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re: self-sufficient farmers out there?
19 jun 1997
lindstrom james wrote:
>are there any members of this group out there striving for at least a
>degree of self-sufficiency by the way of small time farming or gardening?
it's hard to pay taxes and medical bills that way. many people find working a
job they are good at and buying food at the supermarket an easier way of life.
>i'm here in western pa and thinking seriously about buying a very few
>acres and trying my hand producing what i need. i'ld love to hear from
>others who may be doing this or have tried it--successfully or not.
i grew four acres of soybeans one year. it didn't take much work but
i didn't make much money either. ate a lot of tofu. this year i rented
three acres for $150 to a farmer who's growing sweet corn and tomatoes,
and expect to eat some sweet corn and tomatoes.
>published sources which would give me some concept of start up and
>operation costs would be most appreciated.
try the penn state county agricultural extension center near you. you
might be able to buy a used tractor for $1500, $300 more for disks,
another $300 for an old seed drill, etc, and hire someone to custom
combine at $50/acre.
>some of the questions on my mind at this juncture are:
>
> 1. how much land (or how little) might i need for a full kitchen
> garden and space for goats and other "appropriate" barnyard creatures?
500 ft^2 for a large garden, and 8 sheep or goats per acre, with supplemental
hay feed all year? consider chicken coops on wheels, developed in vermont.
one horse, one cow per acre? ostriches, emus, rabbits, pheasants, and llamas
might be appropriate creatures. perhaps a few buffalo.
> 2. are there any tax or other economic benefits to be found in
> taking this route, aside from the potential savings in food costs?
pa act 319, "clean and green" allows avoiding or postponing taxes on areas
of 10 acres or more... you can also collect money by becoming part of a
pennsylvania "agricultural security area," and still make a little money
by not growing things, with a previous track record of growing things.
> 3. are there any crops that can be grown profitably on a micro-scale?
marijuana :-), sweet corn, melons, goat cheese, and greenhouse flowers,
strawberries, tomatoes and herbs, using a passive solar greenhouse with
cogeneration or off-peak electrical power for grow lights to extend the
number of hours of daylight and growing season from october through march...
nick
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