intro/new opportunity feedback request

When you're ready, don't forget to check the Barter Board as folks sometimes have goats or chickens free for the taking!

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[QUOTE=65284]I've never bought a home before so this is more new territory for me. I'd have to talk to my Dad about the home's value. I don't know when it was last appraised.


That kind of gets back to my original question. It seems like I should be able to generate some income of some sort within a year of being there. That raises the question though about my eligibility to remain on disability as a homeowner. I definitely want to get off of disability; but can't afford to be pushed off until I would think I could atleast net $10,000 from the land. So I guess I will need info too on the disability system.

Right now, I am able to squeak by with 1/3 of my disability going to rent. But, I also spend more on food than I need to survive. I buy stuff like some organic veggies, wild salmon, and Laura's lean ground round (pasture-raised with no steroids, hormones, etc.) I don't have any kids, wives or ex-wives. Don't smoke, drink, do drugs or socialize.

My expenses will be higher there though. I can't remember if she has electric or gas heat (no fireplace) and though the house is small; it's bigger than the upstairs studio I live in now with electric heat with alot of free heat coming from downstairs and the hallway which is always kept very warm. There's also the substantial expense of gas to mow that huge yard. So I probably will have to switch to beans and canned sardines initially.


I'm sure my Dad would be flexible; I want to be careful though. They have helped me plenty financially in the past when I struggled in and out of work, in and out of debt for the 15 years of my adult life before I went on disability (not to mention, the thousands they wasted on my college education). So, instead of placing any extra financial risk on them; I'd rather live with the risk of losing the house.

However, if there is a way for me to rent to own that is acceptable to my siblings and doesn't put my parents out anymore than simply renting does, than I guess it only makes sense to pursue it.

There is the issue also of my credit. It was disasterous; but I think it is near the point (5-7 years isn't it?) where it goes away and I am back to having no credit history. That certainly would be better than bad credit; but not exactly helpful either.

I see what your saying about saving money on not buying books. The thing about library books is that you have to return them and you can't mark in them. And you can't carry the internet around with you out in the garden.

So, I will need some books. I've got a page long list of books I've seen suggested in this thread and others; I will probably look to see if I can find some good prices on the internet for some of them used. I know I've bought used books on Amazon before.

I was looking at the Mother Earth news last night. You're right; good stuff. Not much detail; but a good starting point. I'll check out the other one you mentioned. Thanks.

A u-pick cut flower set up will return the most cash in the least time, with out a major investment. It might be just what is appropriate at this time. You could probably get started with less than $50.00 in seeds.

The usual price range around here is $3.00 for 10 flowers.

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Thanks. How are flowers in terms of maintanence and difficulty compared to veggies? Do most gardening books deal with flowers and veggies or are they whole different ball games?

Also, is the County Ag Extension office the place to go for info. regarding flowers as well.

If you are thinking that mowing the lawn will cost you... then consider the goat option. Baby goats are often very cheap, sometimes free. Electo netting isn't too bad. I don't know if the place has sheds or outbuildings, but if it does can they be retrofitted to chickens, goats or sheep? Sheep are better lawnmowers, btw. Goats tend to browse brush and the like, sheep usually like grass. Lambs are very good eating, you might have a market for wool - but you'd want to do a lot of research on that one. Some sheep are used for milking too, as well as meat. Sheep's milk makes excellent soaps and cheeses (it has a high solid content).

You need very little to get started with poultry. You'd want a coop and an area that is securely fenced, but if you are out in the country a bit, they can free range during the day once they are a few weeks old.

In my experience, caring for animals is very calming and restful.

Good luck!

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These guys have a different climate than yours but I think they have useful ideas to copy.

http://www.pathtofreedom.com/urbanho...taglance.shtml

Things I'd want to learn in your position:

State and local regulations governing fruit stands.

Any traffic problems with a stand on the type of road you face?

Tax implications for your dad (property owner) and for you (income) of having a fruit stand.

Tax implications of running a small farm.

Disability payment issues over having a supplemental income (you don't want to lose your disability entitlements faster than you gain farm income to replace them).

Find a book that is essentially 'starting a small business for idiots', and another that is essentially 'small business accounting for idiots'. This will allow you to make a good business plan for the farm and fruit stand and document everything correctly so that you don't wind up with IRS headaches later. If your business plan is good, it may also help you get a loan either from a business or from a family member to help you get the livestock end of the farm started. The point here is not to raise your anxiety level or make a big thing out of a little one, but to give you a road-map of where you're going so that you aren't sailing through the uncharted 'here there be monsters' section of your existing concepts. For example, it is normal with new businesses to lose money for a period of time after starting--if you've planned out how things should go, then you'll be able to tell if your early losses are on-track and normal, or getting out of hand, and fix any problems or back out of unprofitable directions before they become too much of a problem.

Talk with your shrink about the idea (and having a plan for your mental health care and a referral to care in the new location may help there, too). I'm thinking if you suffer from depression among your disabilities then your energy level may fluctuate wildly--you'll want to have a plan for how to deal with that, because the farm won't take any days off even if you want to. Consider looking into the price and availability of day labor in your area, and find out what you'd need to do to hire extra hands or to hire back-up in case your own health gives you issues.

Make sure that this makes sense as a business and that your personal health will be covered, and then get into all the details about the farming work itself.

btw dean, this sounds like a great opportunity and I'm all excited for you even though I don't know you. I'm sorry for loss of your grandmother, but 98 was a good run and I'm sure she wants her heirs to do well. What a wonderful development in your life!

