Does anyone have a hobby farm?

[beth83]

We are making a move and looking to have a little hobby farm.  Really, it won't be anything big, at all.  I know I don't know all the proper terms for these things, so please forgive me.  We all have to start somewhere, right?  And we won't start off with all of this stuff in the beginning, but I just want to the land to do it in the future, as we learn on this new adventure.  Also, my husband already has a full-time job lined up in the small town we are moving to.

 

At any one time, we would want some egg chickens and a large group of meat chickens, maybe some goats at some point, enough room for a pig, or two, and space for a garden and some fruit trees.

 

How much land should we be looking for?  We are city people currently, so we don't want to overdo it and have too much land to take care of.  I mean, people have chickens in the city, so I'm thinking even 10 acres would be overkill?  Maybe not.  But, at the same time, we never want to feel tight on our property. 

 

TIA!

 

 

[milovany]

We have 1.87 acres and about a full acre of that is the back pasture (nothing developed on it).  On the front part, we have 14-16 chickens for eggs and five goats (three need to be sold; we keep one for milk and one to be a companion).  This is puh-lenty of land for that, and just the right size for us to take care of. It IS nice to have the space, too. 

[Truscifi]

We have 1.5 acres in 3 sections - front yard, back yard, and what we call the way back. We have egg chickens and meat chickens and meat turkeys currently in the back yard and fruit trees and a garden in the front yard. Currently the way back is empty because we need to do some fence work but in the past we have had pigs back there. We are thinking we want to split it when we redo the fence and have a pig on one side and a couple goats on the other.

 

One thing you should check is the zoning for any property you are considering. We are zoned residential/agricultural. This means we can have livestock (the ag zoning) but the numbers are limited by how much land we have and how far the pens are from a dwelling (the res zoning). We can only have one pig at a time for example because it is limited to one per acre and we don't have two full acres.

[Ottakee]

First thing to check is ZONING, ZONING, ZONING---do NOT take the realtor's listing or advice on this, actually go down to the local township office and ask to speak to the zoning administrator and see the maps, etc. for each parcel.  Zoning can be weird.  What your neighbor can do might be illegal on your property if zoning is different.

 

We have 6 chickens, 2 barn cats, a dog, and 3 horses on 5 acres and I really wish we had 10 or more.  Then again horses take up more room than some other animals.  We left up a lot of trees around the perimeter of our property for privacy so that cuts down on our usable land.

 

Are you thinking just smaller animals?  Larger livestock?  Horses? how large of a garden? 

[ocelotmom]

We have about 2.5 acres, and it's more than enough space for what you're talking about. We have a bunch of chickens, ducks, geese, rabbits, 3 goats, 2 cows, a small orchard, and a garden, and still have lots of unused space.

[Erin]

Our place is 40 acres.  

For me, anything smaller would be just like living in town, on a bigger lot.   :001_unsure:

[VeritasMama]

I would want at least 5 acres, but I grew up in a rural area.

[Pawz4me]

Chickens, couple of goats, garden, fruit trees -- We had all that on a smidge over an acre when I was growing up.  And we had plenty of room left over.

[Whereneverever]

Another vote for a 40+. When we were looking we looked at places smaller and it felt like a big yard. I love all of our space. An acre alone easily for a garden is so nice!

[Dory]

The backyard homesteading book has a layout for a 1/2 acre 'hobby' farm. We have 10 acres right now. We don't use it all, or even use what we do use to full capacity. 5 acres would be a nice start size.

 

I have plans laid out for future growth that are broken up into doable pieces so that eventually, it would be best if we could have 20 acres. On 20 acres we could be completely self sufficient food wise. Including growing our own grain and feeding our own animals.

[milovany]

... and what we call the way back ...

 

My husband calls our back field "the back fortieth" LOL. This size lot (just under two acres) is perfect for us.  Definitely bigger than a typical lot in town (10+ times the size in fact), spacious feeling, but still fairly close to town which is needful with the kids' activities.  We have great neighbors who have the same-sized lot so we see and talk to them.  We have a "block party" once every summer which is a lot of fun.  I'm not much of an outdoor, take-care-of-a-garden type of person myself, so it's a good size for us.  My husband (who is) enjoys it a lot. 

