farm hand

Well, I live in Wright county - 2 counties east of you. There are a lot of dairy farms here and in Webster county. This type of farm needs help all the time due to the nature of the business - milking, feeding, moving the cows, year-round calving.... They also have many different ages of cows, so you would get experience with bottle calves, giving medication, etc. I would suggest going to the local feed store - there are a lot of MFA stores here - and post a note that you are looking for work. I don't expect milking would pay more than maybe $7 hour. People usually milk 2 times per day - say 4 a.m. and 4 p.m. You might be able to just choose one shift.

As far as other farm work - there isn't much available on a regular basis. Most beef farms don't need daily help. There used to be a lot of haying work, but now everyone has given up on square bales and gone to the less labor intensive round bales. This is not really a "crop farm" area. There are some horse stables around, but I have found that horse care can be quite different from other livestock care and I don't know how much that would help you.

You also might want to talk to the local farm extension agent. They often know people and could be of some help.

What do you want to raise on your homestead?

chickens, goats, a milk cow and a beef cow or two. I'd like to have a couple horses to plow with and pull a buggy (transportation) with.

crop wise I'm not certain. Since we will be moving a couple zones colder, Id probally just put in a garden the first few years and see how things go.

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