Planning our homestead | General Homesteading Discussion | Forums

Thanks, I've already read and book marked that page and watched the videos. Great info, but unfortunately I am searching for more detailed/specific/granular info. I might need to get that book you suggested.

That is some great info, thanks! I considered goats instead of a cow briefly. I am not sure how much different goats milk is in terms of taste, quality, nutrients and butter, cheese (Gouda)/yoghurt making. I'm particularly interested in the CLA and vitamin K2 from cow's milk, I suppose I'll have to look into the nutrition of goat's milk or maybe consider just having one cow for milk. I decided on sheep vs cow as the main meat source due to reasons such as: if one dies, there are several more, shorter birth-to-butchering time and easier to handle. I appreciate the insight about the total quantity of meat though. I estimate we eat about 10 lbs of meat between us each week, so about 260 lbs. of meat a year per teenager/adult. I also intend to do some hunting and fishing...

Chicken and pork are not as important meat wise, maybe once a week each except for bacon which is 4 breakfasts a week. Eggs however, are very important. We eat 2 dozen eggs a week which cost $6.99/dozen currently.

What are your thoughts regarding a mortgage on land? I could definitely afford a larger property if I put 40% down. My intent in that case would be to have it paid off in 15 years or less.

Thanks for the video farmboy. I have seen some of that, it's very impressive. It is something I could definitely do, I'll keep it in mind. I wonder if it can be done with trout instead of tilapia. Unfortunately, as much as I love fish, we need a lot of red meat so I don't think I can go quite as small as you. What other projects are you planning?

KVR, I spent 3 hours the other night pouring through your thread about building your house. That was very informative, I learned a lot about the process and I am considering it as a possibility of design for our home, especially if we do end up in a colder climate. How is the home during the summer, my wife wanted to know if it also kept the home cool during the heat. Is your pond well/spring fed, purely rain water and/or water table level?

I also need to consider options for a home based business. I have lots of possibilities, but I am looking into livestock or bees. I probably need to figure out how much space that will take as well separately from the self sustaining part of the homestead. Can 100 bee hives be kept in near proximity to each other? It looks like sheep are about 5 to an acre, so between the grazing pasture, pasture for winter feed and water I'd probably need a lot more land than I could afford.