[Truscifi]

My husband calls our back field "the back fortieth" LOL. This size lot (just under two acres) is perfect for us.  Definitely bigger than a typical lot in town (10+ times the size in fact), spacious feeling, but still fairly close to town which is needful with the kids' activities.  We have great neighbors who have the same-sized lot so we see and talk to them.  We have a "block party" once every summer which is a lot of fun.  I'm not much of an outdoor, take-care-of-a-garden type of person myself, so it's a good size for us.  My husband (who is) enjoys it a lot. 

 

Ours is small for our area, but still feels roomy. I do wish we had another acre so we could have a few more animals at a time. And more fruit trees. 2.5 acres would be perfect I think.

[ocelotmom]

Remember that everything doesn't need a totally separate space. Chickens (or ducks, in our case) can run in the orchard - this keeps down pests, reduces food costs, and improves egg/meat quality, as well as being space-efficient. A pig can too if the orchard is well-established (I'd have a fence between the chickens and the pig, though). We let the geese in the garden once it is well-established - they'll eat or trample sprouting plants but don't bother big ones. A (sturdy!) chicken tractor can go in a goat pasture. That sort of thing.

[Erin]

This size lot (just under two acres) is perfect for us.  Definitely bigger than a typical lot in town (10+ times the size in fact)

Wow.  Those are really small!   I grew up in town on a fairly typical lot for our community.

It was a half-acre.  

[TracyP]

No matter what you get you will eventually want more. ;) I'm sure somebody here will prove me wrong, but every single person I know (that has land) wants more land - including someone who is in the 600+ acre range. Whether you are farming or "farming" there is always more you could do with more land. We have 11 acres and I would love a 40. However, everything we have: egg layers, meat birds, fruit trees, and gardens could fit on 2-3 acres. So in your position, I would shoot for a minimum of 5 acres, with 10 being even better, and beyond that the more, the merrier.

[ocelotmom]

Wow.  Those are really small!   I grew up in town on a fairly typical lot for our community.

It was a half-acre.  

 

I'm looking at single family homes in the town I used to live in. Most are 1/8th acre lots. In the town where I grew up, a fairly large lot was 1/7th acre. In-town around here also looks to be around 1/8 acre (though there are a lot of places on the outskirts, but still within city limits, that are 1/2-1 acre).

 

I know some areas have bigger lot sizes than others, but I think there's also been a lot of subdividing since we grew up, especially in rural-turned-suburb areas.

 

No matter what you get you will eventually want more. ;) I'm sure somebody here will prove me wrong, but every single person I know (that has land) wants more land - including someone who is in the 600+ acre range. Whether you are farming or "farming" there is always more you could do with more land. We have 11 acres and I would love a 40. However, everything we have: egg layers, meat birds, fruit trees, and gardens could fit on 2-3 acres. So in your position, I would shoot for a minimum of 5 acres, with 10 being even better, and beyond that the more, the merrier.

 

I think there's a yes and a no to this. She's talking about something that she can basically take care of on her own. I'd think 10 acres, and maybe even 5, would be overwhelming for that, unless a lot of it required little or no maintenance.

 

I admit that, when we get in a house-looking, we generally look for at least 5-10 acres (we have 2.5 currently). But realistically? We could get a whole lot more out of what we have, especially if our land was more ideal for growing things (I live in a desert). We're using less than half of our non-pasture space right now.

[Amy in NH]

We have 3 acres currently housing 6 chickens and 4 sheep (2 going into the freezer in another couple of months).  We've had up to 12 chickens and 10 sheep, but that was too many.  We also have a decent garden with 6 4x8 raised beds, 10 blueberry bushes, 25 raspberry bushes, 50 strawberry plants, 70ish asparagus plants, and some wild apples and grapes.  We really wouldn't have time or money to take care of more than that.

 

ETA: We have a large section of back pasture that isn't really used and is hard to keep mowed.  I've thought about a couple of pigs, but we already have trouble with sheep fencing...

