What's the minimum amount of land?

[Vernitta]

Google hasn't been able to supply me with an answer so I'm giving in and asking the experts. lol I probably should've done this in the first place.

My question is what's the the minimum amount of land we would need in order to do everything that we want to do?

We want fruit trees (apple, pear, peach). We want to have a vegetable garden to feed a family of 6. We plan on canning some of it for winter and later use. We want chickens for eggs and meat. We plan on free ranging, but might end up rotational grazing. We might later get rabbits, but we want to do a tractor system. So, they would actually take up space on the land. We are torn between a Dexter milk cow or a couple of milk goats, but either way I would like to rotational graze them. I know that goats take up less space, but I'm not sure that I've convinced my husband that goats are a good option. We also want bees. And, in the middle of all this we have 4 children. I'd love for them to have space to play that's not where the animals, garden, nor fruit trees are.

We don't plan on doing all of this at once. If the property doesn't have fruit trees then that's our first order of business. Next will be the fencing, chicken house/barn. Then we will put the garden in (depending on the season) and get chickens/chicks. That's our initial plan and everything else will be added as we feel we are ready for it. But, we want the land to do it all.

Any advice that anyone can offer is greatly appreciated.

[Alice In TX/MO]

I'm going to toss out the idea of five acres. Ten would be better, due to the cow/goat combination. You can do better rotational grazing.

[simi-steading]

The honest answer is "As much as you can possibally buy and afford...."

No matter how much you have, you'll always want more...

[MO_cows]

I think you need at least 10 acres because those kids need ponies, too.

[Vernitta]

Originally Posted by Alice In TX/MO

I'm going to toss out the idea of five acres. Ten would be better, due to the cow/goat combination. You can do better rotational grazing.

Sorry for the misunderstanding. It's either a Dexter or a couple of milk goats.

We've been thinking a minimum of 5, but I'm not convinced that's enough. I would love to get 20 or more, but our budget does not allow for that. I don't want to get the minimum amount. I'd love some elbow room. We plan on getting the most we can afford. We just don't want to get say 5 acres thinking it's enough and find out it's not.

[Vernitta]

Originally Posted by MO_cows

I think you need at least 10 acres because those kids need ponies, too.

lol Have you been talking to them?

[bruce2288]

When you put grazing animals into the equation, it would be helpful to know where you are. Because of climate differences. One acre/ cow may be enough or 20 acres might be too little.

[MO_cows]

Get all you can afford. The more land you have, usually the better buffer zone you have from your neighbors. (Do a search on here of all the "neighbor" problems!) If you don't use all your land right away, rent some pasture, let somebody cut hay, etc. When you try to have grazing animals on a plot less than 5 acres, you will need the climate to cooperate with timely rainfall and everything to go just exactly right to keep from overgrazing. I'm not up on goats but with horses and cattle, the more room the better.

Every kid that ever moved to the country thinks a pony is part of the deal, don't they??

[Vernitta]

We are thinking of Missouri. Possibly Arkansas, but we are mostly looking at Missouri. Perhaps the surrounding Springfield area.

Mo_cows, lol My kids think we have to have sheep, cows, chickens, goats, ponies, pigs... since we are getting a farm. I think I've finally convinced them we aren't getting pigs, but they are still insistent on sheep and ponies.

[harvestmoonfarm]

We have 5 acres and currently have chickens, turkeys, 8 hogs and 11 goats (5 of which are kids). We're planning to add meat rabbits, bees and a feeder calf or two at some point in the future. We're planting a garden this year but have to use hay bales, both because we have no idea where the drain field is and because we have mostly woods, so we can't till. Buy as much land as you can afford, but keep in mind that more acreage means more to fence, and fencing is expensive.

[Vernitta]

Originally Posted by harvestmoonfarm

We have 5 acres and currently have chickens, turkeys, 8 hogs and 11 goats (5 of which are kids). We're planning to add meat rabbits, bees and a feeder calf or two at some point in the future. We're planting a garden this year but have to use hay bales, both because we have no idea where the drain field is and because we have mostly woods, so we can't till. Buy as much land as you can afford, but keep in mind that more acreage means more to fence, and fencing is expensive.

