News from February 1998

'Sup!
February 13, 1998

I have begun a serious search for land. In a few weeks my brother and I will be traveling through Missouri, where we'll look around and get a feel for several different areas, including Missouri itself, Southern Iowa, Northern Arkansas, and Northeastern Oklahoma. We have a handful of good prospects in these areas that I found on the Net, although frankly most properties advertised on the Net are priced higher than average for any given area. I would strongly recommend that if you are considering buying land, surely do look at real estate ads on the Internet but keep in mind that there is a very real price differential between the real estate on a Web Page and the real estate that is sold through more conventional means.

HOUSING

Plans here are in constant change. It's hard to say what we'll do about housing until we actually buy the land. Construction techniques and materials will be largely determined by the actual building site and the locally available resources.

THE "FARM"

I plan to start out small, with no livestock at all the first year (once I'm in!). First order of business will be to get the vegetable garden up and running, and to start putting in fruit trees and grape vines as needed. The livestock I'll eventually have will include:

chickens

eggs
meat

sheep

wool (I am learning to spin)
meat

dairy cows (Jersey, probably just one or two).

milk
cheese
butter
cream
calves to be raised for beef

a few hogs

meat - ham, sausages, bacon, pork chops, ribs . . .
cleaning up the fields at years end (why should I plow when they love to root?)
great for turning garbage into food - a hog will slurp up excess milk and scraps like it was dessert.

rabbits

meat
fiber (Angora - spin the plucked hair)

Yes, I eat meat. So I'll be learning to smoke and preserve meat, in addition to canning and preserving the output of my vegetable garden. I used to make jams, jellies, and preserves of all sorts before I went to college. Canned beans and tomatoes and homemade applesauce. So all that experience will stand me in good stead.
My brother, Brett, will be handling most of the butchering. We'll also be learning to tan leather - I expect we'll ruin a few hides before we get it down pat, but that's all part of being as self-c
This is still an embryonic enterprise . . .

Archives

September, 1997
Back to News

You can get to a variety of useful links from my home page.

HOME

These pages are all about small farms, rural living, cottage farming, homesteading, building barns, sheds, a masonry stove, poultry processing, livestock, raising your own food, being self-sufficient, alternative farming practices, organic gardening, composting, aquaculture, and other types of alternative agriculture. The Unofficial, Totally Unauthorized, but Very Very Enthusiastic Gene Logsdon Home Fan Club Page is part of this site as well.