[beth83]

Thank you all for this great information!  I'm thinking we will aim between 3-5 acres.  It sounds good to me.  My husband really wants to hunt on it, as well.  Does anybody have any idea how much we need to hunt deer?  

 

My husband calls our back field "the back fortieth" LOL. This size lot (just under two acres) is perfect for us.  Definitely bigger than a typical lot in town (10+ times the size in fact), spacious feeling, but still fairly close to town which is needful with the kids' activities.  We have great neighbors who have the same-sized lot so we see and talk to them.  We have a "block party" once every summer which is a lot of fun.  I'm not much of an outdoor, take-care-of-a-garden type of person myself, so it's a good size for us.  My husband (who is) enjoys it a lot. 

This is where I am and what I want.  We currently live inside Houston, so I am accustomed to neighbors all around.  Although we are going for a slower pace of life, I really don't want to be separated from people.  We are very social and I start to lose it if we stay in our house for too long.  Plus, I need to be close in to the city.

 

 

[VeritasMama]

Where I live most people who buy "hunting land" want 20-40 acres for increased deer traffic. The fact that deer season is so short means you want to increase your chances of having deer on your land as much as you can. A smaller lot could work, it just might not be as successful for deer hunting if it is a short season where you live.

[Truscifi]

Thank you all for this great information!  I'm thinking we will aim between 3-5 acres.  It sounds good to me.  My husband really wants to hunt on it, as well.  Does anybody have any idea how much we need to hunt deer?  

 

This is where I am and what I want.  We currently live inside Houston, so I am accustomed to neighbors all around.  Although we are going for a slower pace of life, I really don't want to be separated from people.  We are very social and I start to lose it if we stay in our house for too long.  Plus, I need to be close in to the city.

 

Depends. We live in an unincorporated part of our county, so we could shoot any where around here as long as no one fussed about it. And there are large properties all around us with little development, so we see plenty of deer too, even though we only have 1.5 acres. If you had 3 acres surrounded by smaller lots you would probably not have a lot of deer - too many people.

[Carol in Cal.]

Something to consider--if you're going to land that is zoned for farming, that means that your next door neighbor could set up a really stinky pig cesspond and there wouldn't be a thing you could do about it.  So even if you could get by with just a little land, you might want to give some thought to how much distance you need from noisy or smelly neighbors to be able to be reasonably happy with the windows open.

 

Also, plant your fruit trees right away.  Usually it takes about 3 years before you get any kind of yield on them, if they are dwarf trees, and even longer if they are fullsized.  So  you have to get on that train as early as you can.

[Dory]

If you want to hunt you'll need 20 or more acres. Emphases on the or more.

[Whereneverever]

You want more vs less for hunting so you can safely shoot.

[Carol in Cal.]

You want more vs less for hunting so you can safely shoot.

Right.  All bullets land eventually, moving rather fast, and you don't want to shoot onto someone else's property--indeed it is irresponsible in the extreme to do so.

[milovany]

No matter what you get you will eventually want more. ;) I'm sure somebody here will prove me wrong ....

{insert raising-hand smiley}

[Ausmumof3]

As long as you don't mind buying hay you can do it in a small area. If you don't want to buy feed it would be a lot hard.

 

And yes..we have 10 and always wish it was more. At the same time with the expense and upkeep it would have to become income producing to make it viable to have more.

[Ausmumof3]

Hunting depends. If you have a valley with a hill on the other side you can... But it is obviously very limited.

[krsmom]

What kind of hunting does your husband want to do? Bow, rifle, deer, elk?

[creekland]

I'd vote with the 5 - 10 acres crowd assuming you'll want a decent sized garden too.

 

We currently live on 23 acres (started with 72+, but then opted to sell off a good part of what we weren't using and have no regrets about doing so).  One of those acres is a stocked pond that we enjoy.  Then we have a hay field, four large pastures, a small paddock, chickens, ponies, our garden, apple, pear, and mulberry trees, various fruit bushes, grape vines, and the house/barn/workshop and a couple of other smaller buildings.  I enjoy just walking on our property and the boys loved growing up here with plenty of space for archery, rockets, and similar.