Do you feel like you have enough land?

[unregistered168043]

I'd say ten good pasture acres ( enough for rotational grazing, and crop rotation ), If you want to cut your wood for winter you'd need another 8 in woodland to be sustainable.

[d'vash]

Also for the garden, you're going to have to consider how much of your diet are you wanting to supplement with homegrown produce. The amount of garden space is going to vary drastically if only 5 - 25% of your meals are homegrown, as oppose to 100%.

Also what sort of fruits and vegetables do up prefer? Some plants need much more spacing between each other than others.

Then there are questions such as, in addition to plots are you needing space for a decent sized greenhouse as well?

For both livestock and gardens, the amount of useable land also comes into play. You could have 100 acres, but if for example, it all becomes flooded [and what you want to plant wont grow in such wet environments] you'd be better off with a property with only 5 acres of workable land that does meet your plant and animal requirements.

[Vernitta]

Originally Posted by Darntootin

I'd say ten good pasture acres ( enough for rotational grazing, and crop rotation ), If you want to cut your wood for winter you'd need another 8 in woodland to be sustainable.

That's a good point and not something I considered. Thank you.

[unregistered168043]

Your welcome. My estimate might seem high but don't forget your animals will need to eat all winter when pasture is not available so you will need to set some aside for haying. So...rotational grazing, rotational crop areas, and hay fields. Then, of course you have your wood lot. I think 18-20 acres is a safe number, but people have done it on a bit less. Many graze, then buy their hay for winter then of course you'd need less land but more $ spent on yearly inputs.

[Matt73]

I have 10 acres in South Central Texas, and I have one horse, two donkeys, a charolais calf, chickens, a small garden, and my goat herd is down to two (the two fastest ones that darn stray dogs couldn't catch) from 8. My house, swimming pool, garden and shed sits on one acre. Chickens share 3 acres with goats next to the house, Donkeys, horse and cow share 4 acres, and I have 2 acres that I lease to my neighbor for his horses. So I'm only using 8. I planted tall fescue that grows quick, and it's cheap and the horses and cows graze on it, even a dewey morning will kick that stuff in overdrive.

10 Acres would be plenty. Even with garden, pool, shed, and house on 1 acre, my kids still have plenty of room to play. They have a swingset, 2 very large pecan trees they like to climb, mud pit to play in... and just plenty of room to run around. Heck, we even play baseball in the front yard. If I didn't lease out my back 2 acres, I could totally use it for bees.

[dkhern]

get all you can afford they arent making it anymore

[highlands]

I figure I could very intensely provide our family's food on one acre and probably also produce enough to sell to pay the land taxes. Probably could not afford health care.

Four acres would let us produce all our own food, pay the land taxes and sell enough to easily make a living. Probably could not afford health care.

Ten acres would let us also have sustainable wood harvest and a lot more room for grazing. Might be able to afford health care and other insurance at this level.

We farm about 70 acres, primarily raising pastured pigs, and have additional land in forest for timber. We get virtually all of our income from our farming.

I would suggest buying the maximum amount of land you can afford to buy. Do not be afraid of debt to buy assets, tools to earn money to pay the debt. Owner financed is ideal as it cuts out real estate agent and banker costs. Do get a lawyer to do the documents, title, search, etc.

Me? I squandered all my money on land.

[whodunit]

FWIW, we have .44 acres and have the following animals:

One pony
One small horse
Two donkeys
10 goats of various sizes
25+ chickens
4-5 rabbits

Of course, we have to feed hay since we have no pasture. We also supplement with old bread, fruit and veggies scraps, grass cuttings in the spring and summer, and anything else organic we throw out.

The chickens are occasionally free-ranged; sometimes on purpose, sometimes due to Murphy's law. The rabbits are in cages. We do have the two donkeys pasturing at a friend's place since they wanted some weed control, but the other horses are penned and exercised weather permitting. The goats are penned. I still have too much lawn to mow!

We also have enough room to garden but have had limited success due to time constraints and weather issues. We also have room for fruit trees here and there and have plans for raspberries and maybe grapes along the front fence. Money is another issue.

[FarmboyBill]

Outa courisity, how much experience do you have with alla this stuff?