having and keeping a small herd for family food purposes are going to vary. Having a broad base can help a person to think about what are reasonable goals. Immediate and long terms goals both take planning. I am researching cows now and I know I won't be getting one for at least 2-3 years. I can read a lot, search the internet etc, but there is nothing like making farm appointments and seeing the breeds, talking with those who have had them. You can find out so much more.

If you had one thing that you would like to focus on what would it be? ONE? Poultry, goats, sheep, cattle, crops? anything...

I'll check around Michigan. And if I was only allowed to pick ONE thing (which would be a punishment) I would probably have to choose goats. What about you?

 

[CrazyCatNChickenLady]

Most farms have wells....which is free water (no water bill).

The water may be free but you still have to pay the electricity to pump the water out of the ground!

 

[SheepGirl]

True

 

[Back to Nature]

What if I got solar panels?

 

[Bossroo]

What if I got solar panels?

Bottom line... sounds good in theory, however, considering cost of equipment, their longevity and replacement , they will cost one much more than buying power from the grid in the long run.

 

[WhiteMountainsRanch]

Most farms have wells....which is free water (no water bill).

The water may be free but you still have to pay the electricity to pump the water out of the ground!

Yep. We're on wells here. I wouldn't say it's a matter of "how long the well lasts"... ours has never gone dry, but it does require electricity to keep the pump running to keep it full, and we've had to replace the pump when it's gone out, so that's another expense.

 

[Royd Wood]

What if I got solar panels?

Your into big bucks - and technology is changing all the while
Just pay the elecy it wont be that much
I like your idea though and so many people want to grow their own, $200 - 300 a year Yes that sounds good too but the thought of a townie banking my door down because catterpillars are on his cabbage then no thanks

 

[WhiteMountainsRanch]

What if I got solar panels?

Bottom line... sounds good in theory, however, considering cost of equipment, their longevity and replacement, they will cost one much more than buying power from the grid in the long run.

Yes we have solar panels here. They complete (off grid) set-ups are EXTREMELY expensive, (think in the tens of thousands), so much so that we have our solar system tied into the grid because we can't afford to put the entire house on a self sustaining battery system. We do run small individual things off a battery bank, but no where near close to the whole house. AND I've heard the batteries only last like 10 years so you would be replacing them, again very expensive.

 

[Back to Nature]

What if I got solar panels?

Your into big bucks - and technology is changing all the while
Just pay the elecy it wont be that much
I like your idea though and so many people want to grow their own, $200 - 300 a year Yes that sounds good too but the thought of a townie banking my door down because catterpillars are on his cabbage then no thanks

They'll have to cope. I don't want pesticides on MY cabbage. Caterpillars are a part of nature. A gross part wen they're on our food, but a part. Do the "townies" not realize that the peanut butter they lavish on their over-processed toast has little bug bits in it?

Your into big bucks - and technology is changing all the while
Just pay the elecy it wont be that much

Okay. I was reading about cheap homemade solar panels, but if electricity isn't that expensive then I'll just use it. Solar panels sounded like too much work anyways; I'm just trying to save money. My current guardian has some serious budgeting issues and I don't want to head down that path.

 

[BrownSheep]

Around here it is far more common for your pump to die on you that for the well to run dry. Just a thought.