 

Hubby can easily hunt on our land - usually has his deer within the first couple of hours of the season.  I can't imagine hunting like that on anything much smaller than 10 - 15 acres - and it could depend upon what your neighbors are doing (how close they are).

 

DEFINITELY check zoning though I suspect in TX you are better off than in many other states with that. 

 

It only takes me 8 minutes to get to school (my workplace), a grocery store, the bank, post office, small local restaurants and a handful of fast food places.  In 20 minutes I can be in a larger town with more shopping/dining options, but we're tucked back away where there's very little traffic and associated noise.  I REALLY like our location.

[Ottakee]

Again and again----CHECK THE ZONING

 

Several people here mentioned having small livestock on 2-3 acres.  In our area we need 2 acres minimum for 1 animal and then there is a formula for how many animals and it is VERY limited until you reach 5 acres (the magic number here).  In the township next to us, you can not have even ONE chicken unless you have at least 5 acres.  Next township over though you can have a horse on one acre.  It also depends on how your exact parcel is zoned---rural residential, rural, agricultural, etc. as you could still have a 2 acre parcel zoned ag from years and years ago but the 4 acre piece next door is zoned so that no farm animals are allowed.

[Erin]

No way could you raise hay and grain for those animals here, even on 40 acres

​Here either.  Our livestock is a handful of layers and half a dozen horses.  We have enough grass for summer, but that's it.  We'll start feeding hay sometime this month.

We actually WANTED a full section, but 40 acres was the bottom end of what we'd consider and we're surrounded by about 100,000 acres of the neighbors' summer/fall pastures, so we're still pretty isolated...

 

I know some areas have bigger lot sizes than others, but I think there's also been a lot of subdividing since we grew up, especially in rural-turned-suburb areas.

 

In the face of outmigration, it's unlikely small towns on the Plains will be having this issue any time soon.  To be sure, the town I grew up in (where my folks still live on that same lot) hasn't seen anything of the sort.

I honestly don't understand how people can stand living that close to one another...

[Anne in CA]

I grew up on a working cattle ranch that was more than a 1000 acres and yet every time I have owned more than five as an adult I get overwhelmed. Think about what you can reasonable manage on your own if your dh has to work a great deal. I have been the one to deal with property issues and I did not learn how to do that as a young person and those issues are scary to me now. That aside, when the restaurant is more established there is a house on five acres I want to buy that has a great garden spot, fruit trees, and a tree house that sleeps four adults and looks like a hobbit hole in a tree. But I am only considering it because the people who currently own it are such putterers that they have kept everything up perfectly so I all will have to do is maintain what is already there, and already in great shape. 

[NCMom]

We have 6 acres but of that only about 4.5 acres are hobby farm-able :laugh: . The back of our land is basically a giant hill, so not very usable. Useability counts!  2 flat fertile acres may get you farther than 10 super hilly, eroded, or overgrazed acres, ifywim.

 

On the other hand if the hills keep me from having neighbors then I am all for them, lol.

 

However, we are probably going to finally, finally add ginseng and golden seal next year so that hill will be used for something!

 

Georgia

 

[Carol in Cal.]

It IS nice to have some terrain.  A little hill makes archery possible, for instance.

[Saddlemomma]

We have 50 acres in the County in northern ME. Of those 50, 33 acres are pasture.  When we moved here 7 years ago we had 5 horses, so the pasture land was terrific.  Now we don’t have any horses; just 20 chickens, 2 pigs, and a duck.  However we are thinking about adding some goats and beehives.

 

As far as gardening goes, we have two large, main plots at 40’ x 60’.  A third plot which we did this year is slightly smaller than that.  We are used it this year for our corn, winter squash, pumpkins, and cucumbers.  We have three plots because we alternate plots so each has a rest period to recover nutrients.

 

With the proceeds from the sale of one of our horses, we purchased a 12’ x 24’ unheated greenhouse.  This has been our wisest, best purchase so far.  It really extends our growing season.  I usually start all our seeds in the house and then move the flats into the greenhouse as soon as possible (usually May).  I even start our corn and onions in flats.  They transplant beautifully.  DH built me some raised beds for the greenhouse in which I keep all my tomatoes, cantaloupes, and watermelon.  I also transplant my peppers into large pots and keep them in there as well.

