[CottonBall]

We aren't wealthy, we aren't in our twenties, and we had no farming experience. Of course we have made mistakes (buying a property that did not have fencing was the biggest one that I would do differently!), but I really started the website to show people that it really can be done, by anyone who simply wants to do it. Steep learning curve, and sometimes money is super tight until the beasts start reproducing so that we have a little income from them, but it is worth it. I really wanted to get started while I was still relatively young enough to enjoy it. I think we as Americans are so entrenched in the idea that we can't do anything enjoyable until we retire, or until we have enough money, or whatever the idea is that we dealt with and finally discarded. Do what you want to do, it is possible!

True and I know if the SHTF before we make our move, we'll regret not having moved sooner. On the other hand, if we move just because we fear doom and gloom - and it never happens, we'll regret not having waited. Problem is - we are just a few years away from being financially self-sufficient, assuming hyperinflation doesn't rear its ugly head. And hubby is in his peak earning years. Just 3-5 years and we are free to move anywhere. And we are old enough to not be able to make the move back to working - discrimination for older workers that have been out of the workforce for a while is there, when younger ones can be had for cheaper. And we're old enough to know we can't be physically capable of running a farm on our own for very long either.

So we'll just hope it doesn't happen any time soon and keep investigating farms in KY (our target state).

I'll keep looking at your site for ideas too and get started on what I can in the mean time. Your goats are just precious! I"m thinking of dairy goats instead of a cow. I don't know if I can deal with all that milk from one cow - plus don't they get lonely, being herd animals? I'd have to have 2 - so even more milk to deal with!

[teenyelliott]

Well I like to think we didn't move out of fear, we moved out of desire to not be so dependent on the very precarious wheel of city life. At our old neighborhood, it was pretty secluded and we had three acres, so we could have done something there, and our neighbors were all like us as far as defense against zombies when the welfare checks stop coming, but everyone I knew WANTED to get out of town, but no one ever made the move. I had read so much, so many things written by other people who had done it, I finally just said to heck with it! We are going!

We're lucky in that hubby is self-employed and works from home, and we homeschool, so where we lived really didn't matter, as long as it was within a reasonable driving distance to town, for when hubby had to go for work. So we aren't dependent on the farm making a living for us, and we don't have to live on savings, because hubby still works. I'm still kind of bummed out that we aren't in the COUNTRYcountry, and I daydream about having a big farm that is really isolated, and I wonder if I am doing the right thing, building this place up into what I want when I know I'd really rather have a bigger place, but like I said, we're just doing what we can, for the time being. Who knows what the future holds.

True and I know if the SHTF before we make our move, we'll regret not having moved sooner. On the other hand, if we move just because we fear doom and gloom - and it never happens, we'll regret not having waited.

Is it possible for you to have the best of both worlds? Is there any country kind of land where you are that would be close enough for him to still work? We really tried to get out of Kansas and start our place in th Ozarks, but because of work we just couldn't make it happen. So, we compromised and moved just out of the city. I wish we were further out, in the middle of nowhere, but it was the best we could do, and it has worked out just fine.

And yeah, definitely there are things you can do now! Even if you live in an apartment building there are garden plans and such that you can start. Most towns even allow laying hens now.

As to the cow/goat thing, the mama cow has her baby to keep her company, and yes we do have multiple goats because the one was lonely (the sheep just didn't cut it for her, of course!) I was worried about so much milk with the cow, but you can always let the calf have as much as it can, or you can feed it to the cats/dogs, it's good for the garden, etc. Or you can get even worse and buy a pig to eat everything you have left over. It is a never ending circle for me.

Right now, though, I think I have enough to keep me busy. I still have to build big permanent hutches for our new rabbits. And I got an automatic egg turner for my incubator, so in February I get to hatch some chicks!! I'm super excited about that.

Have you ever been over to Homesteading Today? There are so many great people over there, some who have been real farmers their whole lives, some who are still in the city but dreaming and wanting to learn. It is a really great resource, full of knowledgeable people about everything from cattle to tree identification, survivalists to grandmas posting pics of their new grandbabies. It is a great place.