Address all questions to
Aggie@Homestead.org
Hi,
Aggie:
First, thanks for helping so many folks get the answers they need.
Here's my challenge: My family has two households on 13+ acres of land
in the beautiful Texas Hill Country NW of Austin. We moved here five
years ago and we love it (good people, country living, simple life, you
know the story), but if we don't lower our tax burden we will not be
able to stay. We MUST establish an agricultural exemption if we are to
survive here. We've studied the possibilities, and the quickest/easiest/
most feasible route seems to be raising livestock.
The next step is to identify the available livestock options, and that's
where I could use some help. Most of the folks in this area raise
cattle, sheep or goats, but the fact that most folks do it doesn't mean
we it's right for us. After all, "most folks" live in a city, don't
they?
So here's my question: How can I learn about the livestock options
available for a small homestead so that we can make an intelligent
decision on this crucial issue?
Any pertinent information would be greatly appreciated, and thank you
for considering my question.
Jane
Dear Jane:
How can you learn about your options? All you need is a
pocket-calculator and your own feelings, interests goals and desires.
I assume you have all those things readily at hand.
You can look at animal husbandry in much the same way as regular human
husbandry.
So, part of what you need to know is just what it is that you’re looking
for in a relationship. If you’re just looking for a fling, then most any
animal you choose will do nicely. You’ll have a good time and learn a
lot, and when it’s over you part better for the experience. On the other
hand, if you’re looking for a long-term relationship you may want to
look a bit beyond the flashiest candidates and choose one who has deeper
values.
Commonplace domestic livestock has one endearing virtue that few exotics
can match, and that is this: there is a ready and willing market that will
buy virtually as much as you can produce. Prices rise and fall, usually
fall, but virtually every rural area has a weekly livestock auction.
(These markets should not be confused with situations where a single
company offers to buy your animals, for their price, as is known in the
rabbit trade.)
Because of these livestock auctions, you can be near-certain that you
will have a buyer whenever you choose to sell.
This is quite good, because having something to sell is not nearly as
enjoyable if no-one wants to buy it.
You owe it to yourself to determine what would be the most financially
profitable livestock in your situation, and then use that as a
comparison with what you stand to make raising the animals you find most
appealing.
For example, suppose you determine that you have enough pasture to raise
x number of weanling calves from February to October and that this is
more than you could make raising other animals. The problem is, what you
really WANT to do is raise guinea hens. (I remind you that this is only
an example.)
You then need to find the best market you can for guinea hens and
calculate what the differences would be in terms of income, expenses and
hours labored. If it turns out that you can make twice as much raising
hogs as guinea hens, then you need to decide whether to choose the hard
cash of pigs, or the romance of guinea hens.
Of course livestock auctions amount to selling at wholesale. No-one
would argue that there aren’t more profitable ways with animals. For
example, you might want to consider wool, egg or honey production. (I
would advise against marketing unpasteurized milk until you’ve talked to
both state and local health officials.)
Just make certain that your area has a reliable market for whatever you
produce BEFORE you start producing it.
Don’t forget that your animals will give you “farmer” status which, at
least in my state, entitles one to buy farm items with no sales tax,
off-road fuels with lessened tax.
You can also file a 1040 Schedule F on your federal tax returns; you may
be able to claim healthy deductions for some of your expenses.
Dear
Aggie,
My husband I have been living on my parents' land for 25 years. It's our
home, our well, actually everything is ours except the land. My parents
have never deeded it to us. They are in their late 70's and have no
will. This has been homesteaded by my husband and I since 2002 or
earlier. By law, where do we stand? I am one of four living children.
If you could help me, it would be much appreciated. Thank you.
Sincerely,
Hope
Dear Hope:
I'm afraid
you may have some difficult situations ahead of you. You don't
mention where you live, which is just as well, because I am not an
attorney at any rate and you will most likely be needing one.
Also, I am
uncertain what you mean by 'homesteaded" in this context.
Laws vary
by venue, of course, but I believe that in most of the United States
where you PROBABLY stand is thus: buildings, wells and other fixtures
placed on a piece of real estate become part of that real estate.
Upon one of your parents' death, the farm will be inherited by the
surviving spouse. Upon the surviving spouse's death, it will be
inherited by you AND your four siblings in equal parts, plus the
estate will be subject to probate, which involves attorneys and
severe additional taxation, and is generally considered something
best avoided.
I
emphasized the word, "probably" because there are a number of things
that can effect this situation, but what I am detailing here is the most
common. The best solution will most likely be for your parents to
make a will. For this they'll need an attorney.
Dear
Aggie-
We are beginning chicken raisers. We bought 2 leghorn-cross hens at our
local Farm and Home store 1 year ago as a home school project. We
intended to follow the lifecycle and enjoy the eggs then butcher them.