 

One of the first things we did upon moving onto this property is to plant fruit trees and bushes as we could afford them.  Currently we have 7 apple trees which are now producing, 2 cherry trees, 2 pear trees, 1 plum tree, 13 blueberry bushes (high & low), strawberries, raspberries, arctic kiwis (which are small but delicious), grapes (made 10 jars of jelly this year), and asparagus.  DH also taps the large maples in our back yard to make about a gallon to two gallons of syrup each year.  We don’t need a lot because DH is actually allergic to the stuff, but he knows DD and I love it.  We store it in the freezer and still have some from 2012.

 

Using our apples, as well as the abundant wild apple trees in the area, we are able to make apple jelly (13 jars), applesauce (5 qts.), and filling for apple pies.

 

We utilize about 15 acres of our fields.  We lease the balance out to a local potato farmer.  This generates a small income for us to apply towards our taxes and provides us with free potatoes each year from gleaning in the fields.  This year we’ve gleaned 250+ lbs. of russets, about 100 lbs. of chip-stock, and about 75 lbs. of reds.  We keep these in our basement in wooden potato barrels.

 

Plans for the future in addition to the aforementioned potential livestock include:

• Planting cover-crops in the rest plots each year to boost nutrients in the soil
• Research the feasibility of hand planting & harvesting small grain crops for us as well as possible livestock
• Research the purchase of a grain mill if we decide to plant grains
• Installing an enclosed root cellar in our basement
• Building a cider press

 

On a purely whimsical note for me, DH built me 9 tree swallow houses to plant around our gardens because he knows how much I love those gregarious, aerial acrobats.  Every year we watch them arrive and set up housekeeping.  They help reduce the deer fly, black fly, and mosquito population around the areas we work in the most.

 

The swallows also keep us company.  They seem to enjoy watching and chirping to us as we work in the gardens around and beneath their houses.  They don’t seem afraid of us at all.  We can actually get quite close to them.  I actually talk to them if I’m out weeding alone.  It’s quite comical to see their little heads tilt back and forth, up and down, as if listening to me.  DH thinks I’m crazy of course.  They seem to enjoy our company as much as we enjoy theirs.  They don’t even bother the dog.  However, the cat is another story.  They dive-bomb her, chattering angrily, every time they see her.

 

Every year we seem to learn more about these wonderful birds as we watch them throughout the spring and summer.  We also have a huge barn (82’ x 80’) that houses about 10 pairs of barn swallows.  You should see the explosion of swallows darken the sky when the babies emerge from their nests.  It’s quite an amazing site to see, as they seem to all come out at once.

 

Funny story about those swallows: This past summer, we decided to have our first yard sale.  We set up in our yard between the fields and our large barn. As people came to view our stuff, I happened to notice that each visitor was dive-bombed by our swallows.  Every.single.person.  It was so strange that even DH noticed it.  The people would duck their heads and say, “Did you see that?† When they left, the swallows would disappear into the sky or around their houses back out in the field.  I’m wondering if we have our own watch-swallows protecting our family…lol…

 

Anyway, I digress.  Here are some things I would look for:

• Zoning
• Water availability/depth of well/ground water level/flow/potability; available springs, rivers, brooks for livestock
• Soil health
• Possible animal restrictions not covered in the zoning laws (fencing, odor, noise, etc.)
• Hunting laws
• Property taxes
• Insurance regs for your state regarding farming/animal ownership/business (if you plan to sell produce). They can dictate how many of which kind of farm animal you can keep before they will agree to insure.
• Outside structures (existing barns and/or leantos/fencing – the less you have to build or put up the better)
• Climate zone to determine what I could easily grow, length of season

I would also agree that 5 to 10 acres should be plenty.  However, if you have a chance to purchase a larger parcel with the option of leasing some of it, you may want to explore that.  Leasing land actually improves it, provides some added income, and helps the local farmers, which builds mutually beneficial relationships.