PS--don't forget to look into the organic option--a niche specialty market may help you get a better profit margin.

Interesting idea. I'm not sure goats would work for that purpose for me though. Like I mentioned earlier, the house is fronted by a busy four lane highway and my Grandma might roll over in her grave if I had goats in the front yard, especially if they got ahold of her trees.

I will probably re-till much of the backyard to the way it was year's ago. Even if I don't use it all for gardening right away, I could plant a cover crop or something and have less to mow/spend less on gas.

One side of the house is very close to the neighbor's property/house; but, the other side has a large grassy area leading out to a pond, so that could be a possibility. Do they do a nice even mow job?

I do like lamb; though it's a little fatty for everyday eating. I would assume though that sheep probably require the least extensive/expensive fencing, certainly compared to goats, and probably to cattle.

Thanks for all the advice. The business end of it is something I hadn't got around to thinking of yet. It's not as exciting and interesting as the rest. But it's definitely another reason to move slowly.

And organic, humane, free-range, grass-fed, those are all concepts I subscribe to whole-heartedly and doing it any other way is a non-starter.

Cash form Square foot Gardening is a very good book.

http://www.squarefootgardening.com/h...log/book1.html

Good luck to you. I sure hope everything falls into place. You'll feel much happier, and less depressed if you can spend most of your time outside working on projects.

As far as goats are concerned. Make sure you have good fences.( we find the 16 ft cattle panels are best) In fact think about fences and housing very carefully. Don't fall into the trap of bringing home animals before you have the fence and housing for them. Even if someone offer them to you for free. You can quickly become overwhelmed when animals keep escaping makeshift pens. So try to be all set up before you bring them home. You don't want anything getting out and onto the four lane highway, possibly causing an accident.

All best wishes for a productive and happy homestead,

Pauline

(Deamn, I posted this on another board last week but it seemed suitable for this topic as well. I would be happy to clarify or give you more information if you would like.)

I was eager but intimidated when our homestead started. Chickens seemed an obvious choice and I always adored goats, so those were first. Butchering chickens is a very simple thing to do - even just to grab one for dinner that evening! I found goats to be wonderfully relaxing. Milking them was calming (because you HAVE to be calm!) "Farmers cheese" we use it like feta - is so easy to make with rennet (and you just keep the tiny bottle in the fridge.)
We fenced the garden, instead of the chickens, that way the chickens can forage. You can leave the garden gate open in an "off" season to let the chickens clean and fertilize.
Broccoli and cauliflower were garden essentials. They are good for you and filling. You can cut off the main head then continue to harvest the little florets the remainer of the season.
I would cut for dinner, any extras went into a bag directly in the freezer (raw.) Throughout the season harvest, rinse and freeze. Plenty to get through the year. It is so easy to make a soup out of either, also fresh, steamed, whatever...
Tomatoes and basil were other essentials (to go along with our homemade feta in salads or on our simple pizzas.)
Goats are easy to keep and feed, but they can be hard to keep home.
The milk is easily sold, if not for human consumption, for soap, or esp. if you have reliable dog breeders in your area, they will pay a fortune for feeding their orphaned puppies.
Eventually you'll want to try crafts or hobbies to "add value" to your home-grown products, but starting slowly is good. You want some successes before getting in too far.
One thing we accidentally stumbled on: since I was home all the time a neighbor farmer asked me if I wanted a calf to nurse. The mother died at birth. We bottle-fed her for a few weeks then had amazing veal (My son and I slaughtered her with the help from a homeschool student.) It was a learning experience, way harder than a chicken! But if you don't care about fancy cuts of beef -- you can put anything in the freezer that will fit in a bag!
Anyway, word got around, and soon I got another calf. One of his playmates broke his shoulder. We grazed him until he was too heavy to be comfortable then he went in the freezer too.
We also got an old heifer under similar circumstances. She was grassfed her whole life but had become "unprofitable" (lost a calf two years in a row) so I got some homeschool families that wanted grass-fed, paid $400, paid to have her butchered and we got the meat for less than $1lb.
Raw feeders will happily pay for meat and RMB (raw-meaty-bones) I myself now pay $1-$2lb For bones! There are places online to advertise your products such as this http://groups.yahoo.com/group/CarnivoreFeed-Supplier/

Also, Joel Salatin's book "You Can Farm" http://www.polyfacefarms.com/index.html has actual, written ideas on how to "add value" to your families basic farm products.
This was really long, but I'm here to say it can be done. Not all at once, but every little bit counts, and every experience helps (whether good or bad.)
Good luck!

I want to add a teensy sour note...be prepared for bad days. Be prepared to forgive yourself if you let yourself and your dreams down a little. It all sounds great.. but it will take time and more work than you ever imagined. You can't have a lie in, you can't "not feel like it today", little guys are depending on you for everything. Plants included. Start slow. Have the big plans, but work with small goals. Have daily, weekly, monthly goals. Prioritize. Make sure you are in and settled and can fit daily things like food and laundry in, then expand out to the yard. Before you jump into to tilling and changes, live there a week or two... introduce yourself to the place and see how it lies, where the sun is, do you have insulation, does the hot water stay hot.. once you know its ins and outs, then begin to formulate a workable, step by step plan for both the long term and immediate needs. Don't let disappointment get you down, and don't bite so much off that you set yourself up for disappointment. It sounds like tremendous fun, but I would get legal papers from family entitling you to the land, so that it can be yours forever. You will have a home that can supply all of your needs and that is priceless. Keep us posted as to how you are doing.. the good, the bad and the too funny.