Turns out we enjoy them and their eggs. Since then we have acquired 3
Reds, a rooster, and 10 Banties. My problem is this, we have a dog who
wants to kill them. She has gotten one already and made an almost
successful attempt to get a second. I might also include that she has
killed my daughter's rabbit and a woodpecker who happened within reach.
I had been told to tie the dead chicken around the animals neck and as
it decays that would produce revulsion in the dog. No such luck. Maybe I
didn't do it right. Can a dog be broken of this trait or is she a lost
cause for our little farm? I might mention that she is part Sheltie. I
know they are herders but I didn't think they were killers.
Melanie
Dear
Melanie:
Tying a
dead chicken around a dog's neck will not make him revile chickens,
although it may make him revile you.
This is
what some (most) dogs do. The likelihood of training a dog who has
shown that tendency to reject the habit is all but nil. If
you want to keep both dog and chickens, you'll need to segregate them.
I assume
you are housing the chickens in a fox-and-coyote-proof building at
night. Having a dog such as yours means that you'll need to pen the
chickens during the day as well. This is probably a good idea at
any rate because unpenned chickens tend to defecate on one's front
porch, among other things.
If you
like to allow your birds to free range, and you want to keep the dog,
you might consider a creeping cage that can be moved about the pasture
as it is depleted.
Dear
Aggie:
My
husband, son, and a grandson and I are moving to a 160 acres in
Tennessee. Since we have always lived in the city I am unfamiliar with
some things.
1. Septic Tanks
2. Water wells
Where do I find information on how to treat these two things?
Any information would help.
Thanks
B. H.
Dear B. H.
Under ideal
conditions, you shouldn't really need to "treat" either one after you've
had the appropriate apparatus installed, so maintenance is not really a
concern.
To find out about your
septic system requirements, contact the Health Department in your
county; they'll tell you what regulations you'll need to meet, which
may require hiring an engineer if you have a particularly delicate
geology, but probably will not. It's unlikely that you'll
have many septic requirements at all on a property of that size, so
you'll probably want to do more than is required of you. For the
sake of your own living environment you'll want either an adequate
system of septic tank and leach lines or some sort of alternative, such
as a composting system which does not have an impact on the
ground-water.
Obviously, the latter
is the better choice. However, if you choose the former, you'll
want to hire a plumber with a back-hoe to do the work.
There are, I regret to
say, other solutions whose only advantage is low price. Prime
among these is the septic lagoon, which its adherents would argue is
quite sanitary when properly installed.
Don't be persuaded.
No person of refinement will ever promote the proliferation of septic
lagoons. This world is tricky and cruel enough without peppering
the rural areas with unguarded pools of liquid sewage.
For most everything
you'll need to know about your well, just call a water-well driller from
the yellow pages. An experienced driller will be able to give you
a rough idea of how deep your well will be and what it will cost.
Remember that the
(non-desert) water table follows the contour of the land, so you're
likely to get a better well at a shallower depth if you avoid drilling
on a slope.
One should also keep in
mind that the well needs to be a comfortable distance uphill from the
septic tank.
The State of Tennessee
has an excellent website
that deals with these issues.
Hi,
I'm a single mom of
a three year old, I'm 28. I am searching for a way to raise my son close
to nature, I am so tired of being in a hostile and flipped-out society.
I feel the clock is ticking as far as my son goes. He sees and adjusts
his beautiful self to accommodate what he's learning in this society. It
breaks my heart that I am responsible for not preparing my life in a way
so that he wouldn't have to shut down the beauty in himself- just to fit
in with this toxic 'civilization'. But, here we are, and I am desperate
to get us in nature. I don't know how to do it... I have no cash! But, I
am willing to work hard, if there is some family or community that can
help and needs help?? We are vegans and I have found a lot of
homesteaders to be meat eaters, any advice? I'm ready to hit the road,
praying hard. Though that may seem irresponsible, it's still got to be
better than this.??? Help, and if you know of any one who could help
also, please connect us.
Hiedi
Dear Hiedi,
Do NOT start out on
the road with nothing but your son and a prayer. If you don’t have a
sound, rationale plan, what you find will most certainly NOT be better
than your life now.
You are in a very
vulnerable position and it is not always easy to tell who is really on
your side and who is only taking advantage of you.
You don’t tell me what
your employment situation is, but before you take your child and
yourself into the country, you need to find a way to survive there
without depending on the kindness of strangers. If you have a job in
the city, find a job in a small town before you move.
In the meanwhile, take
your son to the country as often as you have time. Visit national
forests and parks, camp out. You’ll both get more exercise, and it will
give you some quiet moments to spend formulating your plan to move to a
better place.
Address all questions to
Aggie@Homestead.org
