BlueHeaven said:
hello,
just wondering if someone could tell me what i need to do to start a self sufficient farm....money-how much.....etc.....any comments welcome....thanks
It does not exist and never will. Nobody is self-sufficient, no matter how big nor how small. Every farmer is needs a market and purchases from the market goods and services - so the real success of farming has more to do with the market and how well you leverage it. This translates into mutual cooperation with other farmers who have equipment, experience, materials or access to the markets.
Without a tract of land, it's pretty difficult to start planning what's gonna go where, how much and when. On the other hand, if you've got a plan, and manage to find land that fits, be prepared to make radical changes. What looks so good today might be impossible next year or become difficult to accomplish as time changes things.
We never imagined we'd be raising ducks, let alone hatching any kind of bird, bee, bunny or berry. I thought we'd be into COWs and I'm allergice to bird dander, hate bee stings and rabbits just stink.... berries are OK on ice cream. We're not doing anything with cattle, too much competition from bigger farms - instead we're into ducks, LOTS of ducks, and bunnies and bees. "They" don't sleep in the house, so the allergies are not a problem.
Within a month of buying our place, we fired up VISIO, like autocad, and plotted the immediate usable portion of the property. We filled and divided up everything and posted a PLAN for the whole family to see. It's been modified 10-12 times this year alone. This is right down to the type of tree, location, irrigation, fences, gate sizes & hinges, watering troughs, ponds, guest house, berry bushes., EVERYTHING we could think of. A whole lot easier to get the family and guests to pitch in, once they see what we're trying to do.
I did say, "guests to pitch in" - oddly enough, they take one look at that drawing, and say something like, "..hey, this is neat! When those Elderberries and pears start producing, we'd like to buy some from you! Can we go over there and take a look, see!?" and we walk out the door with a rake and shovel.
Moral of the story is: Nobody can run a farm without the help of others. When people see and understand your plan, they're more likely to offer some help, knowing you'll remember them when it starts producing. The money will come and go, friends are much more precious - you cannot do it all by yourself.
Bill