 

Check out trees on the potential property for potential natural resources.  It would be great if you had several acres (if you can get more land) of wooded land.  Hardwood for firewood is invaluable.  Beech, Oak, walnut, apple, and other fruit and nut trees add value and food sources.  Wild berry bushes are also great.  I wish we had more hardwoods on our property.  We do have a lot of cedar trees which supplies all our fence posts and yearly kindling.  That is a terrific resource and quite a savings for us.

 

That’s all I can think of for now.  I hope it helps.  Best of luck finding your farm!

[Saddlemomma]

ETA: We have a large section of back pasture that isn't really used and is hard to keep mowed.  I've thought about a couple of pigs, but we already have trouble with sheep fencing...

 

Pig fencing is so much easier than sheep.  We just use wooden pallets strung together with bailing twine with a single strand of electric fence line running along the bottom about a foot off the ground.  We've never had a problem because pigs are really smart and learn quickly to stay away from the perimeter of the fence.  With the automatic water nipple attached to a hose and an automatic grain feeder, they basically take care of themselves.  We just dump a 50# bag of grain into their feeder every few days.  I keep a 5 gal. pail outside our door on the deck to throw scraps in.  When the pail gets full, we slop the pigs.  No muss; no fuss  -- except, of course, when it comes to butchering them. That's where most of our work comes in.

[Carol in Cal.]

There are lot of modern homesteading-ish books that you might enjoy.

Here are some that I like VERY much:

Animal, Vegetable, Miracle

The Quarter Acre Farm

We Took to the Woods

The Maple Sugar Book

This Organic Life and the sequel Growing, Older

 

 

[Saddlemomma]

There are lot of modern homesteading-ish books that you might enjoy.

Here are some that I like VERY much:

Animal, Vegetable, Miracle

The Quarter Acre Farm

We Took to the Woods

The Maple Sugar Book

This Organic Life and the sequel Growing, Older

 

These are great suggestions.  Another publication which I subscribe to and has a wealth of information is Countryside Magazine.

 

[Carrie12345]

Zoning can be crazy to nail down.  In the areas around me, you can find a place to squeeze a farm on a one acre lot or you could find 9 acres that won't allow a single chicken.

One person I know went right to her local gov't and was told she could have all sorts of things only to wind up losing her small business (on appeal.)

 

Research, research, research, and then get it all in writing. And signed.

[JoJosMom]

Our place is 40 acres.  

For me, anything smaller would be just like living in town, on a bigger lot.   :001_unsure:

 

:iagree: We  have ten acres and I covet the neighbor's bare forty acres.  I believe acres are like horses and potato chips:  You cannot have just one.

[JoJosMom]

We have 50 acres in the County in northern ME. Of those 50, 33 acres are pasture.  When we moved here 7 years ago we had 5 horses, so the pasture land was terrific.  Now we don’t have any horses; just 20 chickens, 2 pigs, and a duck.  However we are thinking about adding some goats and beehives.

 

As far as gardening goes, we have two large, main plots at 40’ x 60’.  A third plot which we did this year is slightly smaller than that.  We are used it this year for our corn, winter squash, pumpkins, and cucumbers.  We have three plots because we alternate plots so each has a rest period to recover nutrients.

 

With the proceeds from the sale of one of our horses, we purchased a 12’ x 24’ unheated greenhouse.  This has been our wisest, best purchase so far.  It really extends our growing season.  I usually start all our seeds in the house and then move the flats into the greenhouse as soon as possible (usually May).  I even start our corn and onions in flats.  They transplant beautifully.  DH built me some raised beds for the greenhouse in which I keep all my tomatoes, cantaloupes, and watermelon.  I also transplant my peppers into large pots and keep them in there as well.

 

One of the first things we did upon moving onto this property is to plant fruit trees and bushes as we could afford them.  Currently we have 7 apple trees which are now producing, 2 cherry trees, 2 pear trees, 1 plum tree, 13 blueberry bushes (high & low), strawberries, raspberries, arctic kiwis (which are small but delicious), grapes (made 10 jars of jelly this year), and asparagus.  DH also taps the large maples in our back yard to make about a gallon to two gallons of syrup each year.  We don’t need a lot because DH is actually allergic to the stuff, but he knows DD and I love it.  We store it in the freezer and still have some from 2012.

 

Using our apples, as well as the abundant wild apple trees in the area, we are able to make apple jelly (13 jars), applesauce (5 qts.), and filling for apple pies.

 

We utilize about 15 acres of our fields.  We lease the balance out to a local potato farmer.  This generates a small income for us to apply towards our taxes and provides us with free potatoes each year from gleaning in the fields.  This year we’ve gleaned 250+ lbs. of russets, about 100 lbs. of chip-stock, and about 75 lbs. of reds.  We keep these in our basement in wooden potato barrels.

 

Plans for the future in addition to the aforementioned potential livestock include:

• Planting cover-crops in the rest plots each year to boost nutrients in the soil
• Research the feasibility of hand planting & harvesting small grain crops for us as well as possible livestock
• Research the purchase of a grain mill if we decide to plant grains
• Installing an enclosed root cellar in our basement
• Building a cider press

 

On a purely whimsical note for me, DH built me 9 tree swallow houses to plant around our gardens because he knows how much I love those gregarious, aerial acrobats.  Every year we watch them arrive and set up housekeeping.  They help reduce the deer fly, black fly, and mosquito population around the areas we work in the most.

 

The swallows also keep us company.  They seem to enjoy watching and chirping to us as we work in the gardens around and beneath their houses.  They don’t seem afraid of us at all.  We can actually get quite close to them.  I actually talk to them if I’m out weeding alone.  It’s quite comical to see their little heads tilt back and forth, up and down, as if listening to me.  DH thinks I’m crazy of course.  They seem to enjoy our company as much as we enjoy theirs.  They don’t even bother the dog.  However, the cat is another story.  They dive-bomb her, chattering angrily, every time they see her.

 

Every year we seem to learn more about these wonderful birds as we watch them throughout the spring and summer.  We also have a huge barn (82’ x 80’) that houses about 10 pairs of barn swallows.  You should see the explosion of swallows darken the sky when the babies emerge from their nests.  It’s quite an amazing site to see, as they seem to all come out at once.

 

Funny story about those swallows: This past summer, we decided to have our first yard sale.  We set up in our yard between the fields and our large barn. As people came to view our stuff, I happened to notice that each visitor was dive-bombed by our swallows.  Every.single.person.  It was so strange that even DH noticed it.  The people would duck their heads and say, “Did you see that?† When they left, the swallows would disappear into the sky or around their houses back out in the field.  I’m wondering if we have our own watch-swallows protecting our family…lol…

 

Anyway, I digress.  Here are some things I would look for:

• Zoning
• Water availability/depth of well/ground water level/flow/potability; available springs, rivers, brooks for livestock
• Soil health
• Possible animal restrictions not covered in the zoning laws (fencing, odor, noise, etc.)
• Hunting laws
• Property taxes
• Insurance regs for your state regarding farming/animal ownership/business (if you plan to sell produce). They can dictate how many of which kind of farm animal you can keep before they will agree to insure.
• Outside structures (existing barns and/or leantos/fencing – the less you have to build or put up the better)
• Climate zone to determine what I could easily grow, length of season

I would also agree that 5 to 10 acres should be plenty.  However, if you have a chance to purchase a larger parcel with the option of leasing some of it, you may want to explore that.  Leasing land actually improves it, provides some added income, and helps the local farmers, which builds mutually beneficial relationships.

 

Check out trees on the potential property for potential natural resources.  It would be great if you had several acres (if you can get more land) of wooded land.  Hardwood for firewood is invaluable.  Beech, Oak, walnut, apple, and other fruit and nut trees add value and food sources.  Wild berry bushes are also great.  I wish we had more hardwoods on our property.  We do have a lot of cedar trees which supplies all our fence posts and yearly kindling.  That is a terrific resource and quite a savings for us.

 

That’s all I can think of for now.  I hope it helps.  Best of luck finding your farm!

 

"Like" did not begin to cover it. Thanks, Saddlemomma for a fabulous post. In a wonderful thread, too. Yay, OP!

 

BTW, I agree about the swallows.  We have a bunch here, and I just love to watch them just before sunset. They are beautiful.  And then the bats come out-a different type